On Marathon Weekend, Des Linden Ran 26.2 Miles, and Then Some, in New York

“It’s a tiny slice of normal to be in New York at this stage of the year,” she said.

Without races, Linden was on the same playing field as other mere mortals who were missing road races. She was bored and in search of a challenge. And so this was the month Linden decided to create a “calendar club” — running as many miles as the date on the calendar.

The first few days of a calendar club challenge are pretty easy, but the final third of the month, when every day requires at least 20 miles, is brutal. You can break up the daily miles into segments and go as slowly as you like, but it still requires following up one ultramarathon after another for four days.

If you do the math, it’s 496 miles for the month, including 196 miles during the final week.

Linden had never run more than 130 miles in a week before the third week of her challenge, when she ran nearly 150. She ran 18 miles at a pace of 7 minutes 3 seconds, 19 miles at a 7:08 pace, and 22 miles at a 7:14 pace.

Day 26 happened in a heavy, freezing downpour. “Boston 2018 weather,” she said. She decided to ease back (a relative term when you are the 2018 Boston Marathon champion) and break up the runs — she ran 16 miles in one stint and 10 in another. The next two days, she went 21 miles in one run and six in another, and then 22 miles followed by six miles. On her Instagram feed, bright smiles gave way to pictures of Linden with her feet up, her eyes weary with exhaustion.

For Day 31, she wanted something special. She wanted to run in New York. She arrived in the city from her home in northern Michigan on Friday evening, and by 8:40 a.m. Saturday, with the temperature hovering a little above freezing, she had begun a socially distanced 5-kilometer race in Central Park.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/01/sports/New-York-City-Marathon-des-linden.html