Flanagan Has Extra Incentive To Push For Historic Boston Marathon Win

BOSTON (CBS) – Marblehead native Shalane Flanagan knows she has a great shot at becoming the first American to win the Boston Marathon since 1985.

But she also wants to win to answer last year's tragic bombings, which she called "a personal attack on my city."

"I was really pissed off that someone would do this," she told 60 Minutes in a story that will air Sunday at 7 p.m. on WBZ-TV.

Flanagan, 33, said it was especially personal to her because as a child, she watched her father run the Boston Marathon close to where the bombs exploded on Boylston Street.

"It was a surreal moment to think of that…I was a little kid watching my dad run right there. I mean, that could easily have been me or my sister," she said.

She came in fourth place last year in her first Boston Marathon and hopes to make history on April 21.

"There's probably not a day that goes by that I don't think about the events that unfolded [at last year's Boston Marathon]…It just gave more meaning and more incentive to pour everything I have into winning it," she told Anderson Cooper.

Despite her rigorous training program, Flanagan isn't above a little superstition when it comes to running the course. She never crosses the finish line in training.

"I don't cross it. I've only crossed the finish line once…and I haven't done it in practice. So, I'll save that for the day," she said.

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