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Articles tagged #Desiree Linden
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Very little has gone according to plan for anybody this year. And Desiree Linden is no exception.
After placing fourth on February 29 at the 2020 Olympic Marathon Trials (the top three—Aliphine Tuliamuk, Molly Seidel, and Sally Kipyego—made the U.S. Olympic Team), she was disappointed. The alternate position wasn’t what the two-time Olympian was after on the hilly Atlanta course. However, her spirits were quickly lifted, she said, because she also had the Boston Marathon coming up on April 20—the race she won in 2018.
“Having Boston on the schedule made me move on and not dig into what happened at the Trials too much,” she said. “Then Boston got canceled and I was like, ‘Dear god, I probably need to process this.’
Officials announced on Friday that the 2020 Boston Marathon would be postponed until September 14 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Linden said she found out at the same time everybody else did, at her home in Rochester Hills, Michigan.
“I went for a run during the press conference,” she said. “Obviously I had been connecting the dots like everybody else and it was the obvious thing to do.”
Linden, 36, took a little time on Monday during a phone interview with Women’s Running to reflect on her Trials race and the Boston Marathon cancellation, as well as offer some advice to runners struggling without races on the calendar. What follows are some outtakes from the conversation.
The Olympic Marathon Trials and evaluating her performance.- Linden said she hasn’t spent a lot of time going over the details of the Atlanta race. The course was difficult, but she felt prepared for it. The training got a little tricky when she came down with the flu about three weeks before the race.
“We managed the training—I just didn’t have a great hand of cards. I had a respectable day, but it wasn’t indicative of my ability and I think the further away we get from that race, the less I remember. I don’t think there’s a lot of value in overthinking it anyway. Obviously the course was super tough and I remember that Laura [Thweatt] was pushing the group most of the second lap [of an eight-mile loop, run three times] and part of the third. She stretched us out a little bit and I covered her move, then Aliphine and Molly went after that. I had run that last [5K] section of the course the day before and I wonder if I over-respected it or got it just right? I was on super tired legs and I knew that last section was going to be really tough for everybody, so I left a little bit in the reserves. When I finished, I was perfectly exhausted—my legs were toast and there was nowhere in those last three miles I could have done more.”
After the Trials finish, Linden said she was feeling more positive because her training had been going in the right direction after recovering from the flu. She knew she could capitalize on it for the Boston Marathon.
“Immediately after the Trials, it was just Boston, Boston, Boston. That was super exciting. That day after the Trials I felt surprisingly decent. Then this buzz about the coronavirus started getting louder and then it became a little more exhausting to get out the door. It was hard to think about workouts geared toward Boston when I started thinking, ‘I could just be recovering right now.’ But also, running is my normal and what makes me feel better. Anyway, I’m enjoying a little break finally and that feels good—I’m just running based on how I feel, assuming we can continue running outside. I’ll slowly get back into it.”
(03/18/2020) Views: 264 ⚡AMPThe 124th Boston Marathon originally scheduled for April 20 was postponed to September 14 and then May 28 it was cancelled for 2020. The next Boston Marathon is scheduled for April 19, 2021. Among the nation’s oldest athletic clubs, the B.A.A. was established in 1887, and, in 1896, more than half of the U.S. Olympic Team at the first modern...
more...The three Olympic women’s berths from next Saturday’s US marathon trials in Atlanta look to be up for grabs among at least five challengers. Besides Desiree Linden, who placed seventh in Rio, there are Jordan Hasay, who was third in Boston last year, Emily Sisson, who was sixth in London in her 26-mile debut, Molly Huddle, a two-time track Olympian, and Sara Hall.
Amy Cragg, who placed ninth in Rio and would have been a contender, has been battling Epstein-Barr virus and withdrew this week.
Linden, the former Boston Marathon victor who’s bidding to make her third team, already has committed to competing here in April. If she qualifies for the Games, she’ll be running three marathons in just over five months.
On the men’s side, Galen Rupp, who won bronze in 2016, is the decided favorite, with Jared Ward (sixth in Rio), Leonard Korir, and Scott Fauble, last year’s top domestic finisher in Boston, also in the mix.
The Atlanta loop course, which will finish in Centennial Olympic Park, is a hilly challenge and will be more so if the midday temperature is in the 70s, as it often is on that date. That’s still cooler than it’s likely to be in Sapporo (average temperature 78), the former Winter Games site where the races were moved to avoid Tokyo’s sauna (87).
(02/23/2020) Views: 796 ⚡AMPThe 2020 US Olympic Trials for both men and women took place in Atlanta, Ga on Sunday Feb 29. Runners had to qualify by running certain standards beforehand. The trials are hosted by the Atlanta Track club. The course runs through the heart of Atlanta and past monuments from the 1996 Olympic Games Most countries around the world use a...
more...In a joint statement this morning, John Hancock and the Boston Athletic Association announced that sixteen prior race champions, including 2018 winner Desiree Linden, would run the 2020 Boston Marathon scheduled for Monday, April 20. The 2020 race, always held on the third Monday in April, will be the 124th running of the world’s oldest marathon.
“In our 35th year as principal sponsor of this historic race, we are excited to welcome back our accomplished champions,” said John Hancock chief marketing officer Barbara Goose through a statement. “Their return is a testimony to the tradition and legacy that is the Boston Marathon. These champions are not just racing each other, they are chasing history.”
While today’s announcement included the race’s four open and wheelchair division champions from 2019 –Lawrence Cherono of Kenya, Worknesh Degefa of Ethiopia, Manuela Schär of Switzerland and Daniel Romanchuk of the United States– it is the inclusion of Linden, a two-time Olympian, which will likely get the most attention, at least domestically. Linden, 36, who won the bitterly cold and rain-soaked edition of the race in 2018 where three quarters of the elite field couldn’t finish, will run Boston for the eight time. Moreover, she plans to double back from the USA Olympic Team Trials Marathon which will take place 51 days earlier in Atlanta on February 29. A top-3 finish there would put her on her third Olympic team.
“Running the Boston Marathon seven weeks after the U.S. Olympic Trials is a plan that has been in the works for roughly a year,” Linden explained in a written statement. “I crossed the finish line in 2019 and knew if my body was capable, I wanted to return to Boston in 2020. My coach, Walt Drenth, and I had some long conversations on doing the double, how we would tailor the training, and if it was reasonable to expect to run well in both races. We were both excited about the challenge.”
