The Victory Lap: Dakotah Lindwurm🏆
Each week I’m amazed by the athletes I get to speak with. It seems like nearly every person has had the exact opposite trajectory of mine and it’s a pleasure to listen to. They were decent in school, but they bet on themselves in the years after and find a way to be successful because of their love for the sport. It’s been incredibly insightful to learn how some of the United States’ best marathoners weren’t always superstars. And it’s refreshing to hear each week from athletes who are far from being “burnt out” from running and racing. Some are completing 90-140 mile weeks in addition to working regular jobs, and they’re happy to do it while also accomplishing incredible things in this sport.
Dakotah Lindwurm is a prime example of that, and I really enjoyed our conversation! The Minnesota native attended college at Northern State University, where she was a 2x NCAA DII All-American. But Dakotah’s career really thrived once she returned home to run for Minnesota Distance Elite. A 2020 Olympic Trials Marathon qualifier, Dakotah has built off that momentum and this year was the 3rd American at Boston and ran 2:29:04 PB to win the Grandma’s Marathon. Enjoy getting to know Dakotah!
—Mac Fleet
Did you ever foresee yourself running at the level that you are right when you were coming out of college? What was your relationship with running at that time?
Absolutely not. My relationship with running — I enjoyed it, and it was something I loved. I found some success in college, you know, relatively, in Division Two. But I graduated and I was going to get my normal job that I had gotten my major for and my college coach was like, you know, I think you could make the Olympic Trials in the marathon.
And I just kind of dove head first. He definitely wasn't saying, hey, Dakota, I think you should not pursue your career and pursue running. He was saying, ‘I think you could do this while pursuing your career as a teacher.’ But I took it head on and I decided if I'm going to try this, I'm going to go all in and I'm going to give it everything I've got. So I never pursued my teaching career as a full-time teacher, and I moved to Minnesota to be coached under Chris Lundstrom, and I never looked back.
How did you find Chris? It seems like you would’ve been in a really difficult position to find a coach and group of that caliber.
I was not a perfect fit. I was not somebody who had all of these options, you know. My coach actually had a connection through Chris. I can't remember the connection exactly, but basically, I'm from Minnesota and I went to school in South Dakota.
So my college coach was like, hey, I know that there's this group in Minnesota. He reached out to them on my behalf, and I also reached out and we basically begged him to just coach me. I knew I didn't deserve a spot on the team at that time, but I just was like, hey, I want to come there and I want to work really hard, and I'm going to do this one way or the other, and you can help me or you don't help me, and that's fine, too.
That’s incredible. I seriously cannot wrap my head around everyone’s situation coming out of college, and how good they end up being. Are you enjoying training or racing in a different capacity now that you’re at this level?
I gave a lot of myself in college and I worked really hard and I did everything my coach asked of me. But I think training wise — now you have to look beyond running the miles. All of my competition is running the mileage that their coach is giving out, and they're doing the workout that their coach is giving them.
But there's so much more, and there's so many different ways to get ahead outside of the time you're spending running, and I think maybe that was a big missing piece for me in college. You know, there's so much strength work and core and rehab and prehab, and recovery is a huge one, too. And I think that's what really has been most different for me because I got all the miles in college, I maybe just maybe didn’t do all these extra things.
You’ve had an incredible last two years. What has your approach been going into these races? Most of these fields have incredibly experienced and talented women in them.
I think my lack of knowledge of other runners probably plays to my benefit. That's part of why I try to stay out of reading too much into who's on the starting line. I think I would definitely go down a rabbit hole if I had understood who I was running in front of at Boston, I think I would have been in more of a panic.
I mean, I know the big names and I'm not, you know, completely like blind to who they are. But I think by just knowing that I belong up there — I work just as hard as all of the other women— kind of keeps me calm.
What are your bigger goals over the next year?
In the next year, I'm definitely going to be running a couple more major marathons and I’d like to crack that top 10. I have full intention to also go back to Grandma’s and bring back another win as long as it works out. And then, you know, the biggest goal is to have my eyes set on the 2024 Olympic Trials and placing top three there. But along the way, I do focus on the marathon, but I want to improve my times over the shorter distances also.
