THE JOURNEY TO PARIS CONTINUES FOR OLYMPIAN DAKOTAH LINDWURM, by Carolyn Mather

THE JOURNEY TO PARIS CONTINUES FOR OLYMPIAN DAKOTAH LINDWURM, by Carolyn Mather 

Overwhelming is the word Dakotah used to describe her life since making the Paris Olympic Marathon team. She cannot believe how much busier she is, as she is constantly in demand. Her life has changed dramatically, as people now recognize her, and everyone wants a piece of her dream. Even on her runs or going to the grocery store, people wish her good luck or want to talk. It has been exhausting, but she is still so excited about the possibilities in her future.

After the trials, she did endless podcasts and interviews. Fortunately, she stated her partner Montana absorbs the craziness for her. He is looking forward to assisting her in navigating Paris before and after the big race. He has traveled internationally extensively and will definitely be an asset to his lady from Minnesota.

Dakatoh has lowered her mileage to 100 miles per week and has quit her swimming for a bit. She is staying focused and will start serious training on June 1st. But the last few months have been a whirlwind. She has also chosen to take a leave of absence from her job as a paralegal until after the Olympics to totally concentrate on her training and recovery.

In early April, her incredible sponsor, PUMA, took her and Fiona Keefe to Paris to get a sense of the landscape and tour the course. It was her first experience over the pond, and it was so fun and extremely hard to beat. But the course is another issue. She described the first 15K as relatively flat until it leaves the city. Then the hills begin on the out to Versailles and back course. She knows the course is incredibly challenging and will not be fast, which she knows will benefit her. There is over a 1000 foot elevation change in a few miles with a hill she described as a mountain and significantly worse and steeper than any hill she has ever experienced. She stated the downhill would be as difficult as the uphill, and the “mountain” starts. The highest point at 20.3k has an upward slope of 13.5%, and the downward slope is 13.4%. Since the course basically mimics an out and back, she said whoever makes the least mistakes will be on the podium. To help with the hills, she has added an extra gym day to her training regimen to build up her quads.It was a short but informative and fun trip.