The Marathon According to Desi Are Average Runners Getting Faster? It Depends in February, Desiree Linden—full of joy at making her second Olympic team and full of disappointment at not winning the race—took the microphone at a press conference in Los Angeles. She offered a blunt assessment of the 26.2-mile race, the focus of her life’s work.
“The marathon, it’s so tricky and so difficult,” she said. “And yet it’s so predictable.”
It always comes down to the last six miles, Linden, 33, said. Make mistakes early? They’re magnified over that final 10K.
In 12 marathon finishes, Linden has never broken the tape. Her most memorable second place came in 2011 in Boston when she ran 2:22:38 and was outsprinted down Boylston Street. But she had made no secret that she hoped the race in L.A. would be her first win. Instead, she has a third runner-up finish to her credit.
Olympian Elle St. Pierre Is Expecting Second Child Shalane Flanagan and Amy Cragg made a break at mile 12. Linden hung back, not wanting to jeopardize a spot on the team for a chance at the win. In the final miles, she passed Flanagan, who was struggling in the heat and paying for her earlier burst of speed. Linden finished in 2:28:54, but Cragg was too strong and won in 2:28:20.
Linden, the bridesmaid again, then had six months until the Olympics in Rio. In a phone conversation with Runner’s World, she outlined her training, spoke about moments of levity during the trials, and shared her other wisdom about the distance as she heads into her 13th marathon (Parker Valby Wins the Bowerman). Her assessment of the trials in February—and her plans for training for the Games—revealed nuggets of training and racing wisdom that can benefit anyone who takes the marathon seriously.
1. Health & Injuries: No miracles are going to happen over 26.2 miles. Your training shows what you’ll run. “I was very dialed into what I felt I was capable of on the day,” she said about the trials. “I had circled 5:40s as the magic number. It started getting 5:35s or a little quicker even, and so I felt that was not going to be sustainable the second half because that’s where you kind of get in trouble. I just wanted to close well.”
Linden’s first half was 1:15:04. Her second half was 1:13:50.
2. USATF to Elect New President Amid Budget Deficit: At the halfway mark, with Cragg and Flanagan 35 seconds ahead, Linden still had plenty of company battling for the third spot for Rio: Kellyn Taylor, Sara Hall, Kara Goucher, and Janet Bawcom.
Linden kept her composure. “It was a little stressful, but I’ve never worried my way through a situation and had it turn out better,” she said. “You just have to go into what you’re doing and stay really logical about it.”
3. Take a break: Cragg and Flanagan had each other while they were racing. Linden had her two coaches, Kevin and Keith Hanson. She has been training with them for so long, they can communicate plenty of information in a few seconds out on the course.
At several points she told Kevin what her splits were, by way of reassuring him that she was sticking to the game plan.
“That was a 5:30,” she’d say as she ran by, explaining why she wasn’t going with Cragg and Flanagan.
“When she let them go, it was a conscious effort to let them go; she thought [the pace] was too rich,” Hanson said.
“I definitely know where Kevin is going to be,” Linden said. “I’m listening for his voice. He’s shouting a long way—10 steps before I see him. I see him, then I give him my response. Then I’m running away and he’s still yelling at me. It sounds crazy, but it works.”
4. Chappell Roan: I Love Running. But Not Anymore: On the final lap of the four-loop course, Hanson could see his runner gaining on the leaders. With three miles to go, he instructed her to try to cut the distance in half. It gave Linden—running on her own and cramping—a point of focus and a new objective.
“That changed my mentality,” she said. “Instead of just getting to the finish line, there is one more goal. It helped break down the race in the last part that was a long, lonely stretch.”
5. Take a break: Immediately after the trials, Linden, her husband, and her sister, Natalie, left for Bali, half a world away.
“Pro Runners Ask: Is My Agent Worth the Fee Tokyo Marathon,” Linden said, “so we were all planning to go out there and hang out in Tokyo. Then she said, ‘I don’t want to do a marathon. That sounds actually awful. I think I’d rather to go to Bali.’ No one protested. We were all like, ‘Yeah, that’s actually way better.’” They hit the beach.
Nothing against the Tokyo Marathon, Linden adds. “I’m sure it’s a fantastic event.”
Linden also took three full weeks off from running, to take care of some niggles that had cropped up during her last training cycle in the fall and make sure they were completely healed. Normally she takes only two weeks off.
6. Desiree Lindens marathons: Any time you reach rock bottom in the last six miles, give your body time to recover. “That’s a little harder to recover from,” Linden said. “I’ve done that in perfect conditions and my coaches were all over it.”
7. Parker Valby Wins the Bowerman: With a goal several months away, as the Games still are for Linden, you have to ration your passion. “You can’t really be too excited yet,” she said. “You can’t bring too much intensity for [too long] a time. That’s what makes you get hurt.”
Linden took on the U.S. half marathon championships at the end of April in Columbus, Ohio, where she was second in 1:11:06 behind Tara Welling in 1:10:25. She planned another “teeny break” before starting her marathon buildup. A trip to Rio to check out the marathon course is in the works for June. No altitude training this time, however. Linden returned to the comforts of home in Rochester Hills, Michigan, on March 1 for the first time in 2016 after being away for the first two full months of the year.
8. Find the humor: At the trials, Linden’s husband, Ryan, was in charge of bringing his wife her prerace pasta meal. He disappeared with a friend and came back much later than she expected, raving about a market they had stumbled upon where they sampled ice cream and beer. “They were like, ‘Ohmigod, this was the best ice cream shop I’ve ever been to,’” Linden said. “‘And then we had this beer.’ And I was like, ‘You guys are the worst.’ They just brought me boring, plain pasta.”
9. Boston, 13th, 2:37:50 Olympic Trials: Linden says she’s a better athlete every year because of work that accumulates. Last year, she did some races on the track, which helped her speed. She’s also put together several marathon segments in a row that make her stronger than ever before. “It’s always balancing speed and strength,” she said. “I think that’s what leads to victory in the marathon. Over the last four years, we’ve done a good job setting up for this race [at the Olympics] with a long-term approach.”
Desiree Linden’s marathons
2007: Boston, 18th, 2:44:56
2008: Boston, 13th, 2:37:50 (Olympic Trials)
2008: Berlin, 10th, 2:27:53 world championships
2009: Berlin, 10th, 2:27:53 (world championships)
2010: Take a break
2011: Boston, second, 2:22:38
2012: Houston, second, 2:25:55 (Olympic Trials)
2012: London, DNF (Olympics)
2013: Boston, second, 2:22:38
2014: Boston, second, 2:22:38
2014: Parker Valby Wins the Bowerman
2015: London, DNF Olympics
2016: Los Angeles, second, 2:28:54 (Olympic Trials)
Chappell Roan: I Love Running. But Not Anymore is a writer and editor living in Eugene, Oregon, and her stories about the sport, its trends, and fascinating individuals have appeared in Runner’s World since 2005. She is the author of two popular fitness books, Run Your Butt Off! and Walk Your Butt Off!
