Desiree "Des" Nicole Linden (née Davila; born July 26, 1983) is an American long-distance runner. She represented the United States in the 2012 London Olympics and the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics women's marathon. In 2018, she won the Boston Marathon, becoming the first American in 33 years to win the woman's category in the event. She holds the women's 50K world record of 2:59:54.

Early career

Desiree Davila was born in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...

High school

In high school Davila ran track and cross country, and played soccer. She ran a sub-5 minute mile as a high school freshman and graduated from Hilltop High School in 2001. At the CIF California State Meet she was a finalist all four years. In both 1998 and 1999 she was 8th in the 1600. 1999 saw her also attempt to double in the

800 meters The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since the ...

, finishing last after being depleted from the 1600. In 2000, she improved that to 5th. Her best finish was 4th in 2001 in the 3200.

College

Linden studied

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between ...

at Arizona State University, and was a two time All-American in track and cross country. She finished third at the 2005 Pac-10 5,000m Collegiate Championships (16:59.93).

Professional career

Linden runs for the

Hansons-Brooks Distance Project The Hansons-Brooks Distance Project is an Olympic development program for post-collegiate distance runners. The program was founded by brothers Kevin Hanson and Keith Hanson in Rochester Hills, Michigan in 1999, and joined by Brooks Sports as a ...

in Michigan. She is represented by agent Josh Cox and is sponsored by Coros Global, Powerbar, Oakley, Boston Beer Company, and Brooks Running. Career highlights: ;2006–07 * In the Road Running World Championships 2006 in Debrecen she finished in 43rd place. * Her first appearance in a marathon was at the 2007 Boston Marathon, where she placed 19th in 2:44:56. * In the

2007 IAAF World Road Running Championships The 2007 IAAF World Road Running Championships were held in Udine, Italy on 14 October 2007. Detailed reports on the event and an appraisal of the results were given both for the men's race and for the women's race. Medallists Race results ...

Udine Udine ( , ; fur, Udin; la, Utinum) is a city and ''comune'' in north-eastern Italy, in the middle of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic Sea and the Alps (''Alpi Carniche''). Its population was 100,514 in 2012, 176,000 with t ...

in 34th. ;2008–09 * Linden finished second at the 2008

Houston Half Marathon The Houston Marathon is an annual marathon usually held every January in Houston, Texas, United States, since 1972. With thousands of runners and spectators, it is the largest single day sporting event in the city. It is run concurrently wit ...

and ran her personal best time of 1:12:10. This time qualified her for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Marathon Team Trials. * At the U.S. Olympic Trials in Boston in 2008, she finished 13th in 2:37:50. * Later at the track portion of the Olympic Trials in Eugene, she ran tenaciously with the leaders of the 10,000 meters before fading to 11th. * At the 2008

Chicago Marathon The Chicago Marathon is a marathon (long-distance foot race) held every October in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the six World Marathon Majors. Thus, it is also a World Athletics Label Road Race. The Chicago Marathon is the fourth-largest r ...

, Linden finished 5th in 2:31:33. * On August 23, 2009 Linden finished tenth at the IAAF World Championship in the marathon and set a personal record by 3 minutes. Her time of 2:27:53 was the second-fastest American woman. ;2010–11 * She finished second at the 2010 Chicago Marathon, setting a personal record by one minute. Her time of 2:26:20 was the fastest American woman. * Linden came in third at the 2010 USA Championships 10,000m (32:22.32) * Linden finished second at the 2011 Boston Marathon by just two seconds and set a personal record by four minutes. Her time of 2:22:38 was then the fastest time ever run by an American woman in the Boston Marathon. After her success in Boston she was invited to throw the first pitch at a Detroit Tigers game. ;2012–13 * She finished second in the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials January 14, 2012 in Houston, TX with a time of 2:25:55. which qualified her to run the marathon at the

2012 London Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

on August 5, 2012, but did not finish. Her Olympic failure was attributed to a stress fracture of the

femur The femur (; ), or thigh bone, is the proximal bone of the hindlimb in tetrapod vertebrates. The head of the femur articulates with the acetabulum in the pelvic bone forming the hip joint, while the distal part of the femur articulates wit ...

. * 2013 marked her return to competition, finishing second at the USATF Half Marathon Championships. * At the 2013 Berlin Marathon, Davila finished fifth, winning her age group, in 2:29:15. For this accomplishment, she was selected the USATF Athlete of the Week. ;2014–15 * She finished 10th at the

2014 Boston Marathon The 2014 Boston Marathon took place in Boston, Massachusetts, on Monday, April 21 (Patriots' Day). It was the 118th edition of the mass-participation marathon. The race is organized by the Boston Athletic Association. On account of the 2013 ...

