Ben Flanagan achieved his goal of winning a Canadian title in his marathon debut, reaching the finish line in two hours, 15 minutes and 39 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, separated from Toronto’s Andrew Alexander around the 25-kilometre mark and ran the final 17.2 kilometers alone.
With his glasses on his head, Flanagan waved to the crowd and smiled during the final 200 meters. He then raised both arms as he crossed the finish line before leaning over a fence for several seconds to catch his breath.
“I’m very happy, but my body was plummeting in the last 3 km,” the Kitchener, Ont., native told race organizer Canada Running Series. “TO [win] with the wind [gusting to 53 km per hour]I feel like I can go faster.
“The main objective was to finish, win and learn from the mistakes I made in the preparation, in the race and improve from there.”
Flanagan, 30, of Kitchener, Ont., finished 10th overall and seven minutes behind winner Leonard Langat, who led a Kenyan sweep of the top three positions in 2:08:04.
Phil Parrot-Migas, of London, Ontario, was second among the Canadian men in 2:17:15, followed by Andrew Alexander of Toronto (2:18:15). Flanagan joked that he “hated” seeing Alexander hot on his heels, saying it made him nervous, given the latter’s experience in marathons and running before a home crowd.
Flanagan recently told CBC Sports that Alexander is “built for the marathon” and it would be evident to those in Sunday’s crowd. Alexander, 26, ran a personal best of 2:12:55 last January in Houston and was third at the Canadian 10K Road Race Championships on May 24 in Ottawa.
Flanagan hoped to create a gap in the competition and did so around 25K, pulling away from Alexander and others.
“I was lucky to get far enough 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.
He finished his career on the track.
Flanagan starred at the University of Michigan in the 10,000 meters and made his Olympic debut last year in Paris in the 5,000, but he recently told CBC Sports that he has no plans to return to track racing.
Flanagan has been road running for several years at various distances, including five half marathons. Last March in New York City, he was seventh in 1:01:31, just 31 seconds off his PB.
There was a moment when Flanagan wondered if he would take the starting line on Sunday. He didn’t run 60km in training until late July and wasn’t in good shape until August, but training improved quickly.
Ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, he wants to run 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 has a national record of 2:05:36.
“Right now, Rory is in a different ballpark than me,” Flanagan told CBC Sports. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t get into that [range] in a couple of years. Rory is resetting the bar for what it will take to achieve the [Canadian] Olympic team.”
Watch complete coverage of the Toronto Waterfront Marathon.
Hannah’s dream come true
Meanwhile, Rachel Hannah of Port Elgin, Ontario, was the top Canadian woman on Sunday, running a time of 2:33:47 to beat Makenna Fitzgerald of Kamloops, BC (2:38:59). New mom Brittany Moran, a chiropractor in Toronto, was almost 10 minutes behind Hannah and was third fastest among Canadian women (2:42:46).
“I’m very excited,” Hannah, 39, told CRS. “To win the [Canadian] The championship has been a dream of mine since I started marathoning. [10 years ago].”
Sunday’s race was the fastest of the nutritional consultancy’s four marathons at the Toronto Waterfront event. She constantly reminded herself to “stay calm and relaxed” and maintain her form.
“Trying to have a happy mindset from the beginning helped,” Hannah said. “I love the city and running here. I’m very grateful to be healthy. I had a good training block so I knew I was fit. [The challenge] was [the mental side of running].”
Hannah and Flanagan will take home $8,000 as Canadian champions, while the overall winners will pocket $25,000.
Ethiopia’s Shure Demise was the women’s overall winner for the third year in a row, this time in 2:21:04. Kenyan Betty Chepkorir was second in 2:23:46.
