Desiree Linden Explained

Birth Name:	Desiree Davila
Nickname:	Desi^[1] Des^[2]
Nationality:	American
Birth Date:	26 July 1983
Birth Place:	San Diego, California
Residence:	Charlevoix, Michigan
Occupation:	long-distance runner
Years Active:	2006–present
Height:	5inchesft1inchesin (ftin)
Weight:	100lb
Spouse:	Ryan Linden
Other Interests:	collecting whiskey and tapestries
Sport:	Athletics
Event:	10,000 meters, Half marathon, Marathon
Collegeteam:	Arizona State Sun Devils
Club:	Brooks
Coach:	Walt Drenth
Show-Medals:	yes

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.

High school

In high school Davila ran track and cross country, and played soccer.^[1] She ran a sub-5 minute mile as a high school freshman and graduated from Hilltop High School in 2001.^[1] At the CIF California State Meet she was a finalist all four years. In both 1998 and 1999 she was 8th in the 1600.^[3] 1999 saw her also attempt to double in the 800 meters, 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.^[4]

College

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

Professional career

Linden is sponsored by Coros Global, TCS, and Brooks Running.^[6]

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 in Udine in 34th.

2008–09

• Linden finished second at the 2008 Houston Half Marathon and ran her personal best time of 1:12:10. This time qualified her for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Marathon Team Trials.^[7]
• 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.^[8]
• At the 2008 Chicago Marathon, 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)^[1]
• Linden finished second at the 2011 Boston Marathon by just two seconds and set a personal record by four minutes.^[1] 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.^[1]

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.^[9] which qualified her to run the marathon at the 2012 London Summer Olympics on August 5, 2012, but did not finish.^[10] Her Olympic failure was attributed to a stress fracture of the femur.
• 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.^[11] For this accomplishment, she was selected the USATF Athlete of the Week.^[12]

2014–15

• She finished 10th at the 2014 Boston Marathon, in 2:23:54, second fastest American woman, behind Shalane Flanagan at 2:22:02.
• She finished 5th at the 2014 TCS New York City Marathon in 2:28:11, the fastest American woman.^[13]
• She finished 4th at the 2015 Boston Marathon, in 2:25:39, the fastest American woman.^[14]
• Desiree finished 6th in the 10,000 meters in 32:53.50^[15] at 2015 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships 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 to sprint past her on the final straightaway.

2016

• On February 13, 2016, she placed second, behind Amy Hastings, at the US Olympic Marathon Trials, finishing in 2:28:54 in Los Angeles, California.^[16]
• On April 30, she placed second, behind Tara Erdmann Welling at the USA Half Marathon Championships, finishing in 1:11:06 in Columbus, Ohio.^{[17] [18]}
• August 14, Linden placed 7th at the Athletics at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Women's marathon in 2:26:08.^{[19] [20]}

2017

• On March 19, she placed 7th at the New York Half Marathon, finishing in 1:11:05.^[21]
• On April 17, she finished 4th in the 2017 Boston Marathon, finishing in 2:25:06, with the leader Edna Kiplagat winning in 2:21:52.^[22]

2018

• On April 16, she placed 1st at the 2018 Boston Marathon, finishing in 2:39:55.^[23] 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.^[24]

2019

• On April 15, she placed 5th at the 2019 Boston Marathon.^{[25] [26]}
• On November 3, she finished the 2019 New York City Marathon in 6th place with a time of 2:26:46.^[27]

2020

• On February 29, she placed 4th at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials with a time of 2:29:03.^[28]

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.^{[29] [30]}

2022

• On April 18, she completed the 2022 Boston Marathon in 2:28:47, taking 13th overall and 3rd among the American women.^[31]

2023

• On April 17, she completed the 2023 Boston Marathon in 2:27:18, beating her 2022 time but taking 18th overall. She finished fourth among the top American women, behind Emma Bates, Aliphine Tuliamuk, and Sara Hall.^{[32] [33]}
• On October 8, she completed the 2023 Chicago Marathon in 2:27:35, setting a new American Masters record in the marathon distance.^[34]

Personal bests

Surface	Event	Time	Date	Location
Outdoor track	5,000 m	15:08.64	August 6, 2011	London, England
10,000 m	31:37.14	June 23, 2011	Eugene, Oregon
Indoor track	3,000 m	8:51.08	March 12, 2010	Doha, Qatar
Road	20 km	1:07.08	March 18, 2012	New York, New York
Half marathon	1:10.34	January 16, 2011	Naples, Florida
30 km	1:43.50	October 10, 2010	Chicago, Illinois
Marathon	2:22:38	April 18, 2011	Boston, Massachusetts

Personal life

Linden is an aficionado of bourbon.^[35] One of her role models is Deena Kastor.

