Shalane Flanagan Sets New American 10K Record

Shalane Flanagan photo by Amelia Gapin on Flickr/Creative Commons

Sunday was a good day for Shalane Flanagan.

The Marblehead native won the women’s division of the B.A.A. 10K, setting a new American record for that distance. Her time of 30:52 propelled her past her own American record in the 10K, 31:03, which she set during a 2015 race in the Netherlands.

“Doing it here, on my own streets, my town, my home, today is a day for sure I will remember for a really long time,” Flanagan said in a statement. “I’ve had a lot of great highlights in my career, but today will be certainly one of them.”

Flanagan hopes to add to those highlights in August, when the represents the United States in the Olympics. She’ll run the marathon in Rio, the event for which she’s best known.

Flanagan spoke optimistically about her chances in Rio, and those of teammate Amy Cragg, who finished third in the B.A.A. race. “I think today is a really good indication of where we are at,” she said. “Gosh, I hope we are standing on a podium about six weeks from today in Rio!”

Daniel Chebii, of Kenya, won the men’s race in 27:55. Atsede Baysa, the woman who won the Boston Marathon in April, finished 14th, with a time of 33:59.