Flanagan races to be the first US woman to win Boston in 30 years

When Shalane Flanagan steps to the starting line in Hopkinton this morning for the 119th running of the Boston Marathon, she’ll be trying not to think too far ahead.

“Usually, I’m just kind of savoring how good I feel,” Flanagan said. “Because at some point I’m going to feel really not so good. So I’m just savoring the moment of where I feel great, and trying to stay calm just because there’s a lot of running in front of me.

“In a point-to-point course, you’re literally looking down the road and you’re looking at 26 miles of running. So, it’s a little overwhelming. But it’s obviously a fun day.”

But that does not mean the Marblehead native is going into the race without a plan. In 2014, after setting a blistering pace and leading the pack through the first 18-plus miles, she finished seventh in 2 hours 22 minutes 2 seconds, a course record for American women. Kenya’s Rita Jeptoo won in a course record 2:18:57, but was found to have used a blood-boosting drug and is now serving a two-year suspension.

“I was really proud of my efforts to try to win the race,” Flanagan, 33, said by phone recently from Flagstaff, Ariz., where she had been training before arriving in Boston on Thursday.

“I’m now the fastest American female ever to run the Boston Marathon course, so that’s something that I’m really proud of, especially being from the area. It means a lot to me.

“But I have mixed emotions because the actual winner ended up getting caught in a doping scandal. So I’m really hoping to have a much cleaner, even playing field this year and looking forward to facing athletes who are doing it the right way.

“It made me feel a little bit better because I really didn’t know how to beat Rita Jeptoo,” Flanagan said. “So it made me feel like I have a chance again to win the race. On one token, (Jeptoo’s doping) was really frustrating and it just made me really sad and angry. And then on the flip side, it was also really motivating because it just validates that my belief in myself to be able to win the marathon is real.”

This will be Flanagan’s first marathon since September in Berlin, when she finished third and set a personal record of 2:21:14. Boston will likely to be her last marathon before the Olympic Trials in February 2016.

A three-time Olympian, Flanagan won the bronze medal in the 10,000 meters (6.2 miles) in the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing. She soon upped her distance and won the US marathon championship in 2010 and in 2012, when she finished 10th in the London Games.

In 2013, she was fourth in Boston, her best finish in the iconic race. Her goals for this year are clear.

“I think obviously running a personal best is feasible if the weather’s conducive and the race plays out,” she said. “But what’s most important, I think to every athlete, is just placing as high as they can. So my goals are to place higher than I’ve ever finished and be on the podium, which would be a top three, and that would be phenomenal.”

Flanagan, who now lives in Portland, Ore., is excited to run Boston — her hometown race — again. It’s her favorite race. “Oh, yeah, by far, hands down,” she said. And it’s personal. She knows the area is still healing from the bombings in 2013.

“Last year was extremely special, just being an American,” she said. “It’s a run I’ll never, ever forget.

“(The bombings are) clearly present (on my mind.) You always think about it. I’m inspired, because I am running for people who cannot.”

She’s looking forward to being part of the healing and the racing again.

“Boston brings out the best in people and it makes you really have to bring your best,” she said. “But my mentality is always to place as high as I can and represent the United States really well up against a lot of the East Africans.”

If Flanagan wins, she would end a 30-year drought for American women in Boston. But it won’t be easy. Kenyan and Ethiopian women represent 16 of the last 18 Boston women’s champions. Ethiopia’s Buzunesh Deba, who finished second last year, was given the F1 bib on Friday.

“It’s the fastest field Boston has ever assembled in terms of the (personal records) and the depth of it,” Flanagan said. “So even though we have a woman who is clearly hard to beat (Jeptoo) out of the race, it’s still going to be a really fierce competition.

“I expect it to just be really an amazing race because I think a lot of the athletes are going to be of the same caliber. You’re going to see a really exciting race, I think.”

Maureen Mullen may be reached at mmullen@itemlive.com. Follow her on Twitter at @MaureenAMullen.