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Catching up with former Boston Marathon champion Des Linden
The 2018 Boston Marathon champion is coming off a world-record run in the women's 50-kilometer race this spring.
2021 Boston Marathon
Des Linden hasn’t run a marathon since the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2020, where she missed out on making the Toyko Games by one spot.
In fact, she said that’s the last competitive race she’s run, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.
So next Monday’s return to the Boston Marathon after more than two years will be a long-awaited one.
“I think this year, having missed out on the last event, I think people will be even more excited. It’s just fun to be even a tiny part of that and get the ball rolling again,” she said. “I feel like we’re making toward normal, so I’m excited to be there and get a chance to share the road.”
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Opportunities to “share the road,” as she often says, haven’t been very frequent during the pandemic, of course. The 2020 marathon season, including last year’s in-person Boston Marathon, was canceled, while this year’s season was postponed as COVID-19 continued to linger in the spring.
But that doesn’t mean the 2018 Boston Marathon champ hasn’t kept plenty busy in the meantime.
In addition to shooting for her third Olympic bid in the marathon, the 37-year-old tried her hand at the 50-kilometer race, also known as an “ultramarathon,” this spring.
She made quite the splash, fulfilling her goal of setting the women’s world record in the event with a time of 2:59:54 and becoming the first woman ever to crack three hours in the race.
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But to hear her tell it, all that was just a warm-up.
“I was able to accomplish something and have some fun during that time, and then really use that to kind of build towards getting back into serious racing,” she said of her light work in the 50K.
Things will get real Monday when she comes back to the course she made history on three years ago.
In 2018, Linden became the first American woman to win the Boston Marathon in 33 years when she crossed the line in 2:39:55 in rainy conditions, making her something of a local hero.
She’s given her love to Boston — even surprising some local frontline workers earlier this year with invitations to run in the marathon next week — and she said she can’t wait to feel the love back on Monday as fans return to the race course to cheer people on.
“I think that’s the big thing that’s been missing,” she added. “You can go out and cover 26.2 [miles] and run a marathon, but the running community is super special, particularly in Boston. It’s just going to be nice to to feel like we’re all back together.”
The road back to Boston Marathon glory won’t be an easy one. Five of the top seven finishers from the 2019 race are returning this year, including 2017 champion Edna Kiplagat of Kenya and fellow American Jordan Hasay, who finished two spots ahead of Linden in 2019.
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But for Linden, this Boston Marathon will be more about getting back in the swing of things than winning.
“It’s a strange thing coming back after not being in competitive races for a long time,” she said. “So, I just want to get out and compete, mix it up, and see where I’m at, and then use that to move forward.”
Following Monday’s race, Linden said she will take on the New York Marathon on Nov. 7, three weeks later — a quick turnaround she calls “uncharted territory” because of the pandemic-compressed marathon schedule this year.
Beyond that, she’s already got her eyes on the 2022 Boston Marathon, which she hopes will allow everyone get back to a more “normal” routine (including being able to run it in April again).
But first thing’s first for Linden: “getting a mark on the board” at Monday’s race.
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