, in 2:23:54, second fastest American woman, behind

Shalane Flanagan Shalane Grace Flanagan (born July 8, 1981) is an American long-distance runner, Olympic medalist and New York City Marathon champion. She was the first American woman to win the New York City Marathon since 1977. She holds the NACAC area reco ...

at 2:22:02. * She finished 5th at the 2014 TCS New York City Marathon in 2:28:11, the fastest American woman. * She finished 4th at the

2015 Boston Marathon The 2015 Boston Marathon was the 119th running of the Boston Athletic Association's mass-participation marathon. It took place on Monday, April 20 ( Patriots' Day in Massachusetts). The men's race was won by Lelisa Desisa from Ethiopia in a time ...

, in 2:25:39, the fastest American woman. * Desiree finished 6th in the 10,000 meters in 32:53.50 at

2015 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2015 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships were held at Hayward Field, University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. Organized by USA Track and Field, the four-day competition took place June 25–28 and served as the national championships i ...

on June 25 * She won a silver medal at the 2015 Pan American Games 10,000 meters. She led the majority of the race, which set up

Brenda Flores Brenda Eunice Flores Muñoz (born 4 September 1991) is a Mexican long-distance runner. She was a double gold medallist for Mexico at the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games and a silver medallist at the 2015 Pan American Games. She repres ...

to sprint past her on the final straightaway. ;2016 Linden LA16

* On 13 February 2016, she placed second, behind

Amy Hastings Amy Cragg (née Hastings; born January 21, 1984) is an American track and field athlete, specializing in long distance running events. She is the 2015 American champion in the Marathon, the 2012 American champion in the 10,000 meters, and a qual ...

, at the US Olympic Marathon Trials, finishing in 2:28:54 in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. * On April 30, she placed second, behind Tara Erdmann Welling at the USA Half Marathon Championships, finishing in 1:11:06 in Columbus, Ohio. * August 14, Linden placed 7th at the

Athletics at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Women's marathon The women's marathon event at the 2016 Summer Olympics took place on 14 August on the Sambadrome. Summary At 9:30 in the morning, the race started with temperatures around . The pack stayed bunched, with Mare Dibaba, Visiline Jepkesho, Rose ...

in 2:26:08. ;2017 * On March 19, she placed 7th at the New York Half Marathon, finishing in 1:11:05. * On April 17, she finished 4th in the 2017 Boston Marathon, finishing in 2:25:06, with the leader

Edna Kiplagat Edna Ngeringwony Kiplagat (born 15 November 1979) is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner. She was the 2011 and 2013 World Champion in the marathon. She established herself as an elite marathon runner with wins at the Los Angeles and N ...

winning in 2:21:52. ;2018 Desiree Linden

* On April 16, she placed 1st at the 2018 Boston Marathon, finishing in 2:39:55. She became the first American to win the category in 33 years. * On November 4, she finished the 2018 New York City Marathon in 6th place with a time of 2:27:51. ;2019 * On April 15, she placed 5th at the 2019 Boston Marathon. * On November 3, she finished the 2019 New York City Marathon in 6th place with a time of 2:26:46. ;2020 * On February 29, she placed 4th at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials with a time of 2:29:03. ;2021 * On April 13, she completed a 50K in 2:59:54, becoming the first woman ever to run 50 km under 3 hours and breaking the world record (previously 3:07:20 by Aly Dixon on September 1, 2019). This was Linden's first ultramarathon. ;2022 * On April 18, she completed the 2022 Boston Marathon in 2:28:47, taking 13th overall and 3rd among the American women.

Personal bests

Personal life

Linden is an aficionado of bourbon. One of her role models is

Deena Kastor Deena Michelle Kastor (née Drossin; born February 14, 1973) is an American long-distance runner. She was a holder of American records in the marathon (2006-2022) and numerous road distances. She won the bronze medal in the women's marathon at t ...

. She married marathoner Ryan Linden in 2013.

References

External links

* * * *
Desireé Linden fan page at Facebook

Desireé Linden Hansons Brooks
{{DEFAULTSORT:Linden, Desiree 1983 births Living people American female long-distance runners American female marathon runners Olympic track and field athletes of the United States Arizona State Sun Devils women's track and field athletes Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Track and field athletes from San Diego Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Boston Marathon female winners Athletes (track and field) at the 2015 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games 21st-century American women 20th-century American women