Inspiring Lessons from Shalane’s New York City Marathon Victory
Along with Meb Keflezighi, Shalane Flanagan is one of my favorite elite runners. She’s personable, hard-working, and resilient. She handles race losses and missed goals with grace and she upholds a clean sport, without the controversy that surrounds some other top American marathoners. When Shalane crossed the finish line to claim her victory at the New York City Marathon this weekend, she did more become the first American woman in 40 years to win NYCM – she cemented her place in American marathoning as one of our nation’s most talented runners.
As Mario Fraioli described it in his Morning Shakeout newsletter, “That one moment, I believe, will go down as one of the most important that American distance running has ever seen, right up there with Meb Keflezighi’s historic 2014 Boston victory.” For runners everywhere – especially female runners – Shalane’s historic win at the New York City Marathon is nothing short of inspiring. These are some of the important lessons we can take from Shalane’s historic victory.
Finishing Strong Takes Toughness – and Passion:
“All runners are tough. Everyone has to have a little fire in them, that even in tough times, can’t be turned off.”
In her post-race interview on Live with Kelly and Ryan, Shalane described how she was in “a lot of pain” at the end of the marathon. Anyone who has run a marathon can attest to just how much those final miles hurt, even if you are having a good race. Yet from looking at her splits, you would not have guessed that Shalane was in pain; she ran sub-5:20 minute miles at the last 5 miles of the marathon. Mentally tough runners can push hard through physical discomfort because of that fire, the innate desire to succeed and push themselves to their limits. Shalane’ strong finish showed us more than how much smart pacing at the start of the race pays off – she showed us just how hard you can run, even on fatigued legs, when you have that spark within you to run your best.
Great Things Take Time:
“It took me seven years to do this. A lot of work went into this one moment.” (source)
Runners know that you can expect to devote at several weeks, if not months, of training for a single race. But breakthroughs in racing and achieving your goals do not perfectly follow the train-race-PR formula. Training cycles build upon each other, as do races. Maybe you have been training for years to qualify for Boston, but have yet to race your qualifying time. As Shalane’s career teaches us, big running goals take time.
Shalane certainly was an accomplished runner – Olympic silver medalist, third fastest female American marathoner, and holder of several American records – but it took her seven years of racing marathons to win. She never gave up on her hard work but rather kept investing in her goals – and clearly, such patience and hard work paid off.
On the Gift of Setbacks:
“I think it was a blessing that I got injured this past winter, and I came here full of energy and motivation and desire to put on the best performance of my life.” (source)
We all have setbacks in our running: injury, illness, surgery, or intensely busy times at work. Such setbacks can easily cause despair and whittle away motivation. But Shalane showed us how setbacks can be a gift. She did not win Boston when she attempted to in the past couple years. This year, she was derailed from months of training and racing the Boston Marathon due to a stress fracture.
Those setbacks could discourage a person or, in the case of Shalane, ignite a fire to work harder and give everything. Shalane changed her training, logging 130-mile weeks. “The training I put in was the best I’ve ever put in,” she said. Her setback motivated her to train harder and treat this race like it could be her final professional marathon – and it paid off.
[Tweet “How @ShalaneFlanagan and her victory at #TCSNYCMarathon can inspire your #running via @thisrunrecipes”]
(I have to thank Meredith for the idea behind this post!)
Linking up with Coaches’ Corner and Wild Workout Wednesday!
Did Shalane’s win inspire you? What was most inspiring to you about it?
What big goals are you working hard towards?
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22 Responses
Her race was so inspiring! Shalane has been one of my favorite elite runners as well for the reasons you said. I especially love that she was able to do this after coming back from a serious injury. I can relate to the additional motivation and drive after a setback for sure!
Her comeback from injury was incredible – definitely inspiring to anyone coming back from injury, because she was stronger than ever!
F**k yes!!!!!! You captured so much of it so well. It takes TIME (runners are so impatient…I know because I am!) and SETBACKS (we curse them but sometimes turn out to be blessings!) and so much passion and pain. I will absolutely be channeling my inner Shalane through the final tough miles of my half marathon as I’m sure you will be at CIM! Perfect timing. Thanks Shalane!
YES! Channel your inner Shalane this weekend – and good luck!!
Absolutely feeling inspired by her incredible win! I think the most inspiring part is that she acknowledged how long it took her to get to the point to be able to that. 7 years is a lot of work and it’s a great reminder that progress takes serious times. Love this post so much!
Thank you! I think that’s one of the most relatable thing about Shalane – she recognizes just how hard of work it is to reach goals.
Fabulous messages! Great things do take time in respect to running and life.
Thank you! And the time makes achieving them even more meaningful!
So many great lessons from watching her run! Love this post! And yes!!! So inspired!!!
Thank you! She is so inspiring!!
As for the setbacks, I also think there’s something to be said there for taking a break – whether voluntary or not – so that you can show up to the race with a little more mental and physical energy. Even if you aren’t injured or burnt out, doing the same training over and over and over again year after year is hard on your body and will eventually lead to a plateau. A setback that forces you to mix things up for a while can actually improve your fitness down the road by making you a little fresher going into your next goal.
I agree – and I think that’s one of the things Shalane noted in an interview. She hadn’t really had downtime in a long time!
aw thank you for the shout out! I think we are all so inspired by Shalane this week for sure, even me, the still non-marathon runner! (maybe one day I will, right?)
I think one day you will!!
Shalane is absolutely incredible. I was so excited and inspired watching her run and win! She really is the epitome of strength and perseverance and I’m totally dancing over here because I DVR’d the marathon and can watch it over and over and over! 😀
That’s so awesome that you have it to rewatch – inspiration on demand!
It was such an incredible finish! I think watching her pull ahead and push so hard in the final miles was the most inspiring- knowing how tough the finish is yet she dug deep and pulled it off!
I hope you have a similarly strong finish at your race this weekend!
Her victory was amazing. Although I have no grandiose hopes of ever wining a marathon (ha! or even the speed to come close), I can relate to her comment about being injured and having the time off as she recovered. My own “sabbatical” taught me a lot about myself and my love for running…and guess what? SO far, my rally back has been going well.
That’s awesome that your comeback has been going so well!! Here’s to it continuing on strong!
I love this and am seriously so inspired by all her hard work and her win. Gets me motivated to get out there and get to work on my goals!
She’s exactly the motivation so many of us need to really focus on our goals!