Des Linden has run Boston in a snowstorm. She’s set American records on the track. But nothing in her long career quite resembles what she pulled off last week in the Moroccan Sahara.
Linden, 42, finished third at the 2026 Marathon des Sables — one of the most grueling stage races on earth — in only her second trail ultramarathon ever. She crossed the final finish line in a cumulative time of 30:16:32, earning her spot on the podium alongside women who have spent years mastering this specific, punishing format.
“Officially an @mdslegendary Legend!” she posted to Instagram after the race.
It’s a title that’s hard to argue with.
What the Marathon des Sables Actually Is
The Marathon des Sables is not a race most people would sign up for on a whim. Now in its 40th year, the event winds through Morocco’s Sahara Desert over six stages and roughly 270 kilometers (168 miles) of sand dunes, rocky plateaus, and open desert. Daytime temperatures are punishing. Nights are cold. Runners carry their own food and gear for the entire week. The race organization provides water, a shared bivouac tent, and medical support — everything else is on you.
This year’s 40th anniversary edition raised the stakes further. The notorious long stage — traditionally around 82 kilometers — was extended to 100 kilometers to mark the occasion. With a 40-hour cutoff, runners had to manage sleep, pacing, and nutrition on top of just covering the distance. More than 1,500 runners from 68 countries started the race.
It is, by any measure, the kind of event that humbles experienced ultra runners. If you want an unfiltered sense of what it’s like on the ground, our honest account from a first-timer is worth a read. Linden had been to one ultra trail race before this — and it was two months ago.
From Road Legend to Desert Rookie
Linden is best known to most runners for her 2018 Boston Marathon win, a gutsy performance in near-impossible conditions that made her a household name in the running world. She’s also a two-time Olympic marathoner and holds the American record in the 50K, running 2:59:54 at a Brooks Running event in Oregon in 2021.
But trail racing is a different animal. In February 2026, she made her trail debut at the Black Canyon Ultras 50K in Arizona, finishing 14th. Six weeks later, she was on a plane to Morocco. We covered her decision to make the jump in our earlier piece: Des Linden’s Bold Shift To Ultra Racing In The Sahara.
At the Marathon des Sables, there are no roads and no familiar feedback loops. It’s sand, rock, and scorching heat, and the race doesn’t care about your PRs.
Linden came out cautiously on Stage 1, finishing fourth in 3:25:26 — nearly 20 minutes behind the day’s winner, France’s Maryline Nakache. She moved into the top three on Stage 2 and held that position for most of the race, trading third place with Agathe Teillet-Magot of France through the early stages.
The race’s defining moment came on Stage 4 — the 100-kilometer behemoth. While several competitors cracked on that stage, Linden did not. She finished third on the day in 12:16:57, cementing her position on the overall podium and showing exactly the kind of late-race composure she’s built her career on.
She carried that composure through to the end, finishing the final 23.2-kilometer stage and crossing into third place overall. Her cumulative time of 30:16:32 put her nearly an hour behind second-place Aziza El Amrany of Morocco.
The Women at the Top
Linden’s achievement looks even more impressive when you consider who she was racing against.
France’s Maryline Nakache won the race with a commanding performance that left little room for debate. She won all six stages and finished in 25:54:29 — nearly three and a half hours ahead of El Amrany in second. It was her third Marathon des Sables title, following wins in 2023 and 2025. She was, by every metric, in a different race than the rest of the field.
El Amrany, the 2024 champion with four prior podium finishes, took second for the second consecutive year in 29:22:34.
Behind them, Linden ran the kind of race that road runners dream about when they imagine making the jump to ultras — smart, steady, and unbroken. The women she beat included past champions and desert specialists with years of experience in this format.
She won’t be resting on it for long. Next Monday, Linden heads back to Hopkinton to run the Boston Marathon — this time pacing her husband on April 20.