She married marathoner Ryan Linden in 2013.^[36]

External links

• • • • • Desireé Linden fan page at Facebook
• Desireé Linden Hansons Brooks

Notes and References

1. Web site: USA Track & Field - Desiree (Desi) Linden . usatf.org.
2. Web site: After Boston, Des Linden Tries to Conquer New York . Jen A. . Miller . The New York Times . November 1, 2018 . November 3, 2018.
3. http://www.prepcaltrack.com/ATHLETICS/TRACK/stateres.htm California State Meet Results - 1915 to present
4. Web site: State Finals - 2001 . www.prepcaltrack.com . April 16, 2018 . October 17, 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131017030327/http://www.prepcaltrack.com/ATHLETICS/TRACK/2001/statmeet.htm . dead.
5. Arizona State Official Athletic Site: Arizona State University Player Bio: Desiree Davila Arizona State University. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
6. Web site: Desiree Linden | Boston 2018 Winner . Brooks Running . May 29, 2019.
7. 2008 U. S. Olympic Team Trials – Women's Marathon: Athlete Bios: Desiree Davila Retrieved April 21, 2015.
8. Web site: USATF - Events - 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field . www.usatf.org.
9. News: Keflezighi, Flanagan run to victory at U.S. Olympic marathon trials . . . January 14, 2012 . January 14, 2012.
10. NBC broadcast coverage of the 2012 London Summer Olympics
11. http://results.scc-events.com/2013/?content=detail&fpid=search&pid=search&idp=00001705C9AF3700003376E5&lang=EN&event=MAL 40 BMW Berlin Marathon
12. http://www.legacy.usatf.org/News/DESI-DAVILA-NAMED-USATF-ATHLETE-OF-THE-WEEK.aspx Desi Davila named USATF Athlete of the Year
13. http://www.tcsnycmarathon.org/about-the-race/results/overall-women Overall Women
14. http://www.baa.org/error-404.aspx?reqUrl=/2015/cf/public/pg_MobileAthleteTrackCurrentLeaders.cfm Retrieved April 20, 2015.
15. (June 25, 2015), Women 10000 Meter Run SR Retrieved June 26, 2015.
16. http://www.legacy.usatf.org/Events---Calendar/2016/U-S--Olympic-Team-Trials---Marathon/Results.aspx 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Marathon/Results
17. http://www.capitalcityhalfmarathon.com/results.shtml 2016 U.S. OhioHealth Capital City Half Marathon - 2016 USATF Half Marathon Championships Results
18. http://www.legacy.usatf.org/Events---Calendar/2016/USATF-Half-Marathon-Championships/Results.aspx 2016 U.S. Ohio Health Capital City Half Marathon - 2016 USATF Half Marathon Championships Results
19. Web site: RIO 2016 ATHLETICS MARATHON WOMEN RESULTS . olympics.com . Olympic Games . April 25, 2023.
20. Web site: Paul Myerberg . Shalane Flanagan leads three Americans in top 9 of Olympic women's marathon . usatoday.com . USA Today . August 14, 2016.
21. Web site: New York Road Runners Official Race Results . results.nyrr.org . April 16, 2018.
22. Web site: Rapp . Timothy . Boston Marathon 2017 Results: Men and Women's Top Finishers on Patriots' Day . bleacherreport.com . Bleacher Report, Inc. . April 25, 2023 . April 17, 2017.
23. News: D'Andrea . hristian . 2018 Boston Marathon: Des Linden is first American woman to win since 1985 . SBNation . April 16, 2018 . April 16, 2018.
24. Web site: Sarah Lorge Butler . Desiree Linden Finishes Sixth at the 2018 NYC Marathon . runnersworld.com . Runner's World . April 25, 2023 . November 4, 2018.
25. Web site: Top Finishers - Boston Athletic Association - BAA.org . raceday.baa.org . April 16, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180918004919/http://raceday.baa.org/top-finishers.html . September 18, 2018 . dead.
26. Web site: Top Finishers - 2019 Boston Marathon results Leaderboard . boston-iframe.r.mikatiming.net.
27. Web site: Erin Strout . Des Linden, First American Finisher, Takes a Big Swing at the 2019 NYC Marathon . womensrunning.com . Women's Running . April 25, 2023 . November 3, 2019.
28. Web site: U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Marathon Live Results . track.rtrt.me.
29. Web site: Des Linden Sets the 50K World Record . April 13, 2021.
30. Web site: Des Linden, 2018 Boston Marathon champion, sets world record for 50k race.
31. Web site: 2022 Boston Marathon results . April 18, 2022.
32. Web site: 2023 Boston Marathon results . olympics.nbcsports.com . . April 25, 2023 . April 17, 2023.
33. Web site: Matt Bonesteel . Cindy Boren . Evans Chebet, Hellen Obiri make it a Kenyan sweep . washingtonpost.com . . April 25, 2023 . April 17, 2023.
34. Web site: October 8, 2023 . Marathon Master At 40: Des Linden Breaks American Masters Record At Chicago Marathon . October 9, 2023 . en-US.
35. Web site: Eat Like an Elite: Desi Linden . Heather Mayer . Irvine . August 11, 2016 . Runner's World.
36. Web site: Petoskey Wedding Photographer // Ryan Linden & Desiree Davila! . August 29, 2013.