RUNNING INSIGHT
DESI DOES IT
W
Desi Linden conquered the weather and the odds to be the first American woman to win Boston since 1985. / By Jennifer Ernst Beaudry
hen Desiree Linden ran across the finish line in Boston on April 16, she made history. The 34-yearold was the first American woman to win the legendary race since 1985, and she did it in wet, windy, freezing weather that led to 81 runner hospitalizations, hundreds of cases of hypothermia and many of the top-ranked athletes (including Galen Rupp, Deena Kastor and Lelisa Desisa) to abandon the race. So what kept the elite Brooks athlete going to notch her first marathon win? Linden said it was partially stubbornness — and partially good oldfashion pragmatism. Here, Linden sounds off on her next move, the relatable trick that kept her running and how her Michigan home base prepped her to win it all.
A week out from what was by all accounts a brutal race, how are you feeling?
Linden: “I’m feeling pretty good! I felt like we ran really slow and held up well. I wasn’t depleted, I didn’t hit the wall,
RUNNING INSIGHT ® is a registered trademark of Formula4Media, LLC. © 2018 all rights reserved. Running Insight is published twice each month, is edited for owners and top executives at running specialty stores and available only via email.The opinions by authors and contributors to Running Insight are not necessarily those of the editors or publishers. Articles appearing in Running Insight may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the express permission of the publisher. Formula4Media, LLC, P.O. Box 23-1318, Great Neck, NY 11023. Tel: 516-305-4709.
2
runninginsight.com
Advertise
and I’ve recovered pretty well. Of course, I haven’t tried to run yet, which might be part of it.”
You’re the first American woman to win the race in 33 years. Has it really sunk in that you actually did it?
“It’s slowly sinking in. There was a moment recently where my husband and I were sitting by ourselves, and he was typing emails [about the win] for our coffee company, and he started to laugh-cry and he said, ‘I can’t believe I’m typing this, I can’t believe it’s real.’ And it was like, that just happened!” A lot of factors came together on race day: What surprised you?
“All of it has been super surprising! I always go into a race thinking I could win, but [the conditions] threw everything up in the air. There were so many moments when I was miserable, and I thought, I’m just gonna step off, I’m gonna stop, this is dumb — I had that thought multiple times. I’m shocked I finished and that I won.”
Jeff Nott ...................................jnott@formula4media.com Jeff Gruenhut..................jgruenhut@formula4media.com Christina Henderson.... chenderson@formula4media.com Katie O’Donohue .........kodonohue@formula4media.com Sam Selvaggio.............. sselvaggio@formula4media.com Daemon Filson.....................dfilson@formula4media.com
Editor-in-Chief ........ Mark Sullivan: msullivan@formula4media.com Managing Editor ............ Cara Griffin: cgriffin@formula4media.com Publisher.....................Troy Leonard: tleonard@formula4media.com BACK ISSUES runninginsight.com
SUBSCRIBE store.formula4media.com
© 2018 Formula4media LLC.