2025/26 Female Polar Bear Grand Prix Champion
I was featured in the Runner’s Spotlight back in 2020 or 2021. Since then a lot has changed! First, my name is Flannery Wells (with a PhD!) now but I still use my maiden name as my racing alias. I've not only gotten married and a PhD, but I had a daughter who is now 3. Apart from huge life changes, my perspective on running and training has changed a lot over the last few years. With a kid, the time to run is limited so I have made shifts in my training that often focus on quality over quantity and recovery over another hard session. I run as a time to relax after a difficult day or get some much-needed alone time, as much as I do to train hard for anything specific. My focus in racing has also changed; though I am still often chasing a fast time, more than anything I am doing my best to try to be actively engaged in my race and compete with those around me. I have found my races go the best when I do this and this helps me to really take advantage of the few racing opportunities I have.
Since I was last featured I've added a new race distance to my repertoire - the marathon. I ran my first in 2024 in Indianapolis and plan to run my second at the Chicago marathon this fall. I am not one of those runners who got bit by the marathon bug; it's fun and something new to do but is certainly not my favorite. Maybe right now it is the 5k but that's only because it's where my focus is at the moment. I had a lot of fun doing the shorter distances in the Polar Bear Grand Prix this winter and tried to use them to motivate me to train in the cold winter and to challenge myself to see if I could progress in distance and maintain my pace throughout the series. I also loved that I could do a warmup run to them from my home!
If I could share some advice to the general runner, it would be to not ignore the little things. If you want to run well, you need to have a strong core, mobility, and stability - especially as we age! I often tell myself 5 less minutes running so I can spend 5 more minutes doing something else for my body is actually better in the long run. Hopefully if I actually listen to this it will help me (and you) be lifelong runners!
Click here to read Flannery's original Runner Spotlight from 2021.