Linden’s marathon career began inauspiciously in Boston in 2007 when she finished 18th in 2:44:56, a time which would only have qualified her for next year’s Olympic Trials by four seconds. But when she returned to the race in 2011, she was a different athlete, nearly winning in a personal best 2:22:38 after a thrilling three-way battle against Kenya’s Caroline Kilel and Sharon Cherop on Boylston Street. Kilel got the win in 2:22:36, just two seconds ahead of Linden and six seconds ahead of Cherop.
Other prior race champions in the open division announced for the 2020 marathon were Yuki Kawauchi of Japan (first in 2018); Edna Kiplagat (2017), Geoffrey Kirui (2017), and Caroline Rotich of Kenya (2015); and Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia (2013 and 2015), the reigning World Athletics marathon champion. Prior wheelchair division champions who have entered were Tatyana McFadden of the United States (2013 – 2016, 2018), Marcel Hug of Switzerland (2015 – 2018), Ernst van Dyk of South Africa (2011 – 2016, 2008 – 2010, 2014), Hiroyuki Yamamoto (2013) and Masazumi Soejima (2007 and 2011) of Japan, and Josh Cassidy of Canada (2012).
“The race for the tape on Patriots’ Day will surely be both competitive and compelling, as John Hancock has fielded a tremendous team of champions,” said Tom Grilk, the B.A.A. CEO. “With 16 returning champions, the roads leading to Boston will be filled with many of the most decorated runners and wheelchair racers in history. Another memorable chapter in Boston Marathon history will surely unfold on April 20.”
The Boston Marathon –which recorded 26,632 finishers in 2019– is part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors, a confederation of the world’s top marathons, and is also a World Athletics Platinum Label road race. The Platinum Label is new for 2020 and has been given only to a super-elite group of eight marathons so far: Tokyo, Nagoya Women’s, Seoul, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York (two to four more may be added, according to World Athletics).
(12/17/2019) Views: 557 ⚡AMPThe 124th Boston Marathon originally scheduled for April 20 was postponed to September 14 and then May 28 it was cancelled for 2020. The next Boston Marathon is scheduled for April 19, 2021. Among the nation’s oldest athletic clubs, the B.A.A. was established in 1887, and, in 1896, more than half of the U.S. Olympic Team at the first modern...
more...The 2020 US. Olympic Marathon Trials on Feb. 29 were marked on Gwen Jorgensen’s calendar since her Nov. 2017 announcement that she was leaving the triathlon to pursue running full time in hopes of winning the 2020 Olympic gold medal in the marathon.
But now, less than three months out from the event, Jorgensen announced that she will not run the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials and instead focus on making the U.S. team for the Summer Games on the track in the 10,000 meters.
“It’s a multitude of emotions,” Jorgensen, 33, says. “I’m disappointed. At the same time, I’m also excited. I’m at a point where I’m running 70 miles per week and training is going well. I just know that if I went to the trials, running 70 miles per week, I’d be hoping that I made a team. That’s not what I want to do at an Olympic Trials.
I want to go in confident and knowing that I have the ability to make a team. My goals in the marathon aren’t changing. My timeline is.”
Heel surgery forced Jorgensen, who converted to distance running after winning the Rio Olympic triathlon, to pass up the Feb. 29 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials and focus on the track and field trials in June in the 10,000m and, probably, the 5000m.
She made the decision after recent talks with her coach, Jerry Schumacher, following a difficult recovery from late May surgery to correct Haglund’s deformity.
“I could get bent out of shape and sad about it, but at the end of the day, I’m excited because I know this path that I’m on will not only be a successful route, but I also think it will lead to success long term in the marathon," she says. "I’m confident in my abilities on the track."
Jorgensen’s goal was a lofty one from the onset. No American woman has won gold in the marathon at the Olympics since Joan Benoit Samuelson’s victory in the 1984 inaugural running. The 2020 trials, where the top three finishers qualify for Tokyo, are shaping up to be one of the most competitive races of the year, as American women’s distance running is at its highest level with recent World Marathon Major victories by Shalane Flanagan at the 2017 New York City Marathon and Desiree Linden at the 2018 Boston Marathon.
Even after giving birth to her son Stanley in Aug. 2017, Jorgensen could have returned to the triathlon and arguably been a contender to become the first woman to win back-to-back Olympic gold medals. But she and her family decided to move to Portland, Ore., and once settled there, Jorgensen signed a professional running contract with Nike and joined the Bowerman Track Club.
Jorgensen worked her way to the marathon by racing on the track in the spring of 2018 and ran a few U.S.A. Track and Field road race championships. She says her training went well, nailing all but one workout in 12 weeks. But in the three days before she was set to compete in the Chicago Marathon, Jorgesen battled a fever and underestimated the effects of running while sick. She finished in a disappointing 2:36:23 in her professional marathon debut.
Now fully healed, healthy and recovered, Jorgensen is working her way back to train with her Bowerman teammates. Her day sometimes includes a hill sprints, a track workout, pelvic floor therapist treatment, physical therapy exercises for her achilles and then an evening workout before returning to her family.
“I think it’s important not to be afraid when you need to admit that your goal needs to change,” Jorgensen says. “I’m not going to say that I’m failing because I still want to have my marathon goals, but the timeline has changed. It’s still important to have big goals and to share those goals. It holds everyone accountable.”
(12/05/2019) Views: 626 ⚡AMPThe 2020 US Olympic Trials for both men and women took place in Atlanta, Ga on Sunday Feb 29. Runners had to qualify by running certain standards beforehand. The trials are hosted by the Atlanta Track club. The course runs through the heart of Atlanta and past monuments from the 1996 Olympic Games Most countries around the world use a...
more...Proving again that age is no barrier to the distance or pace of elite marathon running, Sinead Diver finished a superb fifth best woman in the New York Marathon, her time of 2:26:23 equally rewarding over what is one of the toughest of all the big city courses.
Improving on her seventh place finish in the London Marathon back in April, Diver was also closing fast on the fourth-placed Nancy Kiprop from Kenya, finishing just two seconds behind, the top four women all from the East African nations that typically dominate the long distances.
