# Dakotah Popehn

Dakotah Marie Popehn (formerly Lindwurm; née Bullen, b. May 1, 1995) is an American professional long-distance runner sponsored by Puma who qualified to represent the United States at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. Popehn gained widespread acclaim 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.

## Early career

Before she began running, Popehn 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, Popehn 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. Popehn 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, Popehn 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.
Popehn 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.
She is also a paralegal.

### 2019

After her local success, she prepared for the 2019 Grandma's Marathon. On the route from Two Harbors to Duluth, Minnesota, Popehn kept up with the leaders and finished fourth in 2:34:02.
Her success at Grandma's Marathon cemented Popehn as one of the best marathon runners in the US. Her time qualified her for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon, and she vowed to return to Grandma's to attempt another win.
Popehn then targeted the 2019 Twin Cities Marathon. From 12 miles (19 km) until about 23 miles (37 km), she led the field. Popehn was passed by Julia Kohnen on Summit Avenue. Kohnen went on to win the race with a time was 2:31:29. Popehn finished second in 2:32:49, minutes ahead of third-place finisher, Heather Lieberg. Popehn's motto is "I am strong. I am fast. My speed will last." and is first documented as having been written across Popehn's arm during the race.

### 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. Popehn finished 36th in 2:39:08.

### 2021

When Popehn 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, Popehn 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. Popehn 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, Popehn 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, Popehn finished as the 14th overall woman (and the fourth American) in 2:29:55.
In the summer of 2022, Popehn 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, Popehn'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, Popehn 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.
Popehn 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. Popehn'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, Popehn 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 Popehn after running behind her for a half mile, then passed her to take the win in her debut marathon. Popehn 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. Popehn stayed in the mix with the top women and ended up running near fellow Minnesotans Gabi Rooker and Emma Bates. Popehn 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 Gabi Rooker.

### 2024

On February 3, 2024, Popehn 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.
She competed in the 2024 Paris Olympics Women's marathon on August 11, 2024, finishing in 12th place with a time of 2:26:44.
Popehn competed in the 2024 New York City Marathon on 03 November 2024, finishing in 17th place. Popehn led the race briefly in the early miles.

## Personal life

Popehn is a coach through Team RunRun. She lives with her husband in the Twin Cities.

## Achievements

| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
| Representing the United States ||||||
| 2024 | New York City Marathon | New York City | 17th | Marathon | 2:31:45 |
| 2024 | Paris Olympics | Paris, France | 12th | Marathon | 2:26:44 |
| 2024 | US Olympic Trials Marathon | Orlando, Florida | 3rd | Marathon | 2:25:31 |
| 2023 | Chicago Marathon | Chicago, Illinois | 12th | Marathon | 2:24:40 |
| 2023 | Grandma's Marathon | Two Harbors to Duluth, Minnesota | 2nd | Marathon | 2:26:56 |
| 2023 | New York City Half Marathon | New York City | 6th | Half Marathon | 1:12:25 |
| 2023 | Faxon Law New Haven Road Race | New Haven, Connecticut | 6th | 20 km | 1:07:42 |
| 2023 | USA National Championship 15K at Gate River Run | Jacksonville, Florida | 4th | 15 km | 52:03 |
| 2023 | Boston Marathon | Hopkinton to Boston, Massachusetts | 27th | Marathon | 2:33:53 |
| 2022 | Grandma's Marathon | Two Harbors to Duluth, Minnesota | 1st | Marathon | 2:25:01 |
| 2022 | Amway River Bank Run | Grand Rapids, Michigan | 3rd | 25 km | 1:26:39 |
| 2022 | Boston Marathon | Hopkinton to Boston, Massachusetts | 14th | Marathon | 2:29:55 |
| 2022 | Houston Half Marathon | Houston, Texas | 8th | Half Marathon | 1:09:36 |
| 2021 | USA Half Marathon Championships at Mortgage Network Half Marathon | Hardeeville, South Carolina | 3rd | Half Marathon | 1:09:40 |
| 2021 | Grandma's Marathon | Two Harbors to Duluth, Minnesota | 1st | Marathon | 2:29:04 |
| 2021 | Gate River Run | Jacksonville, Florida | 14th | 15 km | 51:31 |
| 2021 | Boston Marathon | Hopkinton to Boston, Massachusetts | 12th | Marathon | 2:31:04 |
| 2020 | US Olympic Marathon Trials | Atlanta, Georgia | 36th | Marathon | 2:39:08 |
| 2020 | Aramco Houston Half Marathon | Houston, Texas | 40th | Half-Marathon | 1:12:37 |
| 2019 | Twin Cities Marathon | Minneapolis to St. Paul, Minnesota | 2nd | Marathon | 2:32:49 |
| 2019 | Faxon Law New Haven Road Race | New Haven, Connecticut | 15th | 20 km | 1:12:15 |
| 2019 | Grandma's Marathon | Two Harbors to Duluth, Minnesota | 4th | Marathon | 2:34:02 |
| 2019 | Amway River Bank Run | Grand Rapids, Michigan | 5th | 25 km | 1:28:01 |
| 2016 | Eugene Curnow Trail Marathon | Duluth to Carlton, Minnesota | 1st | Trail Marathon | 4:01:56 |
| 2015 | Eugene Curnow Trail Marathon | Duluth to Carlton, Minnesota | 1st | Trail Marathon | 3:57:17 |
| 2014 | Eugene Curnow Trail Marathon | Duluth to Carlton, Minnesota | 1st | Trail Marathon | 4:21:41 |