DESI DOES IT
RUNNING INSIGHT
Desi Linden conquered the weather and the odds to be the first
American woman to win Boston since 1985. / By Jennifer Ernst Beaudry
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W
hen Desiree Linden ran across the finish line in
Boston on April 16, she made history. The 34-year-
old 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 hos-
pitalizations, 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 old-
fashion 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,
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 sur-
prised 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 fin-
ished and that I won."
