American Runner Desiree Linden has came close to a big win several times in her career, but April 16, 2018 she came in first with no contenders even near her during a wet and windy Boston Marathon. “Desi” was seeking a revenge victory after she lost the 2011 Boston Marathon title by just two seconds. She has been named the “Fastest American Woman” in the Chicago Marathon in 2010, the New York City Marathon in 2014 and the Boston Marathon in 2015. Linden even met her husband at the 2010 Chicago Marathon, where she beat his time by one second.
In April of 2018, Linden finally took 1st place in the women’s category of the Boston Marathon. No American woman had placed first in more than 30 years, the last being Lisa Rainsberger in 1985. The marathon this year though, was even more treacherous than previous years. Driving winds and freezing rain pelted participants. Temperatures dropped as runners gathered on the starting line. Through the long race, stood up by wind and weather, Linden was close to giving up, but got a second wind and went on to grind out a win with a time of 2 hours, 39 minutes and 54 seconds. That’s an average of 6 minutes and 9 seconds per mile for 26.2 miles.
This is the second huge accomplishment made this year in women’s running after Shalane Flanagan won the New York Marathon, making her the first female to win the NY Marathon since 1977. Flanagan and Linden motivated each other in this year’s Boston Marathon, like they have for much of their running careers, representing the United States together at the Olympic marathon in 2011 and 2016. Linden wasn’t feeling well part way through the race, considered dropping out, but decided she was going to help Flanagan get the win. By helping Flanagan though, she helped herself and was able to muster a second wind to snag her first marathon win. Linden looks forward to what’s to come for her. After receiving a $150,000 check for her win, she says she doesn’t know what the future holds, but would like to continue to run through the 2020 Olympic season.
