"I just felt like I just needed to get to the finish line, touch the finish line, and then celebrate. I don't feel like it is real yet. I don't know that it will until I'm back home and into my routine. But I keep getting little reminders that I am now going to be on an Olympic team, and I almost break down in tears every time."

An average high school runner, Minnesota Distance Elite’s Dakotah Lindwurm walked onto the team at Northern State University, but wound up a two-time NCAA Division II. She similarly entered the world of post-collegiate running as an unheralded but steady performer. But she ramped up to the marathon distance early, raced it often, and steadily chipped away at it, even winning the Grandma’s Marathon a couple of times. 

Still, despite boasting a well-filled-out resume, she seemed like a longshot to make an Olympic team. Too many big names were slotted ahead of her with PRs significantly faster. That all changed on Saturday when Lindwurm outlasted all but two members of one of the best fields ever assembled at an Olympic Trials marathon. Her story is sure to inspire, and her progression is one that I know high school coaches nationwide are sharing with their non-state-champion athletes this week. 

Dakotah was generous enough to chat with Kyle Merber over the phone following her qualification for this week's edition of The Lap Count.

Host: Kyle Merber | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@kylemerber on Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Guest: Dakotah Lindwurm | ⁠⁠⁠@dakotahlindwurm on Instagram⁠⁠

Read this week's newsletter here: https://www.thelapcount.com/p/making-big-meet-france

Read Dakotah's first appearance in The Lap Count from Dec. 2021 here: https://thelapcount.substack.com/p/the-victory-lap-dakotah-lindwurm

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