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Shalane Flanagan (Photo by Tim O'Dowd - www.irishrunner.com )

Interview with Shalane Flanagan

Posted on September 5, 2006, Interview conducted September 2, 2006

By Alison Wade

Shalane Flanagan, 25, has managed to squeeze an impressive list of accomplishments into a short running career. Flanagan qualified for the 2004 U.S. Olympic team in the 5,000 meters the same year as she graduated from the University of North Carolina, and she has won three USA titles (4k cross country in 2004 and 2005, 2005 outdoor 5,000m) to go along with her three NCAA titles (2002 and 2003 cross country, 2003 indoor 3,000m). In short, she is one of the USA's most promising young distance runners.

Due to injury, Flanagan has been absent from competition since the 2005 track season. We caught up with Flanagan, who is currently training in Mammoth Lakes, California, for a progress report.

You've been out of competition since last year. Can you give us an overview of what your injury was, when it was finally diagnosed, and what you have done to treat it?
I have described this past year to many as a long and arduous journey. The last year and a half has proved to be a very frustrating and exhausting experience. I noticed that I was having some increasing pain in my left foot. The pain became progressively worse to the point where it was debilitating and I was unable to train fully. For much of 2004 and 2005 I kept training, while at the same time seeking out doctors to find the source of my foot pain. I tried to explore every option and opinion so I could make the best decision for my career, thus, I flew all over the country and saw eight different doctors and unfortunately each one had a slightly different diagnosis. At various points of the year--actually two different times--I was wearing a walking boot for broken bones in my foot which apparently I didn't have! I think some people felt I was wearing the boot as a fashion accessory!

Thanks to a variety of people: Dan Pfaff, Alberto Salazar and my new coaches Denes Balazs and John Cook, we found Dr. Amol Saxena who solved my "mystery" pain. Dr. Saxena discovered that I was born with an extra bone in my left foot (only a small percent of the population have this bone). This extra bone was a problem because it was causing my posterior tibial tendon to tear, which as a result, caused a tremendous amount of discomfort. The only solution was surgery. The extra bone was removed and the tendon was repaired and reattached with an anchor to my navicular bone. I had the surgery in April of 2006 and was put back in a walking boot for a third time. Once I recovered and regained strength in my foot, I was able to start running again after three months.

In the end, I wish it didn't take me a year and a half to figure out what was wrong but, I feel that with patient persistence I was able to find the best doctor for my situation. I missed out on a full year of training and racing, however, this injury could not have been prevented and I knew that by freaking out I would solve nothing. From the injury I learned how to be more patient and that you can't force solutions. I truly believe that things happen for a reason and this injury forced me to look at my current training program. I realized that I needed to challenge myself more and create an environment where the expectations were high. As a result, my husband and I moved to Portland, Oregon, where I felt I could maximize my potential. Without the injury, who knows if I would have stepped back and analyzed my current situation? So far I think we have made a great decision.


How is your recovery going? What are you up to in Mammoth Lakes?
Recovery is going well. I have been running for close to two months and I have seen ups and downs in terms of progress. Every day my foot is getting stronger but in order for it to get stronger we have had to break it down, with exercises and therapy, before it can move forward. So, the discomfort and hard work pay off, but are not usually seen until later. Dr. Saxena said that it could take from six months to a year before my foot starts to feel 100% and is back to normal. We decided that if all went well, training in Mammoth would be a great reward. While training in Mammoth, we have been challenging my foot by performing exercises barefoot, as well as running on very demanding trails. Mammoth is an amazing place to train!

Are you at the point yet where you can start thinking about races you might want to run, and start making some more immediate running goals?
Denes and I will sit down soon and collaborate on a potential racing schedule. Loosely, we have discussed the idea of running a road race this fall. I would love to run something close to Boston so that I could get home and see my family. A little more long term, we plan on running the USA Cross Country Championships. Beyond that, I don't know.

What did you do for training when you couldn't run? Did you take the time to work on anything you hadn't had time to work on in the past?
Through this injury I explored other great sports like biking. I would never have considered myself a biker before the injury, but now I feel very comfortable on the bike and would love to try a triathlon. Thankfully, I swam in high school so I was able to fall back on some of those pool skills. I feel like I got back to being a well-rounded athlete like I was in grade school. I also discovered a new form of stretching and relaxation through yoga. It has been fun to get together with friends and participate in a new activity. Basically, I maintained my fitness through swimming, biking, core strength drills, and weights.

While you were injured and slogging through your crosstraining, what kept you motivated day after day?
I would credit my support system for sustaining my motivation and sanity. My husband, family, and coaches have been great this year. Through them my sanity was maintained. My husband (Steve Edwards) and I got married this past year so focusing on our wedding was a positive distraction. Also, my coaches were great about keeping me active with a tough crosstraining program. Their dedication to getting me healthy was a huge motivating factor...I cannot wait to show them how thankful I am for their help by running fast once again. Overall, I tried to focus on all the positives this injury brought. I was able to go see friends and family when I normally would have been racing. Injuries make everyone hungrier to get back out and train smart and race hard!

What's your training situation now? Do you have training partners?
I am part of a Nike training group which is based out of Portland and coached by Denes Balazs and John Cook. As of right now, our group is very small...myself and Erin Donohue make up the "group." We are looking to take on a few more athletes and expand our group into more of a team. My husband and I decided to move to Portland to take advantage of the great coaching and resources that Nike has to offer.

Does being an injured professional runner mean that you have a lot of free time on your hands, or is the training still essentially a full-time job? Did you take on any new projects while you were injured?
If anything being injured is more time consuming. I have spent most of this past year going to doctors, physical therapists, and seeking specific treatments. Crosstraining is not any easy endeavor and takes almost double the amount of time that running takes. Since switching coaches, I have also had to learn a whole new method of training and drills.

What sort of changes in the state of your events, if any, have you noticed since you last raced? Has seeing others do well gotten you fired up to get back out there?
Watching all of the women race has been a huge inspiration. Every year the depth in the 5k seems to grow and the times just keep getting faster! It is very exciting! Due to my recent experience, I now have a greater understanding and appreciation for athletes who have come back from injuries. Specifically, since living in Portland, Kara and Adam Goucher have been great role models.

The use of performance-enhancing drugs in track and field and cycling has been a huge issue this summer and this will not be the last of it. What is your take on all of it?
I am glad that athletes are being caught. I want to thank USATF and USADA for attempting to keep the sport clean. On a negative note, I am saddened for our sport. I have naively considered track and field a pure sport. I worry that the youngsters who are following in our footsteps will think that the only way to be good and the only way to even the playing field is to cheat.

At the end of the day, all I can do is lead by example. On a daily basis, I focus on maximizing my natural talent. When I retire, I don't want to tell my children that I was once the best in the world, but that I had to cheat to get there. I want to be able to say that I used every ounce of my potential and that was enough for me.