Welcome to the quick and dirty tips to slim down and shape up.

My name is Brock Armstrong and I'm the Get Fit Guy.

A few weeks ago, Shalane Flanagan became the first American woman to win the New York City Marathon in 40 years.

And the most interesting part is that she did it after taking a substantial part of

2017 off from training and racing to recover from a major injury. Since winning the New York

City Marathon, an inspiring phenomenon called the Shalane effect has been sprinting around

the marathon community's social media like a runner with her hair on fire.

It is based on the fact that every one of Shalane's training partners, all 11 women,

qualified for the Olympics during the time that they were training with her. Wow.

In the New York Times, Lindsay Krause coined the term the Shalane effect and described it this way.

You serve as a rocket booster for the careers of the women who work alongside you while

catapulting forward yourself.

The quote from the article that I've seen passed around the most is, Flanagan does not just

talk about elevating women, she elevates them, and they win.

Now, as absolutely worthy and inspiring as that effect is, there's another equally inspiring

and interesting aspect of Flanagan's story that I want to focus on. It's what I'm calling

the other Shalane effect. One that I hope

will serve as a shining example for all the hard charging athletes out there who are pushing

themselves through illness, stress, and even injury. This other Shalane effect is the one that

shows us that you can take 10 weeks off of training

and still come out on top. Way on top! Now Flanagan's 10 weeks off came after she suffered a severe

lower back injury, which was her first major injury since she turned pro in 2004. To say

...