The joy of running will never be lost on Lindsay Flanagan.
It’s something that she loves doing, and it’s something that’s fun and exciting to her. It’s what helps her overcome any form of adversity that comes her way and gives her a clear viewpoint when things get foggy. It also gives her the drive and willpower to maximize her full potential as a runner.
“When I started post collegiate running back in 2014 it was always how good can I be, how far can I push myself,” she said. “I’ve never hit that point where I’ve accomplished everything I want to do. I just haven’t hit that, and I’m still so excited about it. So I think there’s just this crazy drive in me that’s just like, we’re just gonna do this as long as possible and have as much fun as we can with it.”
Flanagan is set to toe the line at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 13 against fierce competition. While she’s extremely excited and optimistic as the race quickly approaches and has maintained that throughout her marathon build, the road to Chicago had a few bumps and bruises along the way.
Flanagan secured a top-10 finish at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials that took place in February in Orlando, as she finished 8th overall in the women’s race. Flanagan admitted that she was disappointed with her result, but despite her disappointment, she quickly began to look forward, with her love for the sport being an intricate reason.
“I think after that race, I was like, Well, I’m not retiring tomorrow,” she said. “There’s other opportunities. And right away, I’m talking to my agent about what race can we go and do? I ended up trying to do another race, and then ended up with a severe injury. So again, it doesn’t always work in your favor, but I just love to race.”
Flanagan spent her U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials build in Australia to prepare for the possible heat and humidity that Florida would offer during the Marathon Trials. She didn’t endure and run in the cold weather in the United States during that time period, which caused a rocky transition when she ran towards the end of the winter months.
“I was in Australia – I didn’t really do winter here,” she said. “Got back (to the U.S.) and was doing a workout, and I took this sharp turn on some ice and something snapped in my leg. And I was like, Oh my gosh, I just, I just broke a bone.”
Flanagan ended up breaking her fibula and sustaining a severe ankle injury. The process to return to running was long, as she said that she was forced to take around 12 full weeks off of running to heal the injuries that she sustained, which is the longest period of time that she’s taken off from running.
Flanagan admits that the recovery process was a difficult one for her, as it was filled with rest, recovery and uncertainty. But the uncertainty led to a smooth transition back into running for Flanagan.
“Not knowing when it would get better was really hard,” she said. “ But I think you have this voice in your head that says you’re not done with this sport. And if you want to make the transition back easier and more enjoyable, you just have to get through this. But honestly, my transition back to running was probably the best it could have been.”
Sometimes the unexpected leads to the best results, and this unexpected setback has led to a newfound excitement for Flanagan as she heads to her home state to compete in the Bank of America Chicago Marathon.
She’s exceeded her expectations when it comes to her training build to the upcoming marathon, and she’s full of joy and optimism in terms of what she believes that she can accomplish in Chicago.
“It’s been great. I think I took away the pressure and have been hitting faster paces than I have and running more consistently in this block than I ever have been able to,” she said. “I’m consistently hitting 130 to 140 mile weeks, way more than I was doing even before the Trials. Like I said, I really think it was the best thing that could have happened at the time.”
