Desisa, Linden Continue to Rise

By Scott Bush

The Boston Marathon provided plenty of theatrics Monday morning, as fans bore witness to Americans leading both the men’s and women’s races through 20 miles, top finishes from some of the best marathoners in the world and a surprise finish or two.

Here’s what we learned.

Desisa’s Stock Continues to Rise

While fans await the battle between Wilson Kipsang and Dennis Kimetto at the London Marathon this coming Sunday, Desisa continued to make a case he’s one of the top 2-3 best marathoners in the world in Boston. Desisa not only put away the strong men’s field by over 30 seconds when it was all said and done, but he continued his streak of finishing top two over 26.2 miles

Desisa won the 2013 Boston Marathon, which came after a debut marathon victory at the Dubai Marathon. He followed up those two with a runner-up effort at the IAAF World Championships, along with runner-up finishes at the 2014 TCS New York City Marathon and 2015 Dubai Marathon. He got over the runner-up hump Monday and showed once again why he can never be discounted, regardless of how many other world class marathoners are in the field.

Linden Takes Over Pre-Olympic Trials Favorite Status

For the first time since 2011, fans cheered on Des Linden, hoping the Hansons-Brooks star could take home a major marathon win in Boston. Linden put herself in contention for nearly the entire race Monday, and while she lacked the closing gear winner Caroline Rotich and 2-3 finishers Mare Dibaba and Buzunesh Deba had, her fourth place, 2:25:39, finish in Boston was incredibly encouraging.

It’s been a long road back to this point for Linden, having dealt with injury in 2012 and taking the better part of the next two years to regain her world-class form. Heading into Boston, Linden spoke of her confidence and training as being the best it’s ever been, which says a lot.

Linden finished less than two minutes behind Shalane Flanagan at the 2014 Boston Marathon and beat the Portland-based champion by two minutes this time around. That swing in momentum is telling, less for Flanagan and more for Linden, who now has to be considered the pre-Olympic Trials favorite as the Trials start to be discussed.

Ritzenhein Makes a Statement

When Dathan Ritzenhein left the Nike Oregon Project to move back to his home state of Michigan last year, a lot of fans wrote him off. Struggling on and off with injuries for years, it almost seemed as though the three-time Olympian seemed ready to move on.

That is obviously not the case, as Ritzenhein ran tough Monday through the streets of Boston. After initially falling back after the first shift in pace before the half way mark, the Nike-backed runner caught the lead group and actually went up front and led for a number of miles. While he faded a bit in the end, he still finished as top American in seventh, finishing with a nice effort of 2:11:20.

When Ritzenhein gets 6-12 months of healthy training he’s incredibly tough to beat and that proved true once again. Not only did Ritzenhein beat fellow Olympians Meb Keflezighi and Matt Tegenkamp in Boston, he also showed he now has to be considered among the very tip-top favorites to earn a Team USA spot in 2016.

Rotich Breaks Through in a Big Way

When Caroline Rotich and Ethiopian rivals Buzunesh Deba and Mare Dibaba broke free from the rest of the field, most pundits believed it was a race between Dibaba and Deba to the finish. Both women owned sub-2:20 marathon bests, both had challenged for big wins before, but in the end it was Rotich who came away the victor.

Up until her win Monday, Rotich’s best World Marathon Majors performances were a duo of fourth place finishes, coming at the 2012 Chicago Marathon and 2011 Boston Marathon. She finished seventh in New York City in both 2010 and 2011, but had few other notable finishes to her name. With a best of 2:23:22 to her name, a win in Boston was reasonable but seemed unlikely.

What Rotich proved is that experience matters and it only takes one great day to win a World Marathon Majors race. The 30 year old outkicked the field, running a very strategic second half of the race. Her patience until the very end, saving one last gear to cruise away from Dibaba, was perfection personified. While it remains to be seen if Rotich can take her new level of success into other big-time races, it’s worth remembering moving forward how close some other stars have been to winning. Who’s next?

The Pace Changes When the Field is Level

Last year’s Boston Marathon was lightning fast. To run 2:23:54 and finish tenth, as Des Linden did, is nearly unimaginable. While Shalane Flanagan set a quick pace early, it was ultimately the mad dash of Rita Jeptoo which blew the field open and pulled nearly everyone to personal bests.

While last year’s race was certainly entertaining, the 2015 edition proved how marathons should more times than not be played out. With Jeptoo being busted for performance enhancing drug use, this year’s field was evenly matched across the board and with less than 10K less, there were over a half dozen athletes still in contention.

Quietly, athletes have talked about a more level playing, not only having the sport be cleaned up, but just making races that much more appealing. Boston was a clear sign of just how exciting the sport can be when the playing field is level. Maybe there were athletes in the field using PEDs, but for one day it seemed as if the field were a little more even, leaving the potential for deep fields to battle all the more available.