The prerace hopes were sky high that an American woman would win the 2018 Boston Marathon for the first time in 33 years. On Monday, Desiree Linden, two-time Olympian, gave her country what it wished for by taking her first major marathon title in 2:39:54.
Linden, 34, tucked into a slow-moving pack navigating driving rains, a challenging headwind, and temperatures around 37 degrees, for the first half of the race, even aiding fellow American Shalane Flanagan to rejoin the group after Flanagan needed to take a bathroom stop right before the 20K water station.
After the race, Linden said she was considering dropping out around that point because she wasn't feeling well, so she figured she would try to help her fellow Americans in the race before she left the course.
“I just kind of nudged her and said, 'Hey, I might drop out. If you need something, like [for me to] block the wind or whatever, let me know,'" Linden said.
At that point, Mamitu Daska of Ethiopia made a break for it and gapped the lead pack of women by 25 seconds. Linden and Gladys Chesir of Kenya slowly chased Daska down through the Newton hills, where Linden surged ahead after mile 22.
From there, Linden quickly created a 20-second lead over the final 5K. It was the slowest winning time since 1978, but it was also contested in some of the worst weather conditions.
It was Linden’s sixth time competing here, and her knowledge of the course and trademark no-nonsense grit finally paid off. In 2011, she came in second in a sprint down Boylston Street, runner-up that year by only two seconds. Although she won today’s race by more than four minutes, she never looked back and said she ran scared the whole way to the finish line.
“During the national anthem, I was replaying the scenario when at six miles I thought, ‘No way, not my day,’ and then it was kind of hilarious how it worked out,” Linden said. “You don’t want to go out into the lead—I was like, ‘this is going to go horribly wrong; I’m going to blow up.’ When you’re thinking you’re going to drop out, you don’t do the right things along the way. I was really bad at taking in fluids today...[I was thinking], ‘When am I going to get chewed up and spit out the back and then I can drop out?’
“Then you break the tape, and you're like, ‘This is not what I expected today,’ but it’s absolutely amazing. Running down Boylston is amazing.”
What unfolded behind Linden was also unexpected. Seven of the top eight finishers are Americans, but most of them were not the ones who were pre-race favorites. Instead, a slew of athletes who are either up-and-coming or not pro runners at all enjoyed a surprise spot in the Boston history books.
Sarah Sellers, 26, of Arizona was second in 2:44:05. She's a nurse anesthetist who runs about 100 miles per week before and after work—usually at 4 a.m. and 7 p.m.—under the guidance of her Weber State University college coach Paul Pilkington. Krista Duchene, 41, from Ontario, Canada, was third in 2:44:20. She's a mother of three.
“The last 5K was crazy how it all unfolded. I'm still in shock—I had to see it to believe it that I was third and it was very similar to when we had our third child after having two boys. It took me an hour to believe she was girl,” Duchene said.
Published: Apr 16, 2018 12:16 PM EDT.
“Some of the women I was passing, I was in complete disbelief because I have the utmost respect for them as athletes and people and I in no way consider myself at their level at all,” Sellers said. “So, lots of respect to everyone out there.”
The women's champion earns $150,000, the runner-up receives $75,000, and third place takes $40,000.
Desiree Linden Wins the Boston Marathon.
“I'm happy for the women who had these magical moments today,” Flanagan said. “I had high hopes, so I have a bitter taste and I knew that was a possibility when I signed up to do this again instead of retiring in New York. That’s the nature of getting in the arena.”
