Shalane Flanagan wins the TCS New York City Marathon

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Shalane Flanagan won the biggest marathon of her life Sunday in New York, running a fast final 10K to win the TCS New York City Marathon in 2 hours, 26 minutes and 53 seconds. 

Flanagan, 36, became the first U.S. runner to win the historic race since Miki Gorman in 1977.

Flanagan, who hadn't run a marathon since the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janiero, channeled the emotions from a week fraught with tragic news. 

"This is the moment I've dreamed of since I was a little girl," Flanagan told ESPN commentator Lewis Johnson. "It's been a tough week for New Yorkers and for our nation, so I thought what better gift than to make Americans smile today. I was thinking of other people when it started to hurt."

Flanagan was referring to the Halloween day terror attack in lower Manhattan when someone killed eight people with a truck. 

Flanagan had taken a break and then gotten injured after the Rio Games. 

"Sometimes we don't realize in the moment when we feel like our dreams are taken away that there's some delayed gratification down the road. It's a blessing I was injured this past winter. I came here with energy and motivation to put on the best performance of my life."

Geoffrey Kamworor of Kenya held off Wilson Kipsang by three seconds to win the men's race in 2:10:53.