There are lots of local angles heading into Monday's Boston Marathon, with the Bowerman Track Club's Shalane Flanagan and Jordan Hasay and Galen Rupp of the Nike Oregon Project among the prime contenders.
Flanagan is the rooting interest for many, and for good reasons.
She grew up in Marblehead, Massachusetts and has a long personal connection to the race. She has been close before, finishing in the top 10 three times. A four-time Olympian and 2008 Olympic silver medalist, she is on the verge of icon status is U.S. distance running, and long been an ambassador for the sport.