Playing Olympic 5000m 4D Chess With Ben Flanagan

The Terminal Mile

You want action? Drama? Well, you’ve got it. Pre-Olympic team selection storylines are running at a fever pitch right now, with multiple events currently boasting more qualified athletes than spots. One of my favorites right now is the men’s 5,000...and keep in mind, by the time you listen to this, everything could have changed, but right now you have 3 athletes with the qualifying time standard in Moh Ahmed and his 12:58 leading the charge of Justyn Knight and Matt Hughes. Now Hughes is likely to focus on the steeple, meaning there is still a spot open, and right now you have the next fastest runner with quota, Ben Flanagan, as well as the slightly slower, but higher ranked Keiran Lumb...now to make things extra spicy, between the two of them time wise, there the currently out of rankings Luc Bruchet, and still a bit of time before a team is announced, with fast European, domestic and American races on the table, as well as a huge points opportunity at the national championships. What we’re about to watch is strategy, guesswork and a lot of pure guts racing, and as an athletics fan, I’m here for it. In that vein, we’re joined by one of those runners in contention, Ben FLanagan, Boston Reebok TC, 2018 NCAA 10,000m CHamp joins us to chat learning the secrets of the 5k, a look to a longer future, alternate universes where he isn’t the NCAA champion, and a sneak peak at the inner workings of teammate Justyn Knights season.