Shalane Flanagan, who came in fourth place at last year's Boston Marathon and is a former Olympian, hopes to bring healing and celebration to this year's Boston Marathon after the tragic bombing in 2013.
The Marblehead, Mass., resident, who earned the bronze medal in the 10,000-meter run at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and finished second in the New York Marathon in 2010, told Anderson Cooper
on CBS's "60 Minutes" about her aspirations to win this year's Boston Marathon.
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She discussed the fear and confusion she felt at last year's marathon when the bombs went off as well as her background: She's the daughter of two record-holding marathon runners.
"I watched from Hereford all the way down to the finish. And that's exactly the two areas where the bombs went off," she said in her interview with Cooper. "So it was a surreal moment. ... I was a little kid watching my dad run right there. I mean that easily could have been me or my sister."
Flanagan said she considers the bombings "a personal attack on my city" and that she is more motivated than ever to win this year's race.
"It's my ultimate dream and goal to win the Boston Marathon. I am all in with this training. I have been out on the course, training on it, multiple times this fall. And I know almost every divot and bump in the road," she said.
Three people died and more than 260 were injured at the Boston Marathon last April 15, when brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev allegedly detonated a pair of pressure-cooker bombs that sent shrapnel, nails, and pieces of metal flying into the crowd of thousands. Tamerlan was killed days after the bombing in a shootout with police, and Dzhokhar awaits trial.
For the last few decades, the race has been dominated by Kenyans and Ethiopians, and many hope that a win by not only an American but a Boston native would help the city move forward.
William Evans, the new Boston police commissioner and a 17-time Boston Marathon runner himself, said the city expects a large crowd at this year's race.
"You're gonna see 36,000 people on that course with the same principle: Let's prove that we won't be intimidated by what happened back in April," he said.
The Boston Marathon has been running for the past 117 years.
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