Although quietly insistent about not making a big deal about her age, now just four months shy of her 43rd birthday, Diver’s performance is among the most impressive in the now 49 years of the New York Marathon, especially given the mother of two, who still works full-time as a software developer, only took up running at 33.
Her best time remains the 2:24:11 she clocked in London just six months ago, although New York is rarely a place to run records of any sort. Still very much the Irish woman running for Australia - as Diver is happy and proud to put it - it’s also the best Irish performance in the race after Mark Carroll took sixth place in the men’s race in 2002.
With outright victory and the $100,000 top prize going to Kenya’s Joyciline Jepkosgei in 2:22:38, just seven seconds shy of the course record and the second fastest women’s time ever run in New York, this was also one of the most competitive races in those 49 years.
Kenya’s four-time previous winner Mary Keitany was broken by Jepkosgei in the closing miles and ended up second in 2:23:33, with the top Ethiopian Ruti Aga, who won the Tokyo Marathon back in March, third in 2:25:51.
Unlike the other Marathon Majors, New York also doesn’t employ pacemakers, male or female, which also makes it a true run race. Diver actually put herself at the very front from just after the starting canon, setting the pace from the start on Staten Island and over the Verrazzano Bridge into Brooklyn.
Diver then endured a slight detour around the three-mile when directed to the wrong side of a course crash barrier, forcing her to duck under some race tap to escape, but she quickly regained her composure.
After the East African women pressed ahead before halfway, Diver held her own pace, passing halfway in 1:12:02, average out at 5:35-mile pace: the American Desiree Linden, former winner of the Boston Marathon, who also set the pace early on, was reeled in over the final miles and ended up sixth 2:26:46, still one of the fastest times by any American run in New York.
With around 52,500 starters, the biggest of the big city marathons, the testing course, winds through the Five Boroughs, before finishing up through the rolling hills of Central Park, rarely lets up and neither did Diver.
“New York will be hilly and I prefer flat courses, but the experience of just racing for placing will be great practice leading into Tokyo,” she said beforehand, her 2:24:11 from London almost certain to get her on the start line for that Olympic marathon next summer, where she be will representing Australia, and the clearly now not unrealistic medal contender.
New York will likely be her last marathon before the Olympics. Having missed out on Rio 2016 due to a knee injury caused by the cuboid bone in her foot, competing in Tokyo will be extra special for Diver.
Recently taking a small leave of absence from here full-time work as a software developer in order to prepare of for New York, she said: “If you feel good enough to do it then give it a go,” she says about racing so competitively at age 42. “Nobody else can tell you what your body is capable of. There is nothing to suggest that when you turn 40 you need to fall apart. It hasn’t happened for me and I feel fitter than I was ten years ago. If I can do it then I can’t see why other people can’t do it too.”
She’s come a long way from her native Belmullet in Mayo, then Limerick and now Melbourne, where she moved in 2002 with her Limerick-born husband Colin, now also home to their two sons young Eddie (nine) and Dara (six).
Just over a month ago she clocked an excellent 31:25:49 to finish 14th in the World Championships 10,000m in the searing heat of Doha, a world record for a woman over the age of 40. Her 2:24:11 in London improved by over a minute the 2:25:19 she ran to win the Melbourne Marathon in October 2018, that already the second fastest ever by an Irish woman, her London time now the third fastest by Australian standards.
Her remarkable running story (and unfortunate “switch” to Australia, after Athletics Ireland refused to select her for the 2015 World Championship marathon in Beijing) has been told before: within six months of winning Melbourne last year, Diver also improved her track times over 5,000m (15:23.65) and 10,000m (31:50.98), before running 1:08:55 for the half marathon in Japan in February, also the fastest ever time for a woman over the age of the 40.
Geoffrey Kamworor made it a Kenyan double by winner the men’s race in 2:08:13, the best non-African finisher there being the American Jared Ward in sixth, in 2:10:45, making Diver the outright best non-African finisher on the day. Superb running by any standards.
(11/03/2019) Views: 581 ⚡AMPThe first New York City Marathon, organized in 1970 by Fred Lebow and Vince Chiappetta, was held entirely in Central Park. Of 127 entrants, only 55 men finished; the sole female entrant dropped out due to illness. Winners were given inexpensive wristwatches and recycled baseball and bowling trophies. The entry fee was $1 and the total event budget...
more...The world record holder for the women's half marathon running 1:04:51 in 2017, Joyciline Jepkosgei in her marsthon debut out-ran last year's winner Mary Keitany to win this year's New York City Marathon clocking 2:22:38. Keitany finished second in 2:23:32. Both are from Kenya.
Boston Marathon champion Desiree Linden lead much of the first half and held on to be the first American placing sixth running 2:26:49 just three seconds ahead of Kellyn Taylor also from the US who ran an amazing well paced race.
Australian, 42-year-old Sinead Diver placed 5th clocking 2:26:23. At one point early she took the lead and looked in control.
It was 46 degrees at the start and the wind at points did slow down the times. Over 52,000 runners started.
Kenyan's Geoffrey Kamworor who set the world record for the half marathon in Copenhagen running 58:01 in September ran away from the field to win the men's race clocking 2:08:13. This was his second win. Albert Korir placed second clocking 2:08:36.
Jared Ward was sixth overall and first American clocking 2:10:45. There were many outstanding performances today. 71-year-old Gene Dykes finish with 3:11:19.
(11/03/2019) Views: 931 ⚡AMPThe first New York City Marathon, organized in 1970 by Fred Lebow and Vince Chiappetta, was held entirely in Central Park. Of 127 entrants, only 55 men finished; the sole female entrant dropped out due to illness. Winners were given inexpensive wristwatches and recycled baseball and bowling trophies. The entry fee was $1 and the total event budget...
more...Sara Hall, 36, ran a personal best 2 hours, 22 minutes, 16 seconds, sixth fastest in U.S. marathon history. Her previous PR was 2:26.20 at the 2018 Ottawa Marathon.
The women’s race was won by Ashete Bekere in 2:20:14, pulling away at the end from fellow-Ethiopian Mare Dibaba, 2:20:21, with Kenya’s Sally Chepyego taking third overall in 2:21:06.
Hall’s time takes four minutes from her previous best time of 2:26:20 and moves her up to sixth in the U.S. all-time rankings.
