She’s a two-time Olympian, winner of one World Marathon Major, and the 50Shes a two-time Olympian, How Many Laps is a Mile? How Long is a Track.
Choosing to Run, Best Songs for Sprinting.
“It’s my relationship with the sport and my place in professional running, which I don’t think is a traditional path by any means,” Linden, 39, told Runner’s World.
The throughline of the book, she said, is the 2018 Boston Marathon—which she won in 2:39:54 in torrential rains and high winds, becoming the first American woman to break the tape in 33 years. She covers the untold stories from the lead-up to the day and the during the race.
She also writes about her relationships with other greats of her generation: Shalane Flanagan, Kara Goucher, and Amy Cragg.
“I think there’s a lot of camaraderie between myself, Amy, Shalane, and Kara,” Linden said. “That was a thing that was fun to dig into. As a generation, coming after Deena [Kastor], that was a core group. We felt a lot of pride in what we accomplished and also a lot of pressure to make sure we did take Deena’s success and continue to grow but also set the table for the future.”
Linden, who is known as a voracious reader, worked with Bonnie D. Ford, who was a longtime writer for ESPN, on the book.
“She’s done all the heavy lifting,” Linden said of Ford. “It’s a lot of me doing long interviews with her. I don’t know if I’m more particular than other writers who work with a ghost writer or not but we’ll then have a working document—she’ll [write] and we’ll go back and forth in the document making sure the voice is right, making sure the content is accurate, and we like the way the story is told and the pieces are in there.”
Linden is beginning her training for the New York City Marathon, which will be her 23rd time lining up for a marathon. For the first time in a couple of years, she feels like she’s already in good shape as she begins her training block.
“I did some great work by the end of the summer on the track and I’m still healthy and I’m really moving well, so that’s good,” she said. “I’m definitely fitter than I’ve been in a long time starting a marathon segment. So this will be fun, if I can stay healthy, to see if I can have a good one.”
She detailed one recent workout of alternating 1K and 400 repeats. For the Ks, she was hitting 3:10. For the 400s, she dropped below 70 seconds a couple of times, which surprised her. She joked to her coach, Walt Drenth, that the track must be short.
“I feel like my hips are under me,” she said. “It’s like I’ve been fighting against this bad mobility thing for a while. I’m finally back where I’m efficient. It turns out I’m not bad, I’m just better when I’m not fighting against my body.”
As she closes in on 40, Linden knows her days of competitive marathoning won’t go on forever.
“I’ve talked to Walt and it’s like if I can have three more really good races in my career, that’d be great,” she said. “Just picking out the key moments to have those if I have that luxury.”
I feel like my is a writer and editor living in Eugene, Oregon, and her stories about the sport, its trends, and fascinating individuals have appeared in Runner’s World since 2005. She is the author of two popular fitness books, Run Your Butt Off! and Walk Your Butt Off!
