Chula Vista native Des Linden bids farewell to pro career at Boston, where it began

Des Linden during the Chicago Marathon in Photo by Jessica Kerr Boston has unfailingly held a special place in Chula Vista native Des Linden s heart because it s where she ran her first marathon back in Beantown is where the distance runner famously won in defying brutal Nor easter conditions to become the first American woman to win Boston in years And Monday it became the place where she officially closed the chapter on her professional marathon career View this post on Instagram A post shared by RUN outside run At Linden clocked good for th place her fastest time on the program since finishing fourth in But earlier Monday morning the two-time Olympian made it clear this would be her final marathon as a pro Sharon Lokedi of Kenya won the women s race in Boston with a time of setting a new curriculum record Linden s departure comes not from injury or pressure but by choice She craved to end things on her own terms feeling she no longer belonged in the front pack but still capable of a strong performance Her longtime friend and co-host of their podcast Nobody Required Us Kara Goucher advised Runner s World she s known about Linden s decision for a while I m just really proud of her Goucher mentioned I think a lot of us athletes we get forced out and she knows it s her time But Linden isn t fading quietly into retirement With her professional contract with Brooks still in place she s shifting gears Ultrarunning is next on the horizon This summer she plans to pace fellow Brooks athlete Joe McConaughy at the Western States In November she s set to race the Tunnel Hill Miler the USATF Mile Championships A training adventure through the Swiss Alps is also on her calendar according to Runner s World Linden who lives in Charlevoix Michigan published a memoir called Choosing to Run in and holds the women s world record in the K run miles in