“I’m very happy. It’s the first time I’ve run a marathon with negative splits,” Hall told Runner’s World. “When I began to catch other women after halfway, I had fun and ran some 5:15 miles. It got tough near the end, with strong wind and running alone, but I finished strong. Ryan and I knew I was ready for an improvement, and it’s good to do it well.”
Hall is among several women with Arizona ties who are U.S. contenders for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Others include Amy Cragg, Emily Sisson, Kellyn Taylor, Desiree Linden, Allie Kieffer and Stephanie Bruce.
Hall also gave a lot of credit to her husband and coach, Ryan Hall, who is the American record holder in the half marathon. She said it was her best period of training ever, with not one day off for injury or illness since racing Boston in April.
“We knew from her training times that she was ready to move to a new level. It was a matter of getting it right in the race today,” Ryan Hall added.
(09/30/2019) Views: 868 ⚡AMPThe story of the BERLIN-MARATHON is a story of the development of road running. When the first BERLIN-MARATHON was started on 13th October 1974 on a minor road next to the stadium of the organisers‘ club SC Charlottenburg Berlin 286 athletes had entered. The first winners were runners from Berlin: Günter Hallas (2:44:53), who still runs the BERLIN-MARATHON today, and...
more...The 2019 Humana Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon will once again include a world-class group of elite men and women when they toe the line on Sept. 15 in the City of Brotherly Love. Given the depth of the elite field, the half marathon is set to be one of the most competitive races in the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series® circuit all year.
The flat and fast course starts on Benjamin Franklin Parkway, runs through Center City before winding along the city’s scenic Schuylkill River and finishing at the iconic “Rocky Steps” of the Philadelphia Art Museum.
Leading the field will be the defending women’s Humana Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon champion Desiree “Des” Linden. Linden won the 2018 Boston Marathon, becoming the first American woman to win the race in 33 years. Linden is a two-time Olympian from San Diego, Calif. and has represented the United States of America at the last two Summer Olympic Games.
Her best finish came in 2016 in Rio when she placed seventh in the women’s marathon. Her personal best in the marathon is 2:22:38 while her best for the half marathon is 1:10:34. “I’m looking forward to returning to the Humana Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon to defend my title,” said Linden.
“Last year this race worked well in my preparations for the TCS New York City Marathon; I’m excited to compete against my fellow Americans and the international field on the streets of Philly.” Linden’s victory at the 2018 Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon came in her first competitive race after winning the Boston Marathon, and she will be striving for a repeat this year among yet another stacked field of contenders. In addition to Linden, the women’s field is punctuated by a wealth of talent that features Olympians and rising stars. One of those rising stars is Fontana, Calif. native Jordan Hasay.
Hasay, just 27 years old, has landed herself on the podium at marquee events throughout the country: she placed third in both the 2017 and 2019 editions of the Boston Marathon, finishing with a time of 2:23:00 and 2:25:20, respectively. In addition to that, Hasay took third at the 2017 Chicago Marathon with a finishing time of 2:20:57.
Hasay’s participation in the 2019 Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon will mark her second year running in the event, following her third-place finish in 2017 when she clocked in at 1:10:41. “I competed here at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon in 2017 and enjoyed the race, I went on to set a personal best at Chicago Marathon that year so I hope that I can come here and perform at the front end which will set me up for another great marathon,” said Hasay.
“This race is steeped in USA road racing history; countless national and world records have been set here, so I would love to add my name to the roll of honor.” The star-studded men’s field is led by four-time Olympian Abdi Abdirahman. The Somalian-born Abdirahman represented the United States at the Olympics in 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 and placed third in the New York City Marathon in 2016. He has personal bests of 2:08:56 in the marathon and 1:01:07 in the half marathon.
Abdirahman will be taking on talented newcomers like Clayton Young and established competition like Tyler Andrews. Young, who hails from American Fork, Utah, was the 2019 NCAA 10,000-meter champion, and will be making his debut in Philadelphia. Cambridge, Mass. native Andrews took home top honors at the 2019 United Airlines Rock ‘n’ Roll Washington DC Marathon & ½ Marathon with a finishing time of 2:24:13 in the marathon.
“We are incredibly excited about the field of participants that are slated to run at the Humana Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon,” said Audra Tassone, Regional Director for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series.
“This event has proven to be one of the most successful tune-up events for an incredibly talented group of elite runners and we are anxious to see how it all shakes out next month. To be able to put World Marathon Major winners, Olympic medalists, and World Champions on the same starting line is a testament to the regard in which this race is held.”
(08/23/2019) Views: 867 ⚡AMPThe Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series makes running fun. Each year, more athletes participate in Rock ‘n’ Roll running events than any other running series in the United States. What started as a simple idea in 1998 – a marathon with bands along the course celebrating each participant – soon transformed the running landscape igniting the second running boom. While...
more...When Kellyn Taylor was plotting the lead up to the 2020 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, she had already checked “run a fast marathon time” off her to-do list, by way of the 2:24:28 she clocked at the 2018 Grandma’s Marathon. What else did she want to accomplish before the big show?
“I’ve done New York City once and it was my highest placing [in a major marathon] ever,” Taylor said, during a phone interview with Women’s Running. “It was my favorite marathon to date. For me, it’s more about not feeling stagnant before the Trials—I perform best when I come off a big buildup.”
The tactical nature of the New York City Marathon, combined with the hillier terrain of the course will serve as good practice for the Trials course that she’ll run on February 29, in Atlanta. And the competition she’ll face? On the American side, it will also look familiar, joined by a stellar international presence as well.
New York City Marathon officials announced the full professional field on Tuesday, and it includes Mary Keitany of Kenya, the defending champion who has won the race four times already. It also includes Ruti Aga of Ethiopia with a 2:18:34 personal best, and Worknesh Degefa, also of Ethiopia, who has a 2:17:41 best and won the 2019 Boston Marathon. Joyciline Jepkosgei, the world record holder in the half marathon (1:04:51) from Kenya is also slated to compete.
Taylor will face off with a number of U.S. women who she’ll compete with in February at the Trials, where the top three finishers will earn a place on the 2020 Olympic team. Desiree Linden, the 2018 Boston Marathon champion and two-time Olympian, will race, as well as Sara Hall, who has a 2:26:20 best. Allie Kieffer (2:28:12) is scheduled to return to racing, too, after tending to injuries over the past year, along with Diane Nukuri.
