Shalane Flanagan, photo by PhotoRun.net
Shalane Flanagan runs with guts and honesty.
And she has a sense of humor!
Shalane Flanagan and her training pal, Amy Cragg, came down from the mountaintop and ran a tempo run over 13.1 miles for a time of 72:42, just about the 5:30 pace that Coach Jerry Schumacher requested.
Shalane Flanagan is a marathoner on a mission. She wants to make the US team and she wants a medal over the distance. Both, I believe, are in her sights, if she continues to just do the marathoner thing. Run, sleep, focus, repeat.
The current focus on cleaning up our sport will help Shalane as well. Flanagan is the 10,000m AR holder, from her bronze in Beijing. She is a fine cross country runner as well.
Her sixth place in Beijing over 10,000 meters was a splendid race and her championing of Emily Infeld’s running was also a tremendous story for 2015.
Pretty impressive today, where Shalane and Amy, after a month of running no faster than six minute pace at altitude, come down and run 5:30s at a relaxed effort, and then, follow it up with an hour run.
This interview was done, en masse, with other media friends, at the finish line of the San Antonio RNR Half marathon. Special thanks to Matt Turnbull, Dan Cruz and Tracy Sundlun of Competitor Group, and of course, Shalane, who smiles when she answers questions.
Or, is that a grimace after a tough workout?
You be the judge.
