Dakotah Lindwurm

Dakotah Marie Lindwurm (née Bullen, b. May 1, 1995) is an American professional long-distance runner who qualified to represent the United States in the Women's Marathon at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. Lindwurm gained notoriety after winning back-to-back victories at Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota in 2021 and 2022. Her victory in 2022 made her the 12th fastest U.S. women's marathoner of all time. In 2022, she signed a sponsorship deal with Puma.

Early career
Before she began running, Lindwurm was a goalie for the St. Francis-North Branch girls hockey team.

She then started running at St. Francis High School in St. Francis, Minnesota, where she competed in cross country and track and field.

After graduating high school in 2013, Lindwurm started her collegiate running career at Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota. While competing for the Northern State Wolves, she was a five-time NCAA DII National Qualifier and a two time All-American. Her best track championship finish came in 2017 as a junior, when she finished 6th in the 10,000 meters.

Her senior year, she and her teammate Sasha Hovind were the lone Wolves at the NCAA Division II cross country championships. Lindwurm finished 34th in 21:39.

From 2014 to 2016, she also raced and won the Eugene Curnow Trail Marathon, a grueling 26.2 miles course near the city of Duluth, Minnesota, that follows southern segments of the Superior Hiking Trail.

Professional career
After graduating college in 2017, Lindwurm focused her efforts on professional running. She joined the Minnesota Distance Elite team and gained professional entry into the 2018 Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon, where she finished 13th in 1:16:16.

Lindwurm continued improving, and by early 2019, she won a local 10-mile (the Hot Dash) in 56:08. She then won the Brian Kraft 5k in 16:21, which is one of the most competitive 5Ks in the state. At the Get in Gear 10K on the Mississippi River Roads, she battled to finish fourth in 33:42.

2019
After her local success, she prepared for the 2019 Grandma's Marathon. On the route from Two Harbors to Duluth, Minnesota, Lindwurm kept up with the leaders and finished fourth in 2:34:02.

Her success at Grandma's Marathon cemented Lindwurm as one of the best marathon runners in the US. Her time qualified her for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trails Marathon, and she vowed to return to Grandma's to attempt another win.

Lindwurm then targeted the 2019 Twin Cities Marathon. From mile 12 until about mile 23, she led the field. Lindwurm was passed by Julia Kohnen on Summit Avenue. Kohnen went on to win the race with a time was 2:31:29. Lindwurm finished second in 2:32:49, minutes ahead of third-place finisher, Heather Lieberg.

2020
The Olympic Trials race in Atlanta was a hilly course, and the day provided a strong wind that runners faced again and again on the looped route. Lindwurm finished 36th in 2:39:08.

2021
When Lindwurm returned to Grandma's Marathon in 2021, her career entered a new era. She won the race, in dominant fashion, with a time of 2:29:04. She became the first Minnesotan-born woman to win since Janice Ettle's 1991 victory. The sub-2:30 time caught the attention of the national running community. Among other accolades, she was named the female athlete of the year in South Dakota, where she resided at the time.

At the autumn running of the 2021 Boston Marathon, Lindwurm ran well through the first half to be one of only two American women in the lead pack. For a while, she led the pack as the others were waiting for someone to make a move. She dropped back as Colorado runner Nell Rojas kept moving with Diana Kipyokei and other Kenyan runners. Lindwurm finished 13th overall and was the third-place American woman in 2:31:04. Her overall place improved to 12th after Kipyokei's win was vacated after she failed a doping test.

2022
At the 2022 Boston Marathon, Lindwurm was featured as one of the top American women, along with Elaina Tabb, Stephanie Bruce, and Sara Vaughn. She looked again to place high and improve her time. During the race, she tied the fastest 5K split of all the female racers (along with 2018 winner Des Linden and Canadian Malindi Elmore). She was becoming familiar with the hills and finished a minute faster than her previous finish. After Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir won in a final sprint, Lindwurm finished as the 14th overall woman (and the fourth American) in 2:29:55.

In the summer of 2022, Lindwurm took a second victory at Grandma's Marathon. Her winning time was a new marathon personal record of 2:25:01, narrowly missing the all-time course record.

Her time at the 2022 Grandma's wasn't just fast for the course. In a year that saw the American record fall twice (at the Houston Marathon and Chicago Marathon) and other incredible times posted, Lindwurm's time ranked her the sixth-fastest U.S. woman marathoner of 2022 (before the November New York City Marathon). She stood behind only five other uber-elite U.S. women: the new American marathon record-holder Emily Sisson; the three World Championship finishers Emma Bates, Sara Hall, and Keira D'Amato (who had broken the American record a few months before Sisson); and Gold Coast Marathon record-setter Lindsay Flanagan.

2023
As the Boston organizers announced their 2023 field, Lindwurm was again listed as one of the top American contenders. The announcement wasn't a surprise, in 2022, she was one of only 10 U.S. women who had run the new Olympic standard time for women's marathon (2:26:50).

She competed at the 2023 15K USATF Championship, which took place March 4 at the Gate River Run in Jacksonville, Florida. She finished in 52:03 for 4th place as Emily Sisson won her third title.

On March 19, 2023, she placed sixth in the New York City Half Marathon, four seconds behind Des Linden. The race was won by Hellen Obiri.

Lindwurm voiced confidence going into the 2023 Boston Marathon, but acknowledge the historic depth of the assembled women's field. The women's race unfolded tactically. A large pack ran together during the first 5K, then splintered some at the 10K. In the final miles, Obiri broke ahead for the win, with many American runners following in personal record-setting times. Emma Bates finished in 2:22:10—for fifth place, Aliphine Tuliamuk and Nell Rojas both ran under 2:25 for PRs. Lindwurm's pace slowed as the race stretched out; she finished in 2:33:53 for 26th.

She ran the 2023 USATF 25K Championships at the Amway River Bank Run, where she finished fourth in 1:25:58 after Betsy Saina, Keira D'Amato, and Jessa Hanson.

At the June running of Grandma's Marathon, Lindwurm led most of the way. But a chase pack that included Lauren Hagans, Gabi Rooker, and Grace Kahura made gains after the half. Hagans caught Lindwurm after running behind her for a half mile, then passed her to take the win in her debut marathon. Lindwurm finished second in 2:26:56.

October's Chicago Marathon had near perfect conditions for racing. Sifan Hassan won the race in 2:13:44. Lindwurm stayed in the mix with the top women and ended up running near fellow Minnesotans Gabi Rooker and Emma Bates. Lindwurm finished 12th overall, with a new personal best time: 2:24:40. She was the fifth American behind Emily Sisson, Molly Seidel, Sara Vaughn, and Rooker.

2024
On February 3, 2024, Lindwurm ran 2:25:31 at the US Olympic Marathon Trials at Orlando, Florida, to place third and qualify for the Marathon at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. She finished behind Fiona O'Keeffe and Emily Sisson, both of whom also qualified.

On Saturday, June 22, 2024 at the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon, after spending several hours signing autographs for fans the previous day, Dakotah achieved a PR Half Marathon with a time of 1:08:03, finishing in 2nd place just after the winner, and Puma teammate, Annie Frisbie. Both women broke the previous women's course record.

Personal life
Lindwurm is a coach through Team RunRun. She lives with her boyfriend in the Twin Cities.