When Taylor ran the 2017 New York City Marathon, she placed eighth in 2:29:56. She came away with a few key lessons she’ll try to remember on November 3.
“Having faith in your abilities is the biggest thing. The last time, I didn’t make the first big move that everybody else made and found myself separated from the pack,” she said. “I ran the fastest mile of anybody in that race when I caught back up to them, so I need to put myself in it. That’s when the magic happens.”
Taylor is coming off a third-place finish in the 10,000 meters at the U.S.A. Track & Field Outdoor Championships, which is her best finish at a national track championships. It leaves her with another notch of confidence heading into 2020.
(08/09/2019) Views: 941 ⚡AMPThe first New York City Marathon, organized in 1970 by Fred Lebow and Vince Chiappetta, was held entirely in Central Park. Of 127 entrants, only 55 men finished; the sole female entrant dropped out due to illness. Winners were given inexpensive wristwatches and recycled baseball and bowling trophies. The entry fee was $1 and the total event budget...
more...Des Linden says she’s running every marathon as if it’s her last. She could have said goodbye on April 15, finishing fifth in defense of her Boston Marathon title, blowing kisses to the crowd after denying regurgitation.
Instead, Linden plans to race the New York City Marathon for the third time and second year in a row on Nov. 3.
The two-time U.S. Olympian placed fifth in 2014 and sixth in 2018 at the five-borough event. She decided to sign up again after a post-Boston break and a weeklong Hong Kong vacation.
“Just been logging a lot of miles deciding what would be next and got the itch to start doing workouts and getting the longer stuff,” Linden said. “It’s the biggest stage in the world, so it’s hard to pass up on that opportunity. It’s a no-brainer. I like tough, technical courses.”
Linden, 36, could become the oldest female U.S. Olympic marathoner since 2004 next year. But, taking the one-at-a-time mantra that Shalane Flanagan adopted late in her career, she’s not (yet) committing to the Olympic trials on Feb. 29.
Neither of Linden’s previous Olympic experiences was especially memorable. She dropped out of her first Olympic marathon in 2012 with a stress fracture in her femur. She was seventh in Rio, missing a medal by less than two minutes. The Kenyan-born gold and silver medalists were later busted for EPO and are serving lengthy doping bans.
“I don’t feel like I have anything to prove and anything unfinished,” at the Olympics, Linden said. “Quite frankly, the last experience is a hard sell to get back out there to try to compete for medals when you’re not even really sure what the field is all about. It’s a little bit difficult to be excited about that with the way we are about the [World Marathon] Majors. People investing in anti-doping have really been solving that problem [at the majors]. It’s a little tricky [at the Olympics], but certainly representing your country is special.”
Linden did acknowledge that a technical, undulating course like New York could provide ideal preparation for the Olympic trials course in Atlanta that, like New York, is not expected to produce fast times. Linden also dismissed it being too tight of a turnaround from the latest of the fall major marathons to a trials in the winter.
Linden did not race fall marathons in 2011 or 2015 ahead of Olympic trials, though the trials race was earlier each of those years. If she does race at next year’s trials, it would mark her shortest break between marathons of what would be her 20 times contesting the distance.
“There’s ample time to recover and get back at it,” she said. “I don’t need to go and run a fast time or get a qualifier or anything. It was just about picking the race that was going to get me excited.”
(08/06/2019) Views: 780 ⚡AMPThe first New York City Marathon, organized in 1970 by Fred Lebow and Vince Chiappetta, was held entirely in Central Park. Of 127 entrants, only 55 men finished; the sole female entrant dropped out due to illness. Winners were given inexpensive wristwatches and recycled baseball and bowling trophies. The entry fee was $1 and the total event budget...
more...“It was an honor to be back and I knew today was going to be a big test to defend but I had a blast out there,” Linden told NBC Sports Network. “Right around 18 (miles), I thought, ‘I think I’m done. Hang up the shoes, retire.' The Boston crowds are so phenomenal, they just kind of helped me regroup.”
Despite Linden joining the lead pack from the start and leading at times, it quickly became the chase pack as 28-year-old Ethiopian Worknesh Degefa separated from the group early and built about a 90 second lead before the 10 mile mark. Degefa won the race with a time of 2:23:30.
With much better racing conditions this year, 35-year-old Linden easily beat her championship time of 2 hours, 39 minutes, 54 seconds from a year ago.
Linden, who lives in Washington, Mich., put on a surge to take the lead of the chase pack with just over 10 miles to go, but the pack trailed Degefa by over two and a half minutes at that point. Linden and fellow American Jordan Hassay even moved into second and third-place, respectively, before Linden fell back from the pack. Hassay, 27, finished as the top American in third place with a time of 2:25:20.
“I think Jordan’s come here and done really well,” Linden said. “She’s in that third spot consistently and she’s going to have a breakthrough on this course. She’s going to make a name for herself. She is the future -- well, she is right now -- of American distance running. The future is bright.”
Linden went through the halfway mark at 1:13:09. Linden’s time has met the American Olympic qualifying standard. After claiming a $150,000 prize for winning last year, Linden will take home a $15,000 prize for fifth place this year.
What is next for Linden?
“Lunch right now, for sure,” Linden said. “Then, regroup ... You finish fifth and you go, ‘maybe there’s a little bit more.’”
(04/15/2019) Views: 986 ⚡AMPThe 124th Boston Marathon originally scheduled for April 20 was postponed to September 14 and then May 28 it was cancelled for 2020. The next Boston Marathon is scheduled for April 19, 2021. Among the nation’s oldest athletic clubs, the B.A.A. was established in 1887, and, in 1896, more than half of the U.S. Olympic Team at the first modern...
more...Worknesh Degefa, 29, built up a commanding lead and even through Kenya's Edna Kiplagat closed the gap in the last few miles Degefa went on the win clocking 2:23:31 at the 2019 Boston Marathon. Edna Kiplegat of Kenya started to break away from the rest of the chase pack at about 30K, trying to run the Ethiopian leader down, but the gap was too wide. Edna Kiplagat finished 44 seconds back clocking 2:24:14. Jordan Hasasy from the US finished third clocking 2:25:20.
