Massachusetts

NYC Marathon Winner Shalane Flanagan to Try Again in Boston

Reigning New York City Marathon winner Shalane Flanagan will run in Boston next year in a fourth attempt to win her hometown race.

The four-time Olympian and reigning Chicago Marathon champion will be joined on the men's side by Galen Rupp in a field of elite Americans announced Monday by race sponsor John Hancock.

Olympians Desiree Linden, Dathan Ritzenhein, Abdi Abdirahman, Deena Kastor and Molly Huddle also are signed up for the 122nd edition of the world's oldest annual marathon, which is being held April 16.

The Boston Marathon is grueling for every runner. For some, it's not about speed, it's about the accomplishment.

Last month, Flanagan, a Marblehead, Massachusetts, native, became the first American woman to win New York since 1977.

No U.S. woman has won Boston since 1985. But last April, the Americans had their best finishes since then, grabbing two of the top four women's spots and six of the top ten for men.

There had been some talk after the New York City Marathon that it might have been Flanagan's last race, but she said on Instagram Monday that her heart told her to "give it one more chance, try again."

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Flanagan fractured her lower back last winter and missed the Boston Marathon in the spring. She was "heartbroken" to miss her hometown race, but the injury set her up to focus on New York.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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