MARBLEHEAD, MASS. (WHDH) - Shalane Flanagan is arguably the most dominant American distance runner over over the past decade.
The Marblehead native is in Rio de Janeiro representing the United States in the Olympics for a fourth time.
At the age of 35, Flanagan is as good as she’s ever been.
Flanagan has won over the hearts of New England by finishing among the top runners at the Boston Marathon.
“It’s not just me on the start line; it’s hundreds of people who have supported me to get to that place,” she said.
Her finish in the 2014 Marathon in 2:22:02 is the fastest time by an American woman in the race’s history.
She set an American record at the BAA 10K in June and has been practicing in heat and humidity to mimic Brazil’s conditions.
“I think one year I actually calculated like the average amount of miles I ran and it was like 90 miles a week or something,” she said.
The distance may be the same each marathon, but the races are always different.
“It’s just as special getting on that start line, and every single time is a little bit different and I try to take it in as a completely new experience at the same time,” she said.
Flanagan’s parents were both world-class long-distance runners.
She ran cross country and track for Marblehead High School.
Flanagan and her husband now live in Oregon, but she remembers her runs in Massachusetts well, logging countless miles on the North Shore.
“I think the big thing about Marblehead was that the location, the proximity to the Boston Marathon, that was really key and instrumental in inspiring me to become a runner,” she said. “I thought everyone ran, I thought everyone went and ran the Boston Marathon so you know, it just, it’s all about perspective and what I was used to, but I believe that the coolest accomplishment was to run the Boston Marathon.”
Flanagan said the support from her hometown crowd makes her go that extra mile.
“Knowing that I have that support system and knowing that people care and are invested in what i’m doing, it gives me that extra motivation,” she said.
Shalane said she is not sure she will be sticking around for the next Olympics, but she knows whatever happens, her future involves running.
She will race in the women’s marathon in Rio Sunday morning.
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