She’s been on two Olympic teams and won the Boston Marathon, but Des Linden is still a rookie when it comes to ultra events. In her first 100-miler, the Javelina Jundred on October 31 (stretching into November 1 for some runners) in Fountain Hills, Arizona, Linden finished as the ninth woman in 16 hours and 58 minutes. Linden ran strongly for the first three laps of the five-lap race.
She took over the lead at about the 40-mile mark and held onto that lead for the next 20 miles. She hit 60.3 miles at 8:01:12, an average of 7:58 per mile pace for more than twice the marathon distance over the hilly trails. But at the aid station at 60.3 miles, Linden sat down while her crew tended to her.
She changed shoes and took about five minutes to get up and start running again. Within a half a mile of leaving the aid station, she was walking, and two female runners, Katie Asmuth and Carla Molinaro, passed her. The final 40 miles took her 8 hours and 57 minutes.
Although the daylight hours were primarily dry on the desert loop, heavy rain drenched the course at the start and after night fell, drawing comparisons to the 2018 Boston Marathon, which Linden won, in a nor’easter. Heather Jackson, 42, won in 13:48:29, averaging 8:17 pace. Molinaro was second in 13:49:24, after Jackson overtook her in the final quarter mile of the race.
Both earned “golden tickets” for the Western States Endurance Run, the famed 100-miler in June that goes from Olympic Valley to Auburn, California. The men’s race was also close: Rob Molke, 35, finished in 12:11:30, holding off Noah Dusseau, who was runner-up in 12:12:57. They also earned “golden tickets” for Western States.
Linden will likely be motivated to solve the puzzle of the 100-mile distance, as she was early in her marathon career when she wanted to master 26.2 miles. Her training wasn’t ideal leading up to Javelina, although she had several two-day stretches when she ran 30 miles one day and 20 the next. She was aware she would need to adjust her goals if she started to struggle in the later miles.
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