Un'emozione lunga 42,195 km. Il ritiro di Shalane Flanagan

IL RITIRO DI Shalane Flanagan

Ci sono atleti, anche di valore assoluto, che restano confinati nel loro mondo sportivo, altri che godono delle luci della ribalta mondiale per i momenti di gloria delle grandi manifestazioni come mondiali e olimpiadi, altri che con una sola vittoria restano indelebili nella memoria di chi ha il piacere e la passione del mondo sportivo delle corse su strada seguendo quasi con avidità gli eventi internazionali.

La maratona di New York è croce e delizia per molti, per alcuni è la maratona per eccellenza contrapposta al chi la snobba per il troppo interesse che gira intorno alla 42,195 mt della grande Mela.

Shalane Flanagan ci ha emozionato, ci ha fatti restare incollati in una domenica pomeriggio di novembre davanti alla tv con la sua grazia, la sua forza e la sua resistenza nel comandare nei distretti newyorkesi per essere la prima americana, dopo un dominio decennale africano, a vincere la New York City Marathon, quella dell'edizione 2017.

Ieri l'annuncio social del suo ritiro. 38 anni compiuti l'8 luglio, non tanti per decidere di smettere in uno sport di resistenza, 1h07'51" e 2h21'14" i suoi PB in mezza e nella distanza doppia, 21 titoli nazionali, un argento Olimpico nei 10000 mt a Pechino; tre bronzi Mondiali nei cross; una carriera importante con l'acuto, la medaglia più importante, il suo nome nell'albo d'oro dei vincenti della NYCM!


L'annuncio su Instagram:

With happy tears I announce today that I am retiring from professional running.
From 2004 to 2019 I’ve given everything that’s within me to this sport and wow it’s been an incredible ride!
I’ve broken bones, torn tendons, and lost too many toenails to count. I've experienced otherworldly highs and abysmal lows. I've loved (and learned from) it all.
Over the last 15 years I found out what I was capable of, and it was more than I ever dreamed possible.
Now that all is said and done, I am most proud of the consistently high level of running I produced year after year. No matter what I accomplished the year before, it never got any easier. Each season, each race was hard, so hard. But this I know to be true: hard things are wonderful, beautiful, and give meaning to life.
I’ve loved having an intense sense of purpose. For 15 years I've woken up every day knowing I was exactly where I needed to be. The feeling of pressing the threshold of my mental and physical limits has been bliss. I've gone to bed with a giant tired smile on my face and woken up with the same smile. My obsession to put one foot in front of the other, as quickly as I can, has given me so much joy.

However, I have felt my North Star shifting, my passion and purpose is no longer about MY running; it's more and more about those around me.
All I’ve ever known, in my approach to anything, is going ALL IN. So I’m carrying this to coaching. I want to be consumed with serving others the way I have been consumed with being the best athlete I can be.
I am privileged to announce I am now a professional coach of the Nike Bowerman Track Club.
This amazing opportunity in front of me, to give back to the sport, that gave me so much, is not lost on me. I’ve pinched myself numerous times to make sure this is real. I am well aware that retirement for professional athletes can be an extremely hard transition. I am lucky, as I know already, that coaching will bring me as much joy and heartache that my own running career gave me.
I believe we are meant to inspire one another, we are meant to learn from one another. Sharing everything I’ve learned about and from running is what I’m meant to do now.

The 5 coaches who guided me throughout my career, Michael Whittlesey and Dennis Craddock (2004-2005), John Cook (2006-2008), Jerry Schumacher (2009-2019), and Pascal Dobert (2009-2019). Each man was instrumental in developing me into the best version of myself.
Jerry, Pascal and I will continue to work together in this next chapter and I couldn’t be more grateful. Jerry has been my life coach, running coach and now will mentor me towards my next goal of becoming a world-class coach myself. I’m thankful for his unending belief in me.
My family and husband who have traveled the world supporting my running and understanding the sacrifices I needed to make. Their unconditional love is what fueled my training.
My longtime friend, Elyse Kopecky who taught me to love cooking and indulge in nourishing food. Run Fast. Eat Slow. has been a gift to my running and to the thousands of athletes.
My teammates, and all the women I've trained with, for pushing me daily, and the endless smiles and miles.
They include:
Erin Donahue
Shannon Rowbury
Kara Goucher
Lisa Uhl
Emily Infeld
Amy Cragg
Colleen Quigley
Courtney Frerichs
Shelby Houlihan
Betsy Saina
Marielle Hall
Gwen Jorgensen
Kate Grace
My sponsor Nike for believing in me since 2004 and for continuing to support my new dream as a professional coach.
I hope I made myself a better person by running. I hope I made those around me better. I hope I made my competition better. I hope I left the sport better because I was a part of it.
My personal motto through out my career has been to make decisions that leave me with “no regrets”.....but to be honest, I have one.
I regret I can’t do it all over again.