Going into the race Degefa was ready to run well. This January in Dubai, Worknesh Degefa set an Ethiopian national marathon record with her 2:17:41 second place finish. With that result she became the fourth fastest women’s marathoner in history.
Historically a half marathon specialist, Degefa’s top ten half marathon times (2013-2016) were run with an average time of 67:30. Her personal best was recorded at the 2016 Prague Half Marathon where she finished second in 66:14. She earned the silver medal at the 2015 All African Games Half Marathon. Degefa made her debut in the marathon in 2017 with a win at the Dubai Marathon, which she says is her proudest accomplishment.
Degefa trains in the Oromia region of Ethiopia in Arsi and Assela because of its altitude and good weather for training. Her coach is Gemedu Dedefo. Her favorite foods are rice and pasta and she enjoys traveling in Europe.
Jordan Hasay finished third again this year. Choosing Boston to make her debut in 2017, Jordan Hasay ran 2:23:00 to finish third. She set an American women’s debut record by three minutes and recorded the fourth fastest time ever run in the race by an American woman behind Shalane Flanagan, Desiree Linden and Joan Benoit Samuelson.
After Boston, Hasay ran the Bank of America Chicago Marathon and once again finished third, but improved her time to 2:20:57, becoming the second fastest American woman marathoner of all time. Besides making the podium in both the Boston and Chicago Marathons, Hasay set a half marathon personal best time of 67:55 with her sixth-place finish at the 2017 Prague Half Marathon.
During the race she set a 15K personal best of 48:21 and a 20K personal best of 64:32. She also won the 2017 U.S. national titles in the 20K, 10 Mile and 15K. Hasay was injured during 2018, but after surgery on her foot has made a complete recovery.
Hasay has been running since she was 12 years old and grew up in Arroyo Grande, California.
Last year's winner Desiree Linden finished fifth clocking 2:27:00. The weather was not a factor this year unlike last year.
(04/15/2019) Views: 1,353 ⚡AMPThe 124th Boston Marathon originally scheduled for April 20 was postponed to September 14 and then May 28 it was cancelled for 2020. The next Boston Marathon is scheduled for April 19, 2021. Among the nation’s oldest athletic clubs, the B.A.A. was established in 1887, and, in 1896, more than half of the U.S. Olympic Team at the first modern...
more...Featured video: 2019 Boston Marathon John Hancock U.S. Elite Open Team for Monday April 15.
Abdi Abdirahman, a four-time Olympian, placed sixth at the 2017 Boston Marathon. He is a multiple national champion in the 10,000m, 10K, 10-mile and half marathon.
Shadrack Biwott finished third this year in Boston. Last year, he was second American and fourth overall. Biwott placed fifth at the 2016 TCS New York City Marathon in a personal best time of 2:12:01.
Aaron Braun, 13th at the 2018 Bank of America Chicago Marathon, is a versatile road runner. Braun is a national champion in the 12K and was top American at the 2015 Houston Marathon.
Sarah Crouch has finished top-ten three times at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, including this year where she was top American and ninth overall. She is a past champion of the Tallahassee Marathon and finished 11th at the 2016 Boston Marathon.
Jeffrey Eggleston has raced on three IAAF World Championships Marathon teams, placing as high as 13th in 2018. He has won the Pittsburgh, Woodlands, Lima and San Diego Marathons and has been runner-up in Brisbane, Pittsburgh and at Twin Cities.
Scott Fauble was the second American and seventh overall at the 2018 TCS New York City Marathon. Fauble placed fourth in the 10,000m at the 2016 Olympic Trials and represented the United States at the 2017 IAAF World Cross Country Championships.
Lindsay Flanagan, the 2015 Pan American silver medalist in the marathon, finished 11th at the 2017 Boston Marathon and set her personal best of 2:29:25 at the Frankfurt Marathon this year.
Sara Hall is the tenth fastest U.S. women’s marathoner of all time having set her 2:26:20 mark at the 2018 Ottawa Marathon. Hall has earned national titles in the marathon, 20K, 10-mile, mile and cross country. She is married to Ryan Hall, who is a John Hancock Elite Athlete Ambassador and holds the American course record of 2:04:58 at the Boston Marathon.
Jordan Hasay set an American debut record of 2:23:00 with her third-place finish in Boston in 2017. She then ran the second fastest marathon of all time by a U.S. woman at the 2018 Bank of America Chicago Marathon, where she placed third in 2:20:57. Hasay is an 18-time All American and a national champion at 15K and 20K.
Elkanah Kibet, a member of the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program, has had two top-ten finishes at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. At the 2017 IAAF World Championships Marathon, Kibet finished top American and 16th overall. He was 8th in Boston in 2018.
Desiree Linden, a two-time Olympian, returns to Boston as defending champion. A top-five finisher in eight Abbott World Marathon Majors, additional accomplishments include placing seventh at the 2016 Olympic Games Marathon, tenth at the 2009 IAAF World Championships Marathon, second at the 2012 and 2016 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials and second in the 10,000m at the 2015 Pan American Games. In addition to her 2018 win in Boston, she placed second in 2011.
Timothy Ritchie, the 2017 U.S. National Marathon champion, ran for the U.S. at the 2016 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships where he placed 23th. Ritchie is the head men’s cross country coach at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Dathan Ritzenhein is the fourth fastest U.S. marathoner of all time with a 2:07:47 personal best. Career highlights for the three-time Olympian include finishing ninth at the 2008 Olympic Marathon, winning the bronze medal at the 2009 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships and finishing 13th at the 2012 Olympic Games 10,000m.
Sarah Sellers ran through freezing rain and torrential wind this year to finish second behind Des Linden. In her 2017 marathon debut, Sellers won the Huntsville Marathon. In New York this year she finished 18th.
Brian Shrader is a versatile runner on the track and roads. He made his half marathon debut in Boston this year at the B.A.A. Half Marathon, running 1:05:26. He also made his marathon debut in 2018, running 2:13:31 at the USA Championships in Sacramento.
Becky Wade, a champion of the California International Marathon, finished 11th at the 2018 Virgin Money London Marathon and tenth at the 2017 Bank of America Chicago Marathon.
