No American woman had won the Boston Marathon for 33 years until Des Linden crossed the finish line in 2018. It was a feat of endurance and willpower in awful conditions: sheets of freezing rain blasted the runners and the crowd, elite runners dropped out left and right, and Des broke the tape still wearing her soaked windbreaker and mittens. But the weather only made it that much more iconic, a historical finish for Des and a sign of things to come in the growing field of elite American female runners.