The character arc of Des Linden
A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record
Born on 26 July 1983 in San Diego. Between then and now sit high school in 2001, Arizona State in 2005, a professional debut in 2006, tenth at the world championships in 2009, second at Boston in 2011, a stress fracture at the London Olympics in 2012, seventh at Rio in 2016, the Boston Marathon in 2018, a fifty kilometre world record in 2021 and a last professional race in 2025. The line below draws the story so far, in order.
Tap the line to pluck it. Hover or tap any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of her life; the sources are at the foot of the page.
Who is Des Linden?
Two seconds, and then seven years.
She graduated from Hilltop High School in 2001 and from Arizona State University in 2005, where she read psychology and religious studies. She turned professional in 2006, qualified for the Olympic trials in 2008 and finished tenth at the world championship marathon in 2009. None of that is unusual for a good American distance runner.
In 2011 she finished second at the Boston Marathon in two hours, twenty two minutes and thirty eight seconds, two seconds behind the winner. Two seconds, over twenty six miles. In 2012 she started the London Olympic marathon and did not finish, because of a femur stress fracture. In 2016 she placed seventh at Rio.
On 16 April 2018 she won the Boston Marathon in two hours, thirty nine minutes and fifty five seconds, in conditions so bad that the finishing time was seventeen minutes slower than her own second place had been. No American woman had won it for thirty three years. The gap between those two results, and what she did in it, is the whole reason her line is drawn here. She set a women's fifty kilometre world record of two hours, fifty nine minutes and fifty four seconds in 2021, has co-hosted a podcast with Kara Goucher since January 2023, and ran her last professional race at Boston in 2025.
The moments
Des Linden's timeline.
The 2000s
Arizona State
Milestone, and it changed her direction. A degree in psychology and religious studies, which is not a running qualification.
Professional
Milestone, and it changed her direction. Twenty three years old, and paid to run.
Tenth in the world
Milestone, and it changed her direction. Tenth in the world, which is a good career on its own.
The 2010s
Second by two seconds
Setback, and it changed everything. Two seconds, over twenty six miles. That is the closest anybody comes to winning without winning.
She did not finish
Setback, and it changed everything. An Olympic marathon, and a broken femur. She did not finish the race.
Give up on Boston, or keep going
Crossroads, decided.
The paths laid out: keep turning up, taken, or take the record as it stood. She won the 2018 Boston Marathon, the first American woman to take it in thirty three years.
Seventh in Rio
Milestone, and it changed her direction. Back at an Olympics four years later, and seventh in the world.
She won Boston
Milestone, and it changed everything. Seven years after losing it by two seconds, in conditions so bad the winning time was far slower than her defeat.
The 2020s
A world record
Milestone, and it changed everything. Under three hours for fifty kilometres, at thirty seven.
Nobody Asked Us
Milestone. Two distance runners, talking, which turned out to be what people wanted.
A last race at Boston
Milestone, and it changed her direction. The last one, run where the whole thing turned.
The line reaches today still adding to itself, which is why it is drawn now rather than at the end. What it has set moving is the most useful thing a distance runner can demonstrate: that the person who wins is quite often the one who was still there.
What she wrote
Books by Des Linden
- 2023
Choosing to Run
Her memoir, built around the 2018 Boston Marathon and the seven years that led to it.
Your turn
Every line draws a unique story.
Hers lost by two seconds and kept turning up for seven more years. Yours is already further along than you think, and drawing it takes about five minutes.
Des Linden: frequently asked questions
What people ask about her line.
What is Des Linden's character arc?
When did Des Linden win the Boston Marathon?
How close was Des Linden in 2011?
What happened to Des Linden at the 2012 Olympics?
Does Des Linden hold a world record?
What is Choosing to Run by Des Linden?
What does Des Linden do now?
Where does this timeline of Des Linden's life come from?
More character arcs
Lives that rhyme with her.
Sources
- Des Linden, English Wikipedia biography, filed under living people.
- Boston Athletic Association, results for 2011 and 2018.
- World Athletics, women's fifty kilometre record, 2021.