Ben Flanagan Wins NCAA 10,000 Meters, Doesn't Vomit
In the before times, I ran cross country for a few years after I realized professional careers in soccer or basketball were rather unlikely. I wasn't very good—my career peaked with a 19:59 5K in a JV race—but I was and remain a foolishly competitive person, so I'd dig deep and "sprint" the final leg of every race, known as the "kick."
Then I'd bend over and hurl, because that's what happens to normal people who run a substantial distance and finish by pushing their body to its limit.
Ben Flanagan is not normal. The senior from Kitchener, Ontario—break out the Stauskas flag—won Michigan men's track & field's second individual national championship since 2007 with a monster kick, flying past pre-race favorite Vincent Kiprop of Alabama over the final stretch of the 10,000-meter final.
BEN FLANAGAN WITH THE CRAZY KICK FTW & #ncaaTF 10K ?! pic.twitter.com/agTOqynodF
— NCAA Track & Field (@NCAATrackField) June 7, 2018
The run itself is impressive. Then the truly impressive bit: instead of collapsing in a heap of sweat and vomit, Flanagan pumps his arms, then finds the camera so he can thank his mom and a host of others. He doesn't even seem particularly winded.
"Where's my mom?" - @bennyflanagan#GoBlue pic.twitter.com/F0x7qAjCFT
— Michigan Athletics (@UMichAthletics) June 7, 2018
This capped a memorable season for Flanagan on and off the track; yesterday, he was one of two Michigan athletes—along with Brienne Minor (women's tennis)—to earn Big Ten Outstanding Sportsmanship Awards, and he received it for some very important work:
Flanagan, a graduate student pursuing a Master of Social Work degree, closed out his Michigan career by winning the national 10,000-meter title at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in a dramatic come-from-behind victory on Wednesday (June 6). After running down the pre-meet favorite over the final 100 meters to claim victory by less than a half-second, Flanagan turned to the ESPN camera and -- in a quintessential demonstration of his sportsmanship -- began thanking his parents, his teammates and his coaches while hugging several of his competitors in congratulations. The national title capped off a 2017-18 season that also saw him earn All-America, Big Ten Runner of the Year and Great Lakes Region Runner of the Year awards in cross country, and claimed the Big Ten Outdoor 10,000-meter title.
The native of Kitchener, Ontario, is also a champion of mental health issues, putting his graduate studies to good use even before the completion of his degree. As a member of the Michigan Athletics Student-Athletes Advisory Council, he serves as the co-representative for mental health. In that role he acts as a liaison between student-athletes at Michigan and the Performance Psychology and Athletic Counseling offices, and helps organize events for student-athletes to promote mental health support. He also spearheaded a fundraising campaign leading up to the NCAA Cross Country Championships that raised $1,000 for men's mental health awareness and involved other teams from around the nation.
Shoutout to Flanagan, his mom, and his intestinal fortitude.
Fantastic Ben
Ontario! Steve Halko, Nik Stauskas, Ben Flanagan!
... Ignas Brazdeikis!
Kevin Sullivan, former Michigan great and current HC, is also an Ontario native. Seems like a nice little pipeline.
The Canadian redshirt senior finished in a career-best 28 minutes, 34.53 seconds, edging pre-meet favorite Vincent Kiprop, of Alabama, by .46 of a second.
They said PR by a minute, I think, I’m there. That is sick. What a run.
I got winded just watching that video!
Congrats to Ben and GO BLUE!
I know Ben personally, could not be a better dude. A true Michigan Man
Of course Alabama has a Kenyan distance runner. Even their track & field bagmen are on point.
If you look at the last 10-15 years of X-Country champions, you'll notice a pretty significant influx of individuals from long-distance running nations. It's sort of crazy.
Actually, they have imported multiple African runners. But, I guess Flanagan can also be considered a foreign runner, although I doubt he received much $$$ for coming.
Had to click the "barf" tag to see if it had been used before.
I was surprised it needed creation.
I knew there was a high social cost to Brian not UFR-ing our recent losses to OSU.
This guy approves of that tag:
One hell of a final kick - great job man! That's quite an accomplishment to be an NCAA champ in an individual sport. Pretty cool.
