2018年4月16日，在寒冷有雨強陣風的惡劣天氣中，Des Linden 贏得了波斯頓馬拉松(Boston Marathon)的冠軍。
Des Linden在《Choosing to run》這本自傳中，是這樣平鋪直敍她長跑的心路歷程的。
原則上就是堅持踏出每一步，不斷挑戰自己的極限，不擔憂：
RELENTLESS FORWARD PROGRESS comes with a price. For most of my running life, I saw only one way to maintain momentum, and that was to take another step-right foot, left foot, repeat— especially when every cell in my brain and body was urging me to back off. I reasoned I had to do that to squeeze out the last iota of my potential and find out how good I really was. I dwelled on the rewards of that approach, not the risks, or how it might have to evolve along with me.
Des Linden認為馬拉松要跑得好，就得好好找出自己為什麼非跑不可的理由，因為在自我訓練的過程中，跳過一天或一個星期的訓練，沒有其他人會注意到或在意，只有自己。如果在競賽中感到艱難而棄賽，為成敗負責的，也只有自己：
I needed to find out if I was intrinsically motivated enough to put in the work when I was in charge and no one was watching. If I skipped a day or week of running, nobody would know, comment, or be invested. If I bailed when a session began to get difficult, I was accountable only to myself. I’d always had an easy answer for How badly do I want this? Unearthing the reasons behind that desire and taking them with me every day was a more complicated endeavor.
截至2020年10月，Des Linden算了一下，長跑的總里程數(odometer)已經達到80,000 miles(128,747 公里；1 mile=1.60934 km）。
我就想，如果這起算自開始立志為專業馬拉松選手的2006年，那代表每年平均跑8,583. 公里，每週平均跑165公里，每天平均跑23.5公里！非常驚人。
Des Linden可以說不是在參加馬拉松比賽，就是在進行日常的訓練，除了跑，還是跑！
話說Des Linden並不是第一次參加波士頓馬拉松，她在2011年的波士頓馬拉松賽中，就創下了個人有史以來的最佳成績，但可惜那並不足以讓她贏得那一次的比賽。
七年之後的2018年，她重返榮耀，奪得波士頓馬拉松冠軍，而更加難得的教訓是，這是她被診斷出甲狀腺功能低下症(hypothyroidism)之後，還必須堅忍持續訓練，才終於獲致的成果。
My 2011 finish in Boston was still my personal best time in the distance, yet it hadn’t been enough to win. Seven years later, winning meant the best effort that made sense that day—the same lesson that had been so hard for me to put into practice after my hypothyroidism diagnosis.
Des Linden的長跑人生，彎彎繞繞，又回到原來的初衷，成為了一位專業的跑者。
她的心願，就是能參加下一季的賽事，繼續挑戰自己的極限。
贏得大賽，Des Linden當然也獲得名聲、財富和自我的滿足。然而Des Linden覺得最大的收穫，是生活因此可以過得更從容。她有更充裕的時間讓自己的身體恢復，對自己感到寬心，可以好好思考自己接下來還可以繼續跑多久。
In a way, I was circling back to my beginnings as a pro, when all I wanted to do was justify another season of running, more time to make a living while exploring my limits. A year as defending champion carried prestige and financial benefits and ego satisfaction, sure, but what meant the most was having more time. Time to actually get back in shape, time to be patient with myself, time to decide how much longer I might be able to go.
讀後
我們大部分的人都會認為，善於長跑的人，是身體的天賦異稟。
如果深入去了解馬拉松選手的心路歷程，我們就會發現，他們的成就，三分靠原來的體魄，七分則是靠後天的鍛練。
他們不止要鍛練自己的心肺和肌肉，如果要真的勝出，那得克服腦袋的這一關，他們要鍛練自己的腦神經。
紀律和堅忍，不是天生的，而是來自後天不斷的錘鍊所養成的。
最難的勝出，不是其他的選手，而是腦袋𥚃的雜音。
自己是最難勝出的。
每天去跑個幾公里，就會知道這是什麼意思。
馬拉松長跑的高手，所面臨的挑戰，和你我在跑步時面對的困難，不相上下喔！
Des Linden chooses to run. Then, how about you?
*: Des Linden, Choosing to run, 2023, Penguin Random House LLC.
2025/1/13 Choosing to run Damakey
