Up to date April 14, 2023.
The main target is on Des Linden, a two-time Olympian, second place on the Chicago Marathon and Boston Marathon, and the Boston Marathon champion in 2018. Des Linden has competed for 25 years now, from highschool to an elite athlete, and holds the World file on the 50k.
Des Linden is admired and beloved within the operating neighborhood due to her focus, humorousness, and love of competitors.
On Monday, April 17, 2023, Des Linden, lately having run a 1:12.21 half marathon, is racing the 127 Boston Marathon. She can also be on a ebook tour, together with her New York Instances # 4 Greatest Vendor, #ChoosingtoRun!
Des Linden is sponsored by Brooks Working; she can also be sponsored by COROS.
How do you write about Des Linden? Rigorously, Des Linden is likely one of the best American lady distance runners of any technology.
She loves the battle, likes to problem her rivals, and is ready to focus, one run at a time, on the pursuit of excellence.
Des Linden was a wonderful highschool runner in California, breaking 5 minutes for the mile as a freshman. She made the State meet all 4 years, ending eighth within the 1,600m as a junior and senior.
Is she decided? Think about this. In 1999, Des Linden doubled on the CIF meet and took lifeless final within the 800 meters. In 2000, the junior got here again and completed fifth. In 2001, operating the three,200 meters, Des Linden took 4th, the perfect end in her 4 years in CIF state meets in highschool.
Des Linden went to Arizona State College, the place she was coached by Walt Drenth. A superb runner, Des hit 34 minutes within the 10,000m and simply broke 17 minutes within the 5,000m. She was an excellent American distance runner. She needed to put plenty of miles and keep targeted. That’s the reason her profession is now occurring twenty-four years.
She then, in 2007, joined Hansons Brooks Distance Undertaking, one of many first group coaching conditions within the trendy period within the U.S. When Brooks introduced their sponsorship of Hansons Brooks Distance Undertaking, the information made the Wall Road Journal.
Des Linden started her love affair with the Boston Marathon, the place she positioned nineteenth lady in 2:44.56. That will be the very starting of a career-long love affair with the 26.2 miles of Boston.
The overwhelming theme of Des Linden’s profession is? She runs together with her coronary heart, her legs and her mind. I keep in mind her gutting it out on the 2008 Olympic Trials within the 10,000m, holding on so long as she might till her physique stated no mas, and she or he completed eleventh.
Within the fall of 2008, Des Linden scored a giant PB on the Chicago Marathon, the place she positioned fifth in a PB of two:31.33 (she had completed thirteenth within the Marathon Olympic Trials in 2008, on a circuit course in Boston, in PB 2:37.50).
Des Linden made the US group for Berlin in 2009 within the marathon. She ran gutty and completed tenth on the robust circuit course, scoring one other PB, this time by 3 minutes, and completed second American lady in 2:27.53. I keep in mind my notes. This Des Linden was robust.
Within the sizzling and humid summer season nights of Des Moines, Iowa, in 2010, Des Linden simply butted heads with a tricky 10,000m area, putting third in 32:32.32. Des had guts, velocity, and willpower.
That fall, I noticed Des Linden in Chicago once more, ending second in 2:26.20, one other PB!
The race that introduced her to the forefront, although, was Boston 2011. I used to be within the media room and watching Des Linden duke it out with the perfect on the earth for 26 miles. She was two seconds off a win and ran 2:22.38, the quickest time by an American lady EVER on the Boston course and a 4-minute PB.
What impressed me about that race? Des Liden was relentless. She didn’t hand over. A surge was thrown at her, and she or he threw one again. It was just like the transferring Raging Bull. I recall a giant lump in my throat watching Des Linden race, hoping she might win. That was to not be her day in Boston. However, in actual fact, it was her day, she might not have gained the battle, however she did win the battle seven years later, however I’ve digressed.
Des Linden has made two Olympic groups and competed in 4 Olympic Trials. In 2008, she was thirteenth within the marathon and eleventh within the 10,000m. In 2012, she was second within the marathon Trials however Dnfed in London because of a stress fracture that took a few years to return to her elite health stage.
This author was fairly frightened about her restoration, however Des Linden stayed targeted. In 2016, Des Linden completed second within the Olympic Trials in sizzling and humid Los Angeles. In humid Rio, Des Linden completed seventh within the Olympic marathon.
Her win in Boston got here in 2018 after two Olympic appearances. In essentially the most hellacious climate in Boston marathon historical past, I used to be watching on TV from residence in Wisconsin, having had seven stents 4 days earlier than. In completely crap climate, Des Linden was on the market, in a rain jacket, pounding method. Her win cemented her as not solely an American star however a worldwide star. Des Linden turned the primary American lady to win Boston in 33 years.
One factor about Des Linden: she isn’t any B.S. In 2019, on the NYC Marathon, this author, after Des had simply positioned sixth in 2:26.46 within the NYC Marathon, requested Des a query with all the world’s media. assembled, I requested them a not well-considered query, “What’s going to you will have tonight, Des, Bourbon, or Whiskey? The response, seen beneath, has gone into the operating lexicon:
I’m taking a look at my contacts in order that I could arrange a dialog the place I could say, “Bourbon is whiskey, Larry.”
Excellent Desplaining, @des_linden !pic.twitter.com/PnZ8j0jIhB
— RL 🇺🇦 Abramson (@heybramson) November 4, 2019
A T-shirt made by Brooks was despatched to me. On the 2020 Olympic Trials, at a Brooks gathering, somebody requested Des about whiskey, and this being arrange, answered to Des, “Oh, Des, might I reply this? Bourbon is Whiskey.” Any time I need 50,000-100,000 impressions, I simply publish one thing on Bourbon is Whiskey, Larry. It might find yourself on my headstone.
Larry rocking the “Bourbon is whiskey, Larry” shirt is peak operating neighborhood.Love this, @des_linden, @brooksrunning, @RunBlogRun! https://t.co/TEz67Phiwe
— Victoria Jackson (@HistoryRunner) March 2, 2020
One other factor about Des Linden: is she is trustworthy, humorous, and amazingly cordial. I’ve spoken together with her dozens of occasions throughout her profession, and a smile, a joke, and a wry humorousness all the time seem.
However, get this, and please make no mistake. Des Linden is likely one of the hardest distance runners, man or lady that I’ve ever identified. I put her up with Joan Benoit Samuelson, who needed to discover individuals to run together with her on the prime of her profession as a result of she educated so relentlessly. Des Linden is hard; she additionally is aware of find out how to calm down and is trustworthy together with her feedback. I like that.
Des Linden competed in her fourth Olympic Trials on February 29, 2020. Per week later, and there would have been no Olympic Trials. That easy. It was additionally one of many best Olympic marathon Trials in historical past. No dialogue. The Atlanta Observe Membership went to nice lengths to carry marathon Trials for the marathoners.
Des Linden knew it was going to be a battle. She had some niggles, and she or he knew that many have been gunning for her. That’s what occurs if you win Boston, set a World file, and are seen as pretty indestructible.
I anticipate that Des was upset taking 4th, coming oh so shut to creating her third Olympic group in 2020 on that robust Atlanta course. Des Linden appreciated the course, figuring out it was trustworthy, like an ee cummings poem.
Des Linden gutted it out, taking 4th, no quarter given, none requested. Des had run 2:29.04, cementing herself into the historical past of American distance operating.
A devotee of the observe (not a lot anymore), cross nation, and the solitary miles wanted to get out of your physique what Des LIdnen calls for.
Through the pandemic, Des Linden broke the world file for the 50k (31.6 miles) in 2:59.54, breaking the world file by over seven minutes!
Des Linden has come full circle. She is again being coached by Walt Drenth; after a decade with Hansons Brooks Distance Undertaking, Des has been operating as elite Brooks for many of the previous decade. There’s honesty in her operating and her feedback about different runners.
In April 2022, Des Linden completed thirteenth ladies in Boston, her favourite race, in 2:28.54. She had had some interrupted coaching and did her PR for her sponsor, Brooks, with aplomb.
This fall, the Boston Marathon champion, two-time Olympian, and runner’s runner, Des Linden, will probably be competing on the NYC Marathon on November 6, 2022.
Des Linden is a superb instance of how persistence, focus, and the love of exercise can come to play in a profession.
Des Linden has many extra miles to run.
To finish this piece, I’m posting in an interview that I did a 12 months or so in the past on my program, #SocialingtheDistance. Please take pleasure in!
Des Linden is sponsored by Brooks Working (and is their Chief Working Advisor) and COROS.
Up to date April 14, 2023:
Des Linden is the toast of Boston this weekend. Brooks has simply introduced a brand new line of operating merchandise round her: https://brooks.attn.television/l/46k/CEhOu.
We appreciated that BROOKS famous that the Des X merchandise would work, rain or shine. Des has executed a few of her greatest racing in inclement climate.
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