Shalane Flanagan won the bronze medal this morning in the 10K, setting a new American record (30:22.22; a 12-second PR). For those of you non-track geeks out there, this is quite the feat given the fact that she is only the second American runner to medal in a distance over 800m since 1984. That's counting men and women.
But the most impressive part about Shalane's run? Up until two days ago, she was wracked with a nasty case of food poisoning. Skeptics thought she wouldn't even run; after all, she has another race early next week where she could fare just as well. But the 5'5", 113-pound animal came back to life just in time, wowing the world with a closing mile of 4:30 (including a 2:12 final 800m, which is just completely insane) to secure the bronze medal.
I don't know about you, but I'm completely inspired by this news. And I plan to channel Shalane's amazing energy as I (hee hee hoooo) power to my own finish line with Baby F very very soon. I may not get a gold medal, but the reward will be just as sweet!
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