Definitely the first thing I too noticed watching the video of the race was that he was able to talk after crossing the finish line. How is that even possible? Is this guy human?
I think anyone who has run track or known national class distance runners can attest, they are a special breed.
Hold on, there are ways to run cross-country that weren't sprinting like a maniac for the final stretch? I thought that was the go to strategy? Sure what I always did, but then I too was a not-that in shape JV runner who had no business trying to run a race.
Is hurling a thing? I've never done it, only seen it once ever, but then again when I know I'm going to run I like to have my stomach empty. I'm a wuss so beyond the 2 mile mark any excess weight feels like I'm dragging a tire, whether it's keys in my pocket or food in my stomach. When I get nauseous it's invariably due to heatstroke.
I'll definitely get the shakes, though, if I push my kick past the sensation of exhaustion.
If you’re interested in another gutsy Michigan track performance from this year, you can’t miss women’s star Erin Finn reaching the point of delusion on the last lap of her Big Ten 10,000m title to win by over a minute in 32:45 (5:16 mile pace for 6.2 miles as a reference). Unfortunately she hurt herself and couldn’t compete at NCAAs, otherwise she’d have been a favorite at the National meet. Video in this tweet:
https://mobile.twitter.com/CrossProb/status/995848332768661504
Dude.
Thanks for linking that. Crazy.
That's amazing, yet a question: Why did she push herself to the point of delirium if she still won by over a minute?
Erin Finn is an elite runner with pro potential, which the vast majority of NCAA runners don’t have. She’s got the build of someone who could contend for major marathons in the future, so for her it’s important to maintain her track speed while she’s young and develop the aerobic capacity to compete at Boston and NYC after she goes pro. So for her, dropping 32 minute 10k’s is something she should be able to prove she can do to get a good pro deal. For the rest of that field, it just doesn’t matter as much.
So crazy, the look on his face is just sheer disbelief he did it. Congratulations, and Go Blue!!
An American Hero!! Ben runs like an insane person so the rest of us don't have to. I salute you!!
I never thought I'd see the day when Michigan Track and Field makes the front page! Oh Happy Day. Love this story and love Ace's writing. What a gutsy smart performance from Ben.
On a separate note, Ace is pretty slow for a skinny guy. I have averaged that 5K pace for a marathon (42.2K) and was never anywhere close to UM varsity status (did run with MRUN).
HAIL BEN FLANAGAN!
HAIL and GO BLUE!
Bad Ass, On and Off the track!
Congratulations Mr. Flanagan?
So very impressive.
As a former runner myself, I could never imagine running a 10K on a track. After 25 laps, I would think you'd get dizzy.
with huge congrats to ben flanagan, there is one more great michigan grad/ontario runner that you guys are forgetting: chris brewster. captain of the michigan cross-country and track teams, great guy, and one heck of a runner. watched him win the B10 mile in AA 34 (?) years ago with a kick that started an easy 200 yds from the leaders. he ran them down in that old, small 1/8th mile indoor track. a thing of beauty.
but again, an NCAA champion in ben flanagan, go blue.
Awesome to witness! Special moment at Hayward Field and the crowd roaring as he came down the stretch. Living in Eugene, it's fun to see some other Michigan fans and the athletes, shout "Go Blue" and get the appropriate response. Will be cheering on the women on Saturday!
Amazing race. This guys definitely deserves it!
I'm very impressed with this run. He looks incredibly fresh after crossing the line.
Food for thought: The pace they ran that 10k is the same pace as the fastest marathon runners in the world.
Fantastic run, and a great final kick there.
Congrats Ben Flanagan!! Perfect time to Peak. Run your best time at the final. That's how you do it.
M Canada strikes again.
Winning is always great but upsetting Alabama in the process makes it even better
his brother is Tommy Flanagan, husband of Morgan Fairchild
. (Who he has seen naked)
Awesome athlete and representative of Michigan!!! That last lap was so great. Kiprop buries the guy from Utah State and probably thinks he's done the same to Flanagan. Flanagan finding that extra gear in the final 100 was special. Go Blue!!!
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