From Road Racing to Ultras with Marathon Legend Des Linden

After becoming the first American woman in 33 years to win the Boston Marathon in 2018, Des Linden has officially retired from professional road racing—but not from adventure. In a candid and heartfelt conversation, she reveals how the marathon’s mental strategy, historical weight, and emotional stakes shaped her identity, while also exposing the quiet toll of chasing perfection. Now, she’s trading pavement for desert sands, embracing the unknown with her next wild idea: the Marathon de Sables, a grueling, self-supported stage race across the Sahara Desert where she’ll carry all her gear, survive extreme heat, and confront the limits of endurance in a completely unfamiliar terrain. What drives her now isn’t victory, but the thrill of being nervous again—of not knowing what’s ahead. Her transition from elite road racing to ultra trail running isn’t just a change in sport, but a reclamation of wonder and curiosity. Linden’s journey reflects a deeper truth: true fulfillment often comes not from mastering the familiar, but from stepping into the unknown. Her decision to retire on her own terms—supported by Brooks and announced in a full-page Boston Globe ad—was as strategic as any race plan. Now, she’s training with saunas, treadmill runs in heated garages, and sand drills, all while embracing the chaos of not having a playbook. Her new mantra? Not calm, calm, calm—but curiosity, fear, and the joy of not knowing. This isn’t an ending. It’s a reinvention.