By the Book

Add “author” to the impressive list of titles held by Des Linden, arguably one of America’s best female long-distance runners. The Boston Marathon champion and twotime Olympian’s fist memoir, “Choosing to Run,” hits book store shelves (and online sites as well, of course) on April 4 and it tells the story of her running life — with inspiring lessons that will appeal to runners and non-runners.

• Her training and how she gets ready mentally for the hardest races (including her 2018 Boston win amid the worst weather on record). How can we all pump ourselves up for the hard things?

• Why she started to run and the pressure she faced as an oddball athlete. Childhood pressure can follow us through our lives regardless of activities, in the end it’s about focusing on what makes you happy and how you can lift yourself up.

• Contract negotiations, sponsor issues, and standing up for herself even when it was tricky. Being a woman in a man’s world, pushing back on negotiations and training plans wasn’t always easy.

• Avoiding the doping scandals that sidelined many of her peers by competing the right way.