Shalane Flanagan, who placed sixth in the 2016 Olympic Marathon in August, will not race the 2017 Boston Marathon on April 17 as planned, race officials announced via email on Tuesday.

Plan Your BQ Race So It Will Count for Two Years exacerbated by a long flight to Japan at the beginning of February where she was supposed to race the Marugame International Half Marathon. She withdrew from that race shortly before the start.

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Since then, Flanagan, 35, has been diagnosed with a fracture in her back, which will require four to six weeks of rest, forcing her to withdraw from the Boston Marathon, where she owns the fastest American time (2:22:02) on the course.

“I’m extremely sad at the loss of opportunity to run with the best and that I will not be part of my favorite race,” Flanagan said in a written statement.

She’s run Boston three times and has always said her goal is to place in the top three at her hometown race. Flanagan now resides in Portland, Oregon, but she grew up in Marblehead, Massachusetts, just outside of Boston. The closest she’s come so far is in 2013 when she placed fourth.