Ben Flanagan, ’17, MSW’18, and Hannah Ghelfi, ’20, were distinguished U-M student-athletes — Ben an NCAA champion runner and national scholar athlete of the year; Hannah golf team captain and academic All-Big Ten — but the two didn’t meet in Ann Arbor. Instead, a serendipitous confluence of events brought them together in Hannah’s hometown of Falmouth, Mass., on Cape Cod, in the summer of 2018.
After winning the NCAA championship at 10,000 meters, Ben, a native of Kitchener, Ontario, was invited to the Falmouth Road Race, a prestigious stop on the running circuit.
The seven-mile seaside race, now in its 54th year, attracts 11,000 runners, including an international field of top competitors. Falmouth is a community celebration wrapped in the fun-in-the-sun atmosphere of summer on the Cape. The town residents open their homes as hosts for invited athletes, more than 2,000 volunteers support the event, and thousands of spectators line the scenic course.
When Ben’s accommodations fell through, Scott Ghelfi — Hannah’s dad, president of the race board of directors, and, notably, a U-M fan — rescued the stranded Wolverine. Hannah gave up her bedroom and slept on the living room couch.
“Of course I wanted to help Ben,” Scott said. “We already had a full house, but I called my wife, Wendy, and asked if she could try to figure something out.”
Ben won the race, stunning the world-class favorites with an emphatic leap across the finish line.
“There was a lot of excitement,” said Ben. “I hung out with Hannah and her family at the post-race party. She was awesome and I thought she was pretty. I knew right away that I was interested. There was an attraction, for sure, but I couldn’t tell if she felt the same way.”
“We didn’t see each other much before the race. Runners have their routines,” Hannah recalls. “After Ben won, we chatted a lot at the party. He was super nice, but I didn’t think much of it.”
But Scott Ghelfi recalls receiving a text and photo during the celebrations from a friend with the message: “Maybe this is the first picture of your daughter and future son-in-law.”
“I’m not sure Hannah was showing her cards,” Scott says. “But they were definitely getting chummy.”
When they returned to the U-M campus in the fall — Ben had a semester left in graduate school and Hannah was in her junior year — they reconnected, albeit briefly, on Main Street. Soon, Ben learned Hannah had a hankering for donuts and a favorite shop, Dom Bakeries, in Ypsilanti, Michigan.
“I figured a way to get her attention was to tell her I was going and would love it if she’d join me,” he said. The plan worked. There were sparks over sour cream (Hannah’s favorite) and buttermilk (Ben’s choice).
“He lured me with donuts,” Hannah says with a laugh.
Romance blossomed, but the relationship was tested when Ben joined the professional Virginia-based Reebok Boston Track Club. Hannah was still in school and managing long-distance dating was challenging.
In February 2019, Ben drove more than eight hours from Charlottesville to U-M to surprise Hannah for a Valentine’s Day date.
“That was a big moment,” Hannah says. “We went for dessert at Dom’s.”
Hannah graduated in 2020 and joined Ben in Virginia. They got engaged in Ann Arbor in May 2022 and were married in October the following year. Donuts were part of both celebrations.
After living on Packard Street in Ann Arbor, the newlyweds now have a home on Cape Cod, not far from where Hannah grew up in Falmouth. Daughter Nora Jean was born on March 29, 2025, joining Norman, a doodle spaniel, and Paris, a golden retriever mix.
Ben’s running career has continued to flourish. He has a multi-year contract with the Swiss shoe company On. He won two more Falmouth races and represented Canada at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. His sights are set on running the marathon at the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.
Hannah is embracing life as a new mother and helps at her family’s businesses in Falmouth, a candy store and a children’s clothing boutique. Life is hectic with a young child, but when time permits, they still enjoy coffee dates — with donuts, of course.
Bill Higgins is a freelance writer based in Massachusetts.
