Des Linden to race 2020 Boston Marathon and Olympic Trials
Why Des Linden wants to go out "in a blaze of glory"
The 2018 Boston Marathon champ, Des Linden, is returning to the race for 2020. Alongside defending champion Worknesh Degefa and 2017 champion Edna Kiplagat, Linden will vie for a position on the podium.
But Boston isn’t the only race on Linden’s radar–she will also run the 2020 US Olympic Trials in Atlanta just 51 days earlier. And then, hopefully, the Olympic Marathon, three months after Boston.
RELATED: Des Linden’s Twitter is the marathon pep talk you need
#BostonMarathon or Trials?
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YES. #RunHappy @brooksrunning pic.twitter.com/8c3DS1HuSi— des_linden (@des_linden) December 17, 2019
RELATED: The best interview Des Linden has ever done
Linden told the Wall Street Journal that she’s been plotting running both races for about a year. “I mean, I’m 36. I don’t have anything left to save it for,” Linden said. “I want to go out in a blaze of glory. This is it, you know?…I’m passionate about it, and I think I can do it.”
This year’s Olympics won’t be easy to make, with one of the deepest and fullest fields the U.S. trials has ever seen. There’s Emily Sisson to contend with, who ran a 2:23:08 at London this year, and Sisson’s training partner, Molly Huddle, who’s clocked a lifetime best of 2:26:33.
Besides those two, there’s Sara Hall, who ran a blazing 2:22:16 in Berlin, Jordan Hasay (the second-fastest American marathoner of all time) and event veteran Amy Cragg. But once again Linden is betting on herself. As a known grinder, she’s got a real shot at a Boston victory and a third Olympic team.
Boston lineup
On Tuesday morning, the Boston Marathon announced the first roll-out of their 2020 elite lists. It includes 16 former champions.
Women
Worknesh Degefa – 2019 Boston champion
Des Linden – 2018 Boston champion
Edna Kiplagat – 2017 Boston champion
Caroline Rotich – 2015 Boston champion
Wheelchair women
Manuela Schär – 2017 and 2019 Boston champion
Tatyana McFadden – 2018 Boston champion
Men
Lawrence Cherono – 2019 Boston champion
Lelisa Desisa – 2013, 2015 Boston champion
Geoffery Kirui – 2017 Boston champion
Yuki Kawauchi – 2018 Boston champion
Wheelchair men
Josh Cassidy – 2012 Boston champion
Marcel Hug – four-time Boston champion
Ernst van Dyk – 10-time Boston champion
Daniel Romanchuk – 2019 Boston champion