Boston Marathon champion Des Linden wasn't always drawn to her signature event.
"Actually, when I first started watching marathons, I was, like, 'That's insane. Crazy. I would never do that,'" Linden told Business Insider. "So it wasn't love at first sight by any means."
But when the professional runner joined the Hansons-Brooks Original Distance Project, she saw the transformative effect that training for the marathon had on her teammates.
Image: Des Linden is the first American woman to win the Boston Marathon since 1985. Charles Krupa/AP Images
