By Sarah Gearhart 

Lisa Larsen Rainsberger remembers when her white Saucony jersey grazed the finish banner at the Boston Marathon three decades ago. She crossed the line in 2:34 and proceeded to the podium in a slow, unsteady shuffle. The wide smile on her pale face didn’t correlate to the pain of running 26.2 miles in unseasonable 70-degree weather.

 

Rainsberger was presented the coveted olive wreath by then Governor Michael Dukakis after she won the Boston Marathonwomen’s title on April 15, 1985. She was the last American female to capture the title.

 

Two-time Olympian Kara Goucher was third in 2009 with a time of 2:32. The 2011 runner-up Desiree Linden (née Davila) was just two seconds shy of defeating Kenyan Caroline Kilel, who won it all in 2:22.36. And in 2014, Shalane Flanagan, a three-time Olympian, achieved a personal record of 2:22.02, the fastest for an American woman on the course, but fast enough for only seventh place.

 

The olive wreath, a tradition established in 1984, had also eluded the American men until 2014, when Olympic silver medalist Meb Keflezighi broke the tape in 2:08.

 

Whether a pivotal performance like Keflezighi’s can be repeated among one of the top U.S. women remains to be seen. But these three elite contenders — Flanagan, Linden and Amy Cragg (formerly Hastings) — will attempt to reach the podium first on April 20.

 

Shalane Flanagan

The 2015 Boston Marathon, headlined by past winners Sharon Cherop and Caroline Kilel, both from Kenya, is widely considered the deepest women’s field in history. Ten women hold personal-best times under 2:23. Among them is Flanagan, who has the fourth-fastest time of the contenders.

 

Flanagan is prepared to race even more aggressively than in 2014, when she was dropped at the top of Heartbreak Hill, mile 20. Knowing the last six miles are where the race is made, she’s focused part of her training on closing the ends of workouts faster, what she acknowledged as a weakness.

 

That she intricately knows the course — as a child she used to stand near the finish to cheer for her father, Steve — the knowledge she’s acquired from having run two Boston races hasn’t left her, giving her an advantage.

 

Absent at this year’s race will be three-time Boston Marathon winner Rita Jeptoo, who was banned by Athletics Kenya, which governs running in the country, two years for doping.

 

“Knowing that there’s no Rita Jeptoo, I’m actually just preparing more for the general field,” Flanagan said. “I’ve prepared to be the fittest version of me and hope my knowledge of the course is enough to get the job done.

 

“The beauty is that the three American women are savvy, tactical and really tough. Those strengths play to the Boston course. Dreams of being on the podium are not unrealistic for any of us.”

 

Des Linden

What will it take to win?

 

Linden said a perfect race, a bit of luck and really wanting it the last six miles, the most tactical portion. She aims to navigate the course at a 5:25-minute pace for 20 miles to put her in the hunt.

 

This will be Linden’s fourth Boston Marathon. She placed 19^th in 2007, in 2:44.56, second in 2011, in 2:22.38; and 10^th in 2014, in 2:23.54. Linden, who lives in Rochester Hills, Mich., escaped to Kenya for six weeks over winter to train at altitude. She’s averaged running up to 120 miles weekly.

 

Her 12-place finish (1:12) at the New York City Half Marathon in March was part of that mileage she pushed through on tired legs. She said the race was merely a tune-up for the legendary Boston course — a point-to-point route that starts in rural Hopkinton and finishes on Boylston Street in Copley Square. It is notorious for its rolling hills that can defeat even the most seasoned runner.

 

“With any marathon, the last six miles are the toughest, Boston especially. It’s back downhill. People tend to push the first six to 10 miles. You can bank a lot of time, but you don’t realize you’re just hammering your quads,” Linden said.

 

“I’ve definitely visualized later parts when it’s hurting and remind myself this is what the last few miles are going to feel like. You’re going to have company late if you’re in the hunt for the win. You can’t settle.”

 

Amy Cragg

Cragg, a fifth-place finisher (2:27:03) at the 2014 Chicago Marathon, set out in March to run the first 24 miles of the Boston course to get the distