She’s won an Olympic bronze medal in the 10K — later upgraded to a silver.
Last November, she became the first American woman in 40 years to win the New York Marathon.
She’s even been credited with having changed the face of women’s distance running in the U.S.
But with all that, life doesn’t seem to be truly complete for Shalane Flanagan. And it won’t be until she makes the turn from Hereford Street in Boston and sprints up Boylston toward the Boston Marathon finish line with no other woman in front of her.
Flanagan, a two-time state champion 2-miler while at Marblehead High, is back for another stab at Boston — and she says win or lose, this may be her final race here as an elite runner.
“I just feel like it’s time,” she said Friday at a news conference for elite runners at the Fairmount Copley Plaza, which is the race headquarters. “It’s an instinctual, intuitive moment for me.
“I think I’m going to make my peace with Boston Monday,” she said. “If I do come back, it’s going to be to support other runners, or something like that. It’s not as if I’ll never run Boston again, but as an elite, it’ll be my last.”
Flanagan grew up dreaming of running, and winning, this race.
“I always envisioned that my first win in a major would be here,” she said. “But things developed differently.”
They sure did. She’s now run Boston three times. She had already left the area in 2013 when she heard that two bombs had been detonated at the finish line. She immediately signed onto run in 2014 because she was so angry that anyone would so anything so heinous to “her race.”
One year later, Flanagan admitted she was trying to put her best foot forward, partly because she wanted to prove that Americans could compete on the world stage; and partly because being from here, she was keenly aware of how much Boston and vicinity was rooting for her.
She trained on the course every month, from September until April, and seemed poised to win it. She led right up to the Newton Hills and then faded.
“I know every nook and cranny of that course,” she said, “but of course that’s no guarantee that it’ll translate into winning the race.”
The following year was not a good race for her, which is one very big reason she’s back in 2018, even though she finally got her major last November in New York. She admits she has some unfinished business to tend to.
“My last Boston in 2015 was not a good race for me,” she said. “I don’t want to leave on that note.”
A fracture in her back sidelined her and she ended up helping WBZ-TV broadcast the race.
“It was a gut check for me,” she said. “I asked myself do I really want to be here next year, or at the starting line in Hopkinton. I want to be in Hopkinton.”
After New York, she wasn’t sure whether she’d run another marathon as an elite. As it is, she got precious little down time after New York, and finally had to put an end to personal appearances so she could resume training. And when she did, she found it difficult.
But, she said, her training has gone well. Now, she said, she has to take the edge off her emotions.
“I’m a very emotional person anyway,” she said, “and there a much more emotional component about running in Boston.
“New York and Boston are about the same (in terms of stature),” she said. “But this is where I’m from. I want to make people proud.”
A few weeks after winning New York, Flanagan returned to Marblehead for a parade and reception at the high school. It was her second such festivity, as the town also honored her after she won the bronze in 2008 (later elevated to a silver when the original winner was disqualified due to doping).
“It always feels good to share those moments with people who care about me,” she said. “I hope I’m inspiring the next generation of runners. It’s great to go back to where it all started.
“Maybe there’s a kid in Marblehead who’s going to be the next great runner, or next great star in some other sport.”
