Flanagan Focused On The โDay-To-Dayโ
November 16, 2016 | Cross Country, General
By Mason Kelley
GoHuskies.com
When it comes to the NCAA Championships in cross country, Kaylee Flanagan has a unique perspective. She has been there to watch Washington teams celebrate on the podium in Terre Haute, Ind.
In fact, back in high school, she watched as her sister, Lindsay, celebrated a second-place finish with the Huskies back in 2011. Flanagan was a junior back then. But, as she watched her sister's performance, she knew she wanted to one day experience that feeling of finishing the year among the nation's best.
"That was really an eye-opening experience, something I've always wanted for us," she said.
And now, as a senior, Flanagan and the Huskies are in a position to do just that. As a team, the No. 7ย ranked Huskies are competing at an elite level.
"Our team is in a great place this year and if we're all consecutive on the same day and we're all pushing and striving for the same thing I think that's definitely something we can accomplish," she said.
For the senior, this trip east is a moment years in the making. She was a swimmer when she was younger. But when Lindsay hit high school, she shifted to running.
"She took up running her freshman year of high school and then I was four years behind her, so I started my freshman year, too," Flanagan said.
Her background in swimming helped her to a fast start in track and cross country.
"It's just a great cardiovascular exercise," she said. "That gave us our base to then have the lungs and capacity to run long distances. We were never super great at swimming, so when we finally found running was our passion we followed that."
Flanagan enjoyed the camaraderie of training with a team. And it helped to have her sister around to share advice.
"I learned a lot from her," Flanagan said. "She's really patient. She knows how to not make mistakes twice, so I really learned from her mistakes."
During Lindsay's fifth year at Washington, Flanagan was a freshman with the Huskies.
"She was just a great mentor," Flanagan said. "Just training with her here was really helpful."
And now, in her final season with Washington, Flanagan feels like she is heading into the end of an eight-year journey.
"It just seems like I have kind of been doing it for eight years, since I watched my sister all throughout college, her four years and then my four years," Flanagan said.
As Flanagan heads into her final collegiate cross country race, her experience should help her finish strong.
"I'm definitely just using my teammates and my past experiences being at this course," she said. "Seeing so many great runners before me run this, I'm definitely using that to my advantage, knowing the areas you need to work in the race, knowing where to be, who to race and, ultimately, being high enough for the team so we can place and medal."
However, while she wants her last race to be her best finish, she is also trying to enjoy the moment and trust her training.
"I'm just focused on the day-to-day so we're not even thinking about Saturday until Friday comes," she said. "You just have to really trust in the coaches and know that they're peaking us for the end. We've done a lot of hard workouts, now we're just trying to coast it out until the end. I think we're in a good place with that."
Lindsay is still running, transitioning into a successful career competing in marathons. In her most recent race in Germany, she set a PR, finishing in 2:29.28. Will Flanagan continue to follow in her sister's footsteps after she graduates?
"It's definitely an option," she said. "I've always been into distance running and I can't imagine being done, but I'm going to see where life takes me.
"I'm definitely not putting any pressure on the future."
Right now, her focus is on the next day on the way to the NCAA Championships. The future can wait.
"I'm just excited to wear the purple W one last time in Terre Haute and, hopefully, good things happen," Flanagan said. "Then when we get back, we can celebrate."ย
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