Ben Flanagan On Making His Marathon Debut At The TCS Toronto Waterfront Marathon

The CITIUS MAG Podcast | A Running + Track and Field Show

CITIUS MAG

Running, Sports

4.8 • 1.7K Ratings

🗓️ 18 October 2025

⏱️ 37 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

*Note: The first few minutes of Ben's interview were cut due to audio issues. The audio quality improves throughout the interview.

Canadian distance runner and Olympian Ben Flanagan is finally making his marathon debut at the Toronto Waterfront Marathon this Sunday. Fresh off his 2024 season that included his Olympic debut in the 5000m, Flanagan opens up about the challenges of transitioning to the marathon, including an injury-shortened build in 2025. He’s focused on winning the Canadian Championship and using this race as a launching pad for his marathon future.

Jon Green, Flanagan's coach, also joins us live in Toronto to share about guiding him towards his marathon debut. The two share a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to step up to the marathon and the mindset of an elite runner in transition.

____________

Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez on Instagram⁠⁠

Guest: Ben Flanagan | @ben_flanagan on Instagram

____________

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS

NOMIO: Made with 80% broccoli sprout juice, 15% lemon juice, and 5% sugar, Nomio activates your body’s natural defense systems to reduce lactate, speed recovery, and enhance muscle adaptation. Take one 60 ml shot three hours before training or racing and feel lighter, stronger, and more resilient. Available at The Feed — use code CITIUS15 for 15% off | ⁠https://thefeed.com/collections/nomio⁠

WAHOO: The KICKR RUN isn’t just another treadmill; it’s a complete rethink of indoor running. With Dynamic Pacing, it automatically adjusts to your stride—no buttons, no breaking form, just pure running freedom. Its Terrain Simulation makes the deck feel like a track or trail, while lateral tilt mimics real-world conditions so you’re always prepared for race day. So whether you’re chasing your first half-marathon finish, a marathon PR, or your next trail adventure, the KICKR RUN is built to help you Run Your Run. Check it all out at ⁠WahooFitness.com⁠ and use code CITIUS at checkout.

OLIPOP: Straight out of Bikini Bottom, Olipop’s limited edition SpongeBob cans have arrived. Pineapple Paradise features a burst of juicy pineapples and a splash of mandarin. It's on shelves now at Walmart, Target, Whole Foods, Circle K, Amazon, and select stores nationwide.⁠ ⁠You can check out all of their flavors and get 25% off your orders at DrinkOlipop.com using code CITIUS25 at checkout.⁠

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Ready to launch your business? Get started with the commerce platform made for entrepreneurs. Shopify is specially designed to help you start, run and grow your business with easy customizable themes that let you build your brand, marketing tools that get your products out there. Integrated shipping solutions that actually save you time. From startups to scaleups, online, in person, and on the go. Shopify is made for
0:22.8	entrepreneurs like you. Sign up for your $1 a month trial at Shopify.com slash setup.
0:32.6	Why Toronto?
0:37.1	For a number of reasons, you know, like being able to run in Canada is always awesome. I run Ottawa 10K plenty of times. Um, I got to run Toronto, uh, the year they didn't have the marathon. They did it to 10K here. But in general, like, I really don't get to, is it, can you guys hear me all right on this? Okay, cool. Um, I don't really get to run in Canada as much as I would like. So to have an amazing, you know, high profile race in Canada, if it aligns with the schedule, I want to do it. And then more so with the debut, I thought it just aligned really well with my personal goals. I thought this was a place
1:11.8	where I could really practice staying patient, not kind of get sucked into some distractions
1:17.8	that could leave to maybe more significant mistakes. A course is good. You know, it's not, I know
1:23.8	conditions can be tough, but generally I felt like this was a good place to stay disciplined on the first one and try to come out of it feeling like, okay, the next one I can go faster.
1:35.1	Yeah, so what are some of those goals that you've kind of set for yourself?
1:38.2	And then how did we arrive of that, you know, over the course of 14, 16 weeks, however long as build has been?
1:44.1	Yeah, the main goal is to win the Canadian championship.
1:46.6	You know, anytime there's a Canadian title on the line, I want to win.
1:50.9	And I feel like it's a very realistic but challenging goal, which is kind of a perfect fit for any type of goal setting.
1:59.4	The time I'm not so worried about, which I'm now coming to terms with, because when you
2:05.1	watch a whole year of marathons, all you can do is compare yourself to, you know, specifically
2:11.0	guys like Rory Linklater, who's running amazing right now.
2:14.6	And Rory and I are just in, like different places, you know, I was a very experienced
2:17.9	marathoner. So I'm trying to take the edge off and not get so worried about the time and let
2:23.4	that come a bit more naturally because, you know, the last quarter of a 5K not going well is very
2:29.7	different. The last quarter of a marathon not going well. So I want to play it safe, generally speaking,
2:36.6	while staying competitive and not worry so much about the clock.
2:40.4	John, how do you go about approaching goal setting with your athletes? And then where does
2:45.0	someone like Ben, you know, what are the questions that come up ahead of their first ever
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from CITIUS MAG, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of CITIUS MAG and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.