Dakota Lindwurm: A Talent to be Watched, by Carolyn Mather 

Reposted Wednesday, February 7, 2024.

Originally posted April 16, 2023. 

Dakota Lindwurm, the young runner from Minnesota, surprised many and enthralled a national TV audience with her gutty running on Saturday, February 3, 2024. The following interview was done by Carolyn Mather, who noted back in April that Dakota had, to paraphrase the late, great Robert Frost, “, miles to go before I sleep”.

Dakota Lindwurm will join Emily Sisson and Fiona O’Keeffe in representing Team USA at the Paris 2024 Olympics. 

Carolyn Mather wrote this piece for RunBlogRun on Dakota Lindwurm, a rising talent in the American marathon scene. 

Dakota Lindwurm: A Talent to be Watched, by Carolyn Mather 

A new talent emerged after watching Dakotah Lindwurm cross the finish line, narrowly missing the course record, and taking a second title at Grandma’s Marathon last June. Smiling the entire way, Dakotah began making her permanent mark on women’s distance running.

The 5 foot 1 inch, 105-pound bundle of energy took the lead and never let it go. Her excitement was amazing as her family was there to witness her personal best. Running for Team USA Minnesota, Dakotah got off to a slow start. She attended a small D11 college, Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota, where she was a two-time All-American. After college, she decided to try to join Team USA Minnesota and eventually earned a place on the team.

The team is coached by Chris Lundstron and consists of thirteen up-and-coming distance runners. Chris is a very laid-back coach who obviously brings out the best in his athletes. He was definitely low-key when she raced at Grandma’s. Dakotah has found her strength in distance running.

Sipping her raspberry, hibiscus iced tea, she feels ready for this Boston. She has been doing 6 times a mile lactic threshold workouts and putting in 105 miles a week. She does doubles three times a week.

Additionally, she swims 2-3 times a week, does weights and plyometrics once a week, and does core work every day. Incredibly she works full-time as a paralegal.

This winter, she did her second stint at altitude in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with her teammate Annie Frisbee. They spent two months of solid training but unfortunately returned to Minnesota with an eight-inch snowfall, so were forced back into indoor training for a week. She feels they got the altitude training right this year. Having Annie as a training partner is a plus, as they are very close in race times. Annie debuted at the 2021 TCS New York City Marathon at 2:26.

One of her biggest moments was when Puma signed her to a running contract. She will be racing in the PumaDeviate Elite on Monday. She is thrilled to be on the Puma team and have the support and awesome Puma teammates.

Dakotah has had a busy spring racing season as she did the Gate 15k national championship in hot and humid weather, then the United Airlines New York City Half in brutal 28-degree and windy weather. She hopes to have a great Boston, then heads to Flint, Michigan, for the 25k national championship, where she has been 5th and 3rd the past two years and hopes to move up to a win this year.

Then she returns to her favorite race and will attempt a three-peat at Grandma’s in June. She loves that race, as does this writer.

On a personal note,  she is a pescatarian and loves salmon grilled or blackened. She started her fish diet to help her mom, and it stuck with her. The one thing she does not share with many is that she is deathly afraid of turtles. She has no idea why but steers clear of turtles.

In May, she will run with her boyfriend Montana in his first marathon at the Run for the Lakes but only go halfway. He is intrigued by the magic of the marathon and will get the first one done.

Dakotah has a big goal for next winter as she plans to be in the top three in Orlando on February 3rd at the Olympic Marathon Trials and earn a berth on the Olympic team and a trip to Paris.

Dakotah is a woman on a mission, and I would keep her on your radar.

Editor’s note: Carolyn Mather is a long-time runner and observer of the sport. She wrote for Running Journal, the iconic Southern running magazine published by Bruce Morrison, and has written for RunBlogRun for many years. We are glad to see her writing once again.