Jared Ward placed third at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials and followed with a sixth-place finish at the Olympic Marathon in Rio de Janeiro, less than a minute and a half out of medal contention. In 2017 Ward was tenth at the Boston Marathon and this year, he finished top American and sixth overall at the TCS New York City Marathon.
(04/10/2019) Views: 1,032 ⚡AMPThe 124th Boston Marathon originally scheduled for April 20 was postponed to September 14 and then May 28 it was cancelled for 2020. The next Boston Marathon is scheduled for April 19, 2021. Among the nation’s oldest athletic clubs, the B.A.A. was established in 1887, and, in 1896, more than half of the U.S. Olympic Team at the first modern...
more...When Sarah Sellers rises at 4 a.m., it’s not to sip coffee slowly in the still of the morning or head off to an early shift at the Tucson hospital where she works as a nurse anesthetist. Instead, Sellers hits the blaring alarm and gets out her shoes to tackle another early morning run.
Sellers is preparing for her second appearance in the Boston Marathon after a long love affair with running. The 27-year-old started in middle school with her parents on the trails behind their house in Ogden, Utah, and went on to run in college for Weber State from 2009–13.
For someone who has spent most of her life running, qualifying for the Boston Marathon came easy. But competing among the elites was another task all together. In 2018, Sellers arrived on the starting line in Hopkinton as a relatively unknown runner and had only competed in one marathon, in Huntsville, Utah, in Sept. 2017. She won her debut in 2:44:27—nearly 15 minutes ahead of the next woman.
“In some ways last year it was really nice to be totally naïve and do my own thing and not have anyone besides a few family members and my coach interested in how I did,” Sellers says.
The conditions at the 2018 Boston Marathon were anything but ideal. At the start of the race temperatures hovered around 37 degrees. A torrential downpour, which amounted to over a half inch of rain, soaked runners for the entirety of the race. The worst part, according to Sellers, who compared running in the heavy rains to being in a car wash, was the strong headwinds that reached up to 35 miles per hour. More than 2,500 runners visited medical tents during the race and 1,123 participants did not finish.
When Sellers crossed the finish line in 2:44:04 as the second runner in the women’s division behind two-time Olympian Desiree Linden, who became the first American woman to win the race in 33 years, her anonymity to the general public quickly vanished. Suddenly, the media was clamoring to talk to Sellers, who was in a state of disbelief over her second-place finish. “Who is Sarah Sellers?” started popping on search engines, running message boards and social media. The reality sank in after she found her husband, Blake, and he confirmed that the result was no fluke.
“It was the mixture of excitement and almost this daunting feeling,” Seller says. “It was a little bit scary because I knew it was going to be a big deal but I also asked myself ‘What did I just do?’”
Before April 16, 2018, not many people would’ve cared that Sellers ran track and cross country in middle school and high school before joining the teams at Weber State in her hometown. She was a nine-time Big Sky conference champion during her college career and was voted the university’s 2012 Female Athlete of the Year. After she was diagnosed with a stress fracture in the navicular bone in her foot during her senior year, Sellers didn’t know if she would be able to run again, because that specific bone doesn’t get much blood supply, which makes it hard to heal. She never finished her final year of NCAA eligibility at Weber State.
She went a couple of years without being able to run or could run very little,” says Paul Pilkington, Sellers’s coach at Weber State. “She wasn’t training a lot when in grad school but I think that helped her get healthy again. It’s the whole thing of ‘Hey I may never be able to run again’ that makes her appreciate it a lot.”
Sellers eventually did start running again as a graduate student at Barry University in Florida. She decided to target the 2018 Boston Marathon after her brother, Ryan, signed up. She earned her Boston qualifier in Huntsville and then reached out to Pilkington and asked him to help her train for the marathon.
(04/10/2019) Views: 994 ⚡AMPThe 124th Boston Marathon originally scheduled for April 20 was postponed to September 14 and then May 28 it was cancelled for 2020. The next Boston Marathon is scheduled for April 19, 2021. Among the nation’s oldest athletic clubs, the B.A.A. was established in 1887, and, in 1896, more than half of the U.S. Olympic Team at the first modern...
more...Cherop, the 2010 Hamburg marathon champion is making a comeback to Boston where she will face an elite field of 21 other women marathoners comprising her compatriot Edna Kiplagat, the 2017 Boston marathon winner.
Of the 22 women in the elite field, 11 have under 2 hours, 23 minutes personal bests.
Cherop, who had finished third in 2011 will also have the reigning champion, Desiree Linden of the USA, to contend with during the April 15 race.
“This time, I am going back to Boston to do my best. I can only say that I want to be among the podium finishers,” Cherop told Standard Sport.
Cherop, who has relocated her training base from Eldoret to Kararia — a mountainous area in the Marakwet highlands said she is in top shape and her preparations for the Boston race are going on well.
“I have shifted my training base because Boston is a hilly course and I have to train in similar conditions. The altitude in Kararia is also high and is good for my preparations. I have been here for three weeks now,” the Eldoret City Marathon reigning champion said from the new training base.
When asked on the bruising battle expected from Ethiopia’s Aselefech Mergia with a 2:19:31 personal best she recorded at the 2012 Dubai marathon as well as her compatriot Edna Kiplagat, Cherop said:
“Before the race, everyone is a winner and I am ready and well prepared for the challenge.”
(04/04/2019) Views: 911 ⚡AMPThe 124th Boston Marathon originally scheduled for April 20 was postponed to September 14 and then May 28 it was cancelled for 2020. The next Boston Marathon is scheduled for April 19, 2021. Among the nation’s oldest athletic clubs, the B.A.A. was established in 1887, and, in 1896, more than half of the U.S. Olympic Team at the first modern...
more...2019 Boston Marathon To Have 9 Former Champions In Elite Field. The Boston Athletic Association and sponsor John Hancock officially announced the entire team of elite runners Thursday for the 2019 race.
There will be 82 elite athletes competing, including Olympians, Paralympians, world champions and marathon majors winners from 15 countries.
The returning men’s champions will be:
2018: Yuki Kawauchi of Japan 2017: Geoffrey Kirui of Kenya 2016: Lemi Berhanu of Ethiopia 2015 and 2013: Lelisa Desisa of Ethiopia 2012: Wesley Korir of Kenya
The returning women’s champions will be:
2018: Desiree Linden of the U.S. 2017: Edna Kiplagat of Kenya 2015: Caroline Rotich of Kenya 2012: Sharon Cherop of Kenya
Seven Boston Marathon wheelchair champions will also return for this year’s race, including defending champions Marcel Hug of Switzerland and Tatyana McFadden of the U.S.