Would you say you’re interested in any of the majors overseas? I know it’s hard to turn down a Chicago, Boston, or New York appearance fee, but most of those are on the slower side.
Yeah, definitely. I have a teammate who told me, go to all of the international races while they'll pay for your travel to do so. I definitely intend to go overseas and run those races. Yeah, it's going to be tough and I know that the money isn't as great, but I would rather secure a pretty fast time somewhere else.
You were the 3rd American at Boston, and it looked like you spent quite a bit of time out there solo. Were you prepared for that and what were the most challenging parts of that race?
I'm definitely always prepared to be alone in a marathon — it's more likely than not that you're going to be alone in a marathon at some point. And until recently, Annie [Frisbie]’s schedule has been kind of funny where we didn't get to train a lot together. So I do most of my workouts, most of my long runs alone anyway.
So that felt totally normal and like home for me. I definitely struggled going up Heartbreak, which shouldn't be a surprise at all. The Newton Hills were a lot bigger than I expected them to be. And when I go back in the future, I am definitely going to prepare a little bit better for that.
Are you enjoying The Victory Lap? Then you probably know a teammate who would as well! What a great way to give someone some inspiration in their mailbox each week and to also help elite athletes in the process. This initiative has now raised over $15,600 for athletes, with all proceeds going back to those whose stories we share.
I have to ask every marathoner about their fueling. What’s your approach to it and how important is it to you?
I actually threw up during and after my first three marathons. So, yeah, it's really hard to dial in exactly what works for you.
I basically just talk to my coach the day before and he looks at the weather and he's really knowledgeable on all that. If it's warmer, you know, maybe we don't dilute the mixture quite as much. He’ll change the amounts based off of headwinds and tailwinds so that you're drinking more — you know, I just leave it all up to him and he tells me what to do and I totally trust it because the last few marathons, I haven't had any issues taking bottles.
Is your team starting to get a bit prideful? You guys have been crushing it.
You know, we're Midwesterners, so I don't know if we get too prideful, you know? We just kind of say, hey, that's awesome. And then we put our head back down and get back to work.
You absolutely should. I think you’re The Lap Count’s Unofficial Official Favorite Group at the moment.
That's awesome! I mean, I think we look around at each other and we're like, oh, we're pretty good, you know? And we're doing some really great things. But I don't think we worry too much about what other people are thinking.
What has been your proudest running moment over the last couple of years?
Definitely winning Grandma’s I spent so much time leading up to that race just thinking about what it would be like to break that tape. Being a Minnesotan and, you know, running in Duluth, I felt like I had a home field advantage, and so to cross that finish line in first was just magical. I was literally choking back tears for the last 400 meters because I was so excited and I got to run right into my dad's arms.
That’s amazing! Do you think Grandma’s is always going to be on your race schedule going forward?
Yeah, certainly. You know, even if it's just a half marathon, if it doesn't fit in with other races, I will be up there for every Grandma’s weekend, for sure.
Tell me a little bit about the dynamic of your group and with your coach?
Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays we meet together as a group. Tuesdays and Fridays would be our harder workout days. And then Sundays are our long run days. The other days of the week, we're free to just run when we want. A few of us will meet up occasionally on a Wednesday for a midweek long run. But it's not mandatory, and it's kind of nice because none of us are, you know, sponsored by shoe companies. So it gives us the freedom to have other jobs and pursue our careers outside of running also.
Alright last question for you! What’s the most exciting part of racing and training for you now?
I wouldn't call it exciting or anything, but day to day, getting out of bed and putting on my shoes and going out and having a quiet hour every morning to myself. I kind of meditate and think about my day. Or how every day that I'm out there running and making myself better, I am getting one step closer to my goals and my dreams.
It's such a quiet, behind closed doors type of process. I think I really like that it's just so on your own. And then when it comes to race day, you get to show everything that you put together.
As always we’d like to thank Dakotah for taking time for us this week — make sure to follow the rest of her journey on Instagram! Although this interview is exclusively sent to premium subscribers, please feel free to share its content with credit.