First there's Linden, a former track standout from Arizona State, who headed straight to the Hansen Brothers' training group in Michigan after college to focus on the marathon. Linden served notice in 2011 finishing a close but no cigar 2nd at Boston. Two Olympic teams would follow but Linden didn't have a major marathon title to show for all of her success.
The win came complete with a shocking detour to help Shalane Flanagan after an emergency potty stop. Linden slowed to help Flanagan make her way back to the lead pack after the 14 second bathroom break somewhere around mile 11. Linden admitted she was thinking of dropping out and slowing down to help out Shalene got her head back in the game.
The weather God's gave the gritty Linden the kind of awful conditions guaranteed to lay the Africans low. Then there's the moment, the moment Des Linden had to know the race was hers. She had followed Kenya's Glady Chesir in chasing down Mamitu Daska of Ethiopia after the Newton Hills. Chesir made the mistake of showing weakness by glancing back just before mile 22. That's when Linden struck, battling awful, freezing headwinds and rain to win in 2:39:54. Chesir and Daska would drop out leaving second to an unheralded American Sarah Sellers.
As Linden blew away the women's field by more than four minutes, a drama was unfolding in the men's race were respected, but little thought of Yuki Kawauchi was racing his third marathon of the year, unheard in this day and age for world class runners. Kawauchi was watching Kenya's Geoffrey Kirui falling apart after a massive attack on the Newton Hills. The Japanese runner, who has run more sub 2:20 marathons (77) than any competitor in history, managed to close a 90 gap that Kirui had built up over the gradual descent leading to the finish.
With around two miles to go Kawauchi had reeled Kirui in and the race was over. The Kenyan looked to be jogging over the final miles while Kawauchi seized the day winning in 2:15:58, more than seven minutes off of his lifetime best. For running fans Kawauchi is especially sweet as he works at a regular job and races often, without any sponsorship support.
Linden victory follows Flanagan's New York City win marking the clear return of American women as a force to reckoned with on the world marathon stage. And Kawauchi's improbable win ranks on my list up there along with Amby Burfoot's unlikely victory at Boston 50 years ago. It was a win for a runner who likes to race, not the time trialing marathons we've come to expect at other world majors like London and Berlin.
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