Des Linden, 2018 Boston Marathon winner, decided to tackle a distance not only new to her but unusual to the running world in general. Although the 50k is gaining more acceptance and being added to marathon events nationwide, there technically is no “world record” for the event. Instead, records are referred to as the world best. Linden is one of the more high-profile runners to tackle the event. There is hope it will gain more traction in the coming years.
For someone with the personal best like Linden, the world best wasn’t a daunting time to overcome. Previously held by Aly Dixon of Britain, she herself admitted Linden wouldn’t have trouble breaking her record if all went well. Oh boy did it go well.
Sara Lorge Butler of RunnersWorld covered the race. Dixon has a marathon PB of just over 2 and a half hours. Linden came through the marathon mark today in 2:31:12 according to Butler. The former Boston Marathon winner came across the finish line in an astounding time of 2:59:54. Not only does she shatter the previous 50k best of 3:07:20 set by Dixon, but she also becomes the first woman to run sub-3 hours. Barriers like this are huge in running and many times can be mental obstacles rather than physical. Linden did away with it all and shattered the ceiling.
2:31:12ish for the marathon.
— Sarah Lorge Butler (@slorgebutler) April 13, 2021
2:59:54
— Sarah Lorge Butler (@slorgebutler) April 13, 2021
The effort was truly amazing as was laid out by Citius Mag’s Chris Chavez explained.
SUB-3 FOR 50K@des_linden has broken the 50K world best in 2:59:54 unofficially per @slorgebutler.
That’s 31.1 miles at 5:47 per mile pace.
Previous world best was 3:07:20 set by Britain’s @alydixon262 in 2019.
Previous U.S. record was 3:13:51 set by Janis Klecker in 1983.
— Chris Chavez (@ChrisChavez) April 13, 2021
The show of endurance should not be lost on anyone. This performance was planned, trained for, and executed with precision you rarely see in events of this distance. The world best is now Linden’s and belongs to the Americans. If you care about that kind of thing. There have been some very exciting performances all across the running world the last week. Now watch as Linden crosses the finish line and solidifies herself in running history yet again.
WORLD BEST 50K for @des_linden today!!!
2:59:54 ????? pic.twitter.com/Oxg539DYTE— Boston Marathon Pro (@BostonMar_Pro) April 13, 2021
