Across three posts on Instagram, USA’s top finisher in the marathon, Dakotah Lindwurm, recapped her experience on the streets of Paris.
The marathon course was said to be one of the most challenging in the history of the Olympics. The 26.2 mile route included significant elevation changes, and the Parisian weather was not going to be helping anyone out either. On a humid day, the temperatures at the start of the race at 8am local time were in the 70s Fahrenheit and were only going to go up.
Lindwurm begins her recap by saying, “I knew on paper I shouldn’t place in the top half of the field. But I’ve never been one to set a limit on myself, and I certainly wasn’t going to start at the Olympics,” and followed with an outline of her goals for the day. “My A goal was to medal, B goal was top 10, and C was to finish being proud of the effort I gave.”
Anything can happen at the Olympics, so giving solid goals while not putting on limits is the right strategy. For example, Meb Keflezighi, the USA’s silver medalist from the Athens games in 2004, was the 39th fastest marathoner in the field that day.
Following what she called, “the most chaotic start I’ve been part of,” Lindwurm shared that a pack of runners raced past her once they started to leave the city. She relied on her race tactics, however, and kept consistent toward the long climb that starts at the 15km mark.
The strategy worked for Dakotah, as she would eventually find herself back with the lead pack. At that point, “The pack still running pretty slowly, I felt like I was hitting the breaks to stay with them. Not at all with the intention to make it look like a move, I took the lead. I’ve had a million questions and comments about taking the lead out near Versailles. Do I regret it? Was I just trying to get TV time? Was I trying to break away from the field? The answer? No.”
One of the more touching parts of Lindwurm’s run was when a young fan connected with her, running along side and cheering her on. “When I got to the bottom around 35k a boy was yelling so loudly for me, and running alongside the fence. At this point I felt my hope for top 10 was gone, and wasn’t even sure I was in the top 15. A few moments later I looked over and he was still with me, cheering for me by name and keeping pace with me. I shook my head in disbelief. I was still running 530s, and he stuck with me for longer than I’d guess most adults could. He gave me so much inspiration to keep fighting. Even thinking of it now brings tears to my eyes.”
From there on, Dakotah would push through to the finish, earning a 12th place finish and the title of top-American at the Olympic Marathon. The icing on the cake? A proposal.
FULL TRANSCRIPT
Part one:
Going into the marathon I knew on paper I shouldn’t place in the top half of the field. But I’ve never been one to set a limit on myself, and I certainly wasn’t going to start at the Olympics. My build went just as well as the Trials build, aside from one cold that took me out for a few days. My A goal was to medal, B goal was top 10, and C was to finish being proud of the effort I gave.
The first 10k was the most chaotic racing I’ve been apart of. Elbows and shoves happen all the time on the track, but I’ve never had to fight for my space and to stay on my feet like I did early in the race. The pack was huge and the streets were narrow. I made efforts to stay towards the front to run tangents and avoid the pushing as much as possible.
Once we started to leave the city a huge pack rushed past me. I’m not sure how fast they flew by me, but I nearly got whiplash watching them. We weren’t even to the first long climb yet and they gapped me by 30 seconds. I seriously wondered if I had just let the race get away from me so early. I prefer to race consistently over the fartlek style others do, so I sat back and as we began to make the first long climb kept my eyes down and focused on all the hill work we’ve practiced. I kept my effort consistent and found myself passing women. At some point I looked up and realized the lead pack wasn’t far and I was gaining quickly. I reattached to the group for a moment and soon we had crested the hill and were near Versailles.
Part two:
The pack still running pretty slowly, I felt like I was hitting the breaks to stay with them. Not at all with the intention to make it look like a move, I took the lead. I’ve had a million questions and comments about taking the lead out near Versailles. Do I regret it? Was I just trying to get TV time? Was I trying to break away from the field? The answer? No I was just trying to keep a constant pace. I literally looked back thinking there’s no way my 530-535 pace was dropping them. But it was 🤷♀️ As I turned the corner in the front, I swear I heard the entire state of Minnesota scream.
Sooner or later they surged and caught me. Not long later before “The Wall” they surged quickly again and I dropped completely from the group. My hope was I’d reconnect on the hill, but I never reconnected at all. To say that hill before 30k was torture is an understatement. I almost put my hands on my quads and walked up, but I thought of all the hours I spent in the gym after tough workouts and how many yards I pulled a sled that was double my weight to prepare for this exact moment. My body feeling nearly parallel with the hill in my head I could hear my strength coach Jimmy yell “HIT HIT HIT HIT” in rhythm commanding my knee drive and foot strike. It was just like being in the Training Haus. Before I knew it I looked up and I was catching carnage from the lead group and was cresting the hill.
Flying down back into Paris was terrifying hoping my quads would catch me with each step. I was fighting off a calf cramp the whole hill.
When I got to the bottom around 35k a boy was yelling so loudly for me, and running alongside the fence. At this point I felt my hope for top 10 was gone, and wasn’t even sure I was in the top 15. A few moments later I looked over and he was still with me, cheering for me by name and keeping pace with me. I shook my head in disbelief. I was still running 530s, and he stuck with me for longer than I’d guess most adults could. He gave me so much inspiration to keep fighting. Even thinking of it now brings tears to my eyes. (I’ve since connected with his family, and I’m going to find a way to meet this awesome kid!)
Part three:
The rest of the race I felt so dialed in to keep fighting. I completely missed my dad sitting on my cousins shoulders. I have few memories from the last few miles but I knew I was giving it every ounce of effort. As I took the final right turn onto the blue carpet surrounded by thousands of deafening screams I held back tears and celebrated. With the finish line in sight I finally felt like an Olympian.
To get to this level takes some inability to ever be satisfied. 12th at the Olympics is amazing. Top 10 would have been epic. And I realize now that I could see 10th, I was catching her. If the race was a mile or two longer I could have closed. But if I had been 10th, I would have been pining for a medal. If I had won gold I would have wished I won by a bigger margin. That’s the beauty of this sport, we’re always striving for more.
Dakota, please forgive me I was a doubter, but your strength, tenacity, and shear guts and desire to prove me and everyone else wrong, shone thru brighter than any medal could, your achievement was the shining star of these Olympics for me. May God bless all of your continued efforts, and from now on I will be excited for you to follow along.