Some runners just win marathons; others make history. Des Linden falls firmly into the second category. In 2018, she became the first American woman to win the Boston Marathon in 33 years, finishing with a time of 2:39:54 amid driving rain, gale-force winds and freakish, plunging temps. It wouldn’t be the last time Linden broke boundaries. In 2021, she set the world record by finishing a 50K (31.06 miles) race in 2:59:54. Averaging a stunning 5:47 per mile pace, in the process, she bested the previous record by more than seven minutes.
A two-time Olympic marathon competitor, the 39-year-old legend has had nine top-5 finishes at World Marathon Majors. Today, Linden who currently trains in northern Michigan, lives by the mantra, “keep showing up and pushing ahead,”—and she knows that means eating like a champ.
“Good nutrition plays a big role in keeping my body strong and healthy and allowing me to put in the work without interruptions or setbacks,” Linden said. With that in mind, Linden has made it a point to learn more about nutrition and identify the techniques that work for her from getting enough nourishment to tracking food and its effect on the body’s biomarkers. Here are the five go-to nutritional tips that keep her running her best with each passing mile—and could do the same for you, too.
1. Consume Enough Calories
“My approach to nutrition on a large scale is pretty simple,” Linden said, “That’s to make sure I’m getting enough food to fuel my body. The fine-tuning of that process has never been super important to me but I’m learning to prioritize that more.”
And because runners are notorious for not eating the calories they need, she stresses always getting enough food. “The wrong fuel is better than being under-fueled,” she said. This doesn’t mean Linden spends her days consuming fast-food and ultra-processed packaged calories. “Fewer bags and boxes, more real foods, is my nutrition philosophy,” said Linden, who concentrates on whole foods to give her body the nutrients it needs. A wide assortment of colorful vegetables, nuts, and fruits such as apples, berries, and mangoes are among her preferred nutrient-dense choices. “Whatever is available at the local farmers market is a big driver of how I eat,” she said.
2. Find Out Exactly What Your Body Needs
The Best Biotin-Rich Foods to Try InsideTracker, an ultra-personalized nutrition system that uses dozens of blood biomarkers and DNA genetic markers in combination with fitness tracking to help users reach their athletic and longevity potential, to hone in her eating. “Having data and numbers to track has let me dial in my nutrition game plan,” she said.
InsideTracker works by measuring levels of magnesium, cortisol, blood glucose, and other biomarkers found in your blood to assess health and flag problems, offering suggestions as to what to eat in order to solve them. [Linden has her blood drawn at a lab every six to eight weeks.] In her case, Linden was surprised to learn that her Vitamin D levels were suboptimal—an issue, since research suggests that vitamin D can play a role in exercise capacity and endurance performance. Luckily, Linden said, “I was able to make adjustments [to my diet] and see results in a very short period.”
The system has also made Linden aware that her glucose levels and HbA1c (an indicator of long-term blood sugar control) needed more attention. “Not overly surprising given the nutrition used during marathon training, but it was good to see the impact it has and to have a game plan to use around marathon training so it doesn’t escalate into a larger problem,” said Linden, who added: “Catching and adjusting to a problem early allows for consistent healthy training, which is harder than it sounds when I’m stacking big training sessions and heavy mileage weeks over long periods. It’s good to have a game plan so it doesn’t escalate into a larger problem.”
High-Protein Snacks for Runners Scientific Reports study found that users of the InsideTracker platform were able to improve upon 14 of 17 biomarkers such as blood sugar, iron, vitamin D, testosterone, and cholesterol.
3. Run, Then Re-Fuel
“Nutrition for recovery is critical for making the hard work as valuable as possible and helping my body adapt and feel less fatigued,” Linden said. “It’s critical in maintaining health while putting in high volume and intensity.” For her, recovery nutrition ranks right up there with putting in the miles for staying strong and minimizing injuries. That's why over the years it has become a big part of her training protocol.
What works for Linden is to eat in the 15 to 20 minutes following a hard workout. Her go-to is a shake that includes protein to stimulate muscle repair and fast-digesting carbohydrates to restore spent energy reserves. “Immediately after hard sessions it can be a challenge to find a hearty meal appetizing, the shake is just simple and has the nutrition necessary for recovery,” Linden explains. “Once my stomach has settled a bit then I plan my bigger meal and continue to get 15 to 25 grams of protein through food or beverages every three to five hours.”
4. Audition Your Pre-Run Nutrition
Most runners know it’s important to eat something before a run to get a good boost of energy. But what that pre-run fuel should be requires some trial and error to suss out what provides optimal energy without any stomach trouble.
“I’ve tested plenty of foods over the years to see what works for me,” Linden said. “Before an easy run, I can pretty much eat whatever I feel like.” But before a bigger session or race, she chooses bland, simple foods to avoid the risk of upsetting her stomach. Over time, she said, “I’ve settled on either a bagel with peanut butter or a bowl of white rice.” She’ll also brew up some of her very own Linden X Two specialty coffee for a caffeine jolt.
5. Track Your Nutrition and Training Long-Term
“Optimizing health isn’t an instant fix,” Linden said. Having a long-term biomarker tracking process shows improvements and reminds me that the changes that I’m making are producing a difference.” She uses InsideTracker to make sure all her biomarkers are where they should be, or at least trending in the right direction.
Linden relies on the personal food list InsideTracker provides based on her results in order to eat the right nutrients to stay healthy, and assess the impact of what she eats. “Getting blood work is useless if I don’t have the tools to make the appropriate adjustments,” she said. “Knowing the right things to eat and making sure that I always have them available is key.”
For Linden, biomarker tracking, paired with good nutrition, is a long-term way to facilitate improvement and keep her running in top form. “As a runner, you’re already investing time, effort, and energy on trying to get better; it only makes sense that you make sure you are using the best tools possible,” she said.
With that philosophy Linden aims to keep running her race well into the future. “I’m excited for a few more years of racing on the roads and I definitely see myself as a lifelong runner,” she said. For Linden, as for any runner, that’s a goal that will be easier to reach with her nutrition on top form.
