Ben Flanagan achieved his goal of winning a Canadian title in his marathon debut, reaching the finish in two hours 15 minutes 41 seconds on a warm and windy Sunday morning at the Toronto Waterfront event.
Flanagan, who wants to represent Canada at a second Olympics in 2028, pulled away from Toronto’s Andrew Alexander around the 25-kilometre mark and ran the final 17.2 km on his own.
With shades resting on his head, Flanagan waved to the crowd and smiled over the final 200 metres. Then, he raised both arms while crossing the finish line before leaning over a fence for several seconds to catch his breath.
“I’m so happy, but my body was plummeting the last 3K,” the Kitchener, Ont., native told race organizer Canada Running Series. “To [win] with the wind [gusting to 53 km per hour], I feel I can go faster.
“Main goal was to finish, win and learn from the mistakes I made in the build, in the race, and get better from here.”
The 30-year-old Flanagan of Kitchener, Ont., finished 10th overall and seven minutes behind winner Leonard Langat, who led a Kenya sweep of the top three positions in 2:08:05.
Phil Parrot-Migas, from London, Ont., was second among Canadian men in 2:17:16, followed by Toronto’s Andrew Alexander (2:18:16). Flanagan joked he “hated” seeing Alexander on his heels, saying it made him nervous, given the latter’s marathon experience and running before a home crowd.
Recently, Flanagan told CBC Sports that Alexander is “made for marathon” and it would be evident to those in Sunday’s crowd. Alexander, 26, ran a 2:12:55 personal best last January in Houston and was third at the Canadian 10K Road Racing Championships on May 24 in Ottawa.
Flanagan hoped to create a gap on the competition and succeeded around 25K, pulling away from Alexander and others.
“I was lucky I got far enough away that it didn’t matter [at the end of the race],” said Flanagan, whose marathon build was shorter than he wanted after recovering from a partially torn labrum in his left hip joint.
Flanagan starred at the University of Michigan in the 10,000 metres and debuted at the Olympics last year in Paris in the 5,000 but told CBC Sports recently he doesn’t plan a return to track racing.
Flanagan has raced on the road for several years in various distances, including five half marathons. Last March in New York City, he was seventh in 1:01:31, only 31 seconds off his PB.
There was a time when Flanagan wondered if he would take the start line on Sunday. He wasn’t running 60 km in training until the end of July and wasn’t in good form until August, but workouts improved in a hurry.
Before the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, he wants to be running in the 2:05-2:06 range and be in the conversation with fellow Canadians Rory Linkletter (2:06:49 PB) and Cam Levins, who boasts a 2:05:36 national record.
“Right now, Rory’s in a different ballpark than I am,” Flanagan told CBC Sports. “I wouldn’t be shocked if I don’t get into that [range] a couple of years from now. Rory is resetting the bar of what it’s going to take to make the [Canadian] Olympic team.”
Meanwhile, Rachel Hannah of Port Elgin, Ont., was the top Canadian woman on Sunday, clocking 2:33:48 to beat new mom Brittany Moran, a chiropractor in Toronto, by nearly 10 minutes (2:42:46).
“I’m so thrilled,” Hannah, 39, told CRS. “To win the [Canadian] championship has been a dream of mine since I started doing marathoning [10 years ago].”
Sunday’s race was the nutritional consultant’s fastest of her four marathons at the Toronto Waterfront event. She was constantly reminding herself to “stay smooth, relaxed” and staying with her form.
“Trying to be in a happy mindset from the start helped,” said Hannah. “I love the city and running here. I’m so grateful to be healthy. I had a good training block, so I knew the fitness was there. [The challenge] was [the mental side of running].”
Hannah and Flanagan will take home $8,000 as Canadian champions, while overall winners pocketed $25,000.
Shure Demise of Ethiopia was the women’s overall winner for a third consecutive year, this time in 2:21:04. Kenya’s Betty Chepkorir was second in 2:23:46.