(01/28/2019) Views: 1,071 ⚡AMPThe 124th Boston Marathon originally scheduled for April 20 was postponed to September 14 and then May 28 it was cancelled for 2020. The next Boston Marathon is scheduled for April 19, 2021. Among the nation’s oldest athletic clubs, the B.A.A. was established in 1887, and, in 1896, more than half of the U.S. Olympic Team at the first modern...
more...The first American female to win the Boston Marathon in 30 years, Desiree Linden, will compete in The Louisiana Half Marathon on Sunday, January 20, 2019.
She will use the race as a tune-up as she prepares for the 2019 Boston Marathon, taking place on Monday, April 15, 2019. Runners and spectators can meet Linden during the Shipt Louisiana Marathon Expo on Friday, January 18, and during a Q&A session with Linden on Sunday, January 20, at The Louisiana Marathon Finish Fest.
The full marathon boasted the highest percentage of Boston Qualifiers for January races last year. There are four distances including the half marathon.
“We are thrilled to have Des Linden join us for the 2019 race weekend. As she prepares to defend her Boston title by running The Louisiana Half Marathon, she will experience our fast and flat course, winding through downtown Baton Rouge, historic neighborhoods and LSU’s campus,” said The Louisiana Marathon Strategic Partnerships Director Craig Sweeney.
The three-day running festival, culminating with the nationally-recognized Finish Fest, is a culturally rich event that celebrates both running and the unique culture that defines Louisiana.
(12/30/2018) Views: 977 ⚡AMPSara Hall and reported yesterday Jordan Hasay will join defending champions Desiree Linden and Tatyana McFadden on the starting line of the 123rd Boston Marathon on Monday, April 15, part of the event's elite women American field.
John Hancock, the financial services company which manages and bankrolls the race's top athletes on behalf of the Boston Athletic Association, reported earlier today that Hasay and Hall would be part of a 29-athlete elite American field.
"American distance running has never been stronger, and we're honored to support this talented U.S. elite team to showcase their dedication and passion for being the best of class," said John Hancock chief marketing officer Barbara Goose.
"With defending champions Des Linden and Tatyana McFadden leading the way, all runners are sure to persevere in the world's most historic race. We'll be cheering for everyone on Patriots' Day."
Hasay, 27, whose 2:23:00 marathon debut in Boston in 2017 remains the fastest-ever by an American woman, also signed up for the 2018 edition of the race but was unable to start due to a stress reaction in her heel.
She had backed up her Boston performance with a 2:20:57 in Chicago in October, 2017, but has not run a marathon since. Hasay was the 2017 USA 15-K and 20-K road running champion.
Hall, 35, was the 2017 USA marathon champion and is the only American athlete in history with national road racing titles from the mile to the marathon. She ran a personal best 2:26:20 at the Scotiabank Ottawa Marathon last May, but dropped out of the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon last October after running 25 kilometers with a "tweaked" peroneal, according to her official Twitter account.
(12/19/2018) Views: 974 ⚡AMPIn April, Sarah Sellers started the Boston Marathon with the elite female runners — it was just her second career marathon — and posted a surprising second-place finish.
At the 2019 race, she will return as part of the John Hancock US Elite Team. Sellers’s appearance was announced Tuesday along with the rest of the top American runners John Hancock, the race’s primary sponsor, will bring to Boston as part of its elite runner program.
Sellers will join Desiree Linden, whose intention to return to defend her victory was previously announced, and 2017 third-place finisher Jordan Hasay as the top American women in the field for the 2019 Boston Marathon on April 15. Sarah Hall, the 2017 US National Marathon champion, is also part of the team.
Flash Back: Sellers crossed the finish line in second place at the prestigious 26.2-mile race in rain-soaked conditions as a virtual unknown. Few online road-race results existed for Sellers, and she was not listed among the elite field. In the wet and windy conditions, Sellers wore a nondescript outfit, with no visible sponsors, and simply clicked the timer on her watch after crossing the finish line.
Her time of 2 hours 44 minutes 4 seconds left her in second place, and she was among seven American women in the top 10. Desiree Linden was the first American woman to win the race since 1985, a historic finish in a race full of surprises.
(12/18/2018) Views: 799 ⚡AMPYuki Kawauchi and Desiree Linden battled through dismal conditions last year, running in freezing rain and driving winds to claim their dramatic victories.
Known for his high-volume, high quality racing, Kawauchi has won over 30 marathons, holds the Japanese 50K national best time and has competed on three IAAF World Championships Marathon teams. But it was his victory in Boston that was his biggest to date.
”My victory in Boston was a moment in my marathon life that I will never forget,” Kawauchi said.
“I look forward to meeting all my fellow runners in Boston and running together with them.” Linden, a two-time U.S. Olympian, captured headlines across the US with her victory, the first by an American woman in 33 years in the race.
“In 2007, I ran my first Boston Marathon; I absolutely fell in love with the event, the course, the city, all of it,” Linden said.
“I thought I had every experience imaginable racing in Boston, but in 2019 I’m thrilled and proud to have another first as I’ll start the race as the defending Boston Marathon champion.”
(12/10/2018) Views: 892 ⚡AMPThe weather Monday in Boston was more than bad, it was terrible. Shalane Flanagan posted, “Those were the most brutal conditions I’ve ever run in.”
One elite woman just kept putting one foot in front of the other faster than anyone else until the end. Desiree Linden even at one point waited for Shalane at a bathroom stop.
This brief break, might have helped Desiree get life back in her legs as well. Desiree caught back up to the lead pack but Shalane couldn’t hang. In the end Desiree won by nearly four minutes and became the the first American woman to win the Boston Marathon since Lisa Rainsberger in 1985.
Afterwards she said there were many moments she wanted to drop out but she kept on going. Was it worth it? For her efforts she was given a check for $150,000. She could have easily not finished.
It is interesting to note that according to the race director 95.5% of those who started finished. Very impressive but then again marathoners are a different breed.
(04/17/2018) Views: 2,062 ⚡AMP