Desiree Linden, a Chula Vista, Calif., native and graduate of Hilltop High School, made history Monday in Boston.
Running in a cold heavy rain with strong winds, Linden became the first American woman to win the Boston Marathon since 1985.
The two-time Olympian and 2011 Boston runner-up pulled away at the end of Heartbreak Hill and ran alone through Brookline to finish in an unofficial time of 2 hours, 39 minutes, 54 seconds. That's the slowest time for a women's winner since 1978.
The temperature was in the mid-30s in Boston, with wind gusts up to 32 mph.
"It's supposed to be hard," said Linden, who wiped the spray of rain from her eyes as she made her way down Boylston Street alone. "It's good to get it done."
The last American woman to win Boston was Lisa Larsen Weidenbach in 1985. That was before the race began offering prize money that lured the top international competitors to the world's oldest and most prestigious annual marathon.
Yuki Kawauchi passed defending champion Geoffrey Kirui in Kenmore Square to win the men's race in an unofficial 2:15:58 and earn Japan's first Boston Marathon title since 1987. Kirui finished second.
