Rochester Hills Runner Wins Rio 2016 Olympics Marathon Berth

ROCHESTER HILLS, MI – A distance runner from Rochester Hills has earned a berth in the Rio 2016 Olympics this summer during competition earlier this month at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Team Trials in Los Angeles.

Desiree Linden finished second to Amy Cragg, who surpassed Linden late in the marathon in 2 hours, 28 minutes and 27 seconds. Linden, 32, finished at 2 minutes, 29 minutes flat to win a spot in the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games, according to The Detroit News.

“That was the toughest marathon ever. It felt like so much longer,” Linden said. “It was an absolute grind out there. It was a mental battle.”

“You just let them go and trust and stay and it will work out fine. Just stay tough and it kept working out. I’m super happy to be on another team because you can’t take these things for granted at all.”

Linden was the top American finisher in her last two marathons, New York in 2014 and Boston last spring.

Linden, a member of the Rochester Hills-based Hansons-Brooks Distance Project, is taking a breather from training in Bali. Her coach, Keith Hanson told the Detroit Free Press he wanted “get away — stay out of touch, and don’t use the phone.”

Linden competed in the 2012 London Olympics, but didn’t finish the women’s marathon because of a stress fracture in her foot.

Hanson said “making the team again is redemption” for Linden, who has trained on roads around Rochester Hills and Stoney Creek Metro Park during the years since London.

“We’ve done a ton of work on the dirt roads,” Hanson told the Free Press. “Desiree also spent time this past winter at a base camp in Kenya. She moved here (to Rochester Hills) about 10 years ago and she and her husband (Ryan Linden) have made a real home, planted roots in Rochester Hills.”

Linden (nee Davila) was born in Chula Vista, CA, and ran for Arizona State, where she was a two-time All-American in track and cross country.

Linden and Cragg roomed together at Arizona State and were bridesmaids at each other’s weddings.

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