5 Questions with Olympic Hopeful Desi Linden

Published by Women's Running on January 11, 2016

In 2012, marathoning standout Desi Linden captured second place at the Olympic Trials Marathon. That day, the three top finishers dipped under 2:27—the top five ran faster than 2:30 for the first time as well—which gave the nation a taste of what the future of American distance running might look like. Then, in 2015, Linden kept everyone on the edge of their seats as she navigated the streets from Hopkinton and Copley Square to hopefully become the first American woman in 30 years to win the Boston Marathon. She finished fourth and first for American women, proving once again that her 26.2-mile performances continue to reign supreme in professional distance running. As runners put the finishing touches on their training ahead of the 2016 Olympic Trials Marathon in Los Angeles on Feb. 13, anticipation grows for the most stacked field the event has ever seen—and Linden aims to be near the top of that stack and earn a repeat spot on the marathon team heading to Rio this summer. We threw a few questions at her:

Women’s Running: Many elites participated in the Duo to Rio Relay in Dallas last December—a different and fun idea to shake up training! How was your experience running a relay race with fellow marathon trials competitor Jared Ward? Did it add a fun, different element to running a race for you?

Desi Linden: The Dallas Marathon Duo to Rio Relay was all about having fun and connecting with the Dallas running community. I loved the format, and the event did such a great job bringing in some marquee names in the sport. Each athlete was in a very different phase of marathon training; for me it was a great chance to put in some miles in a low pressure situation and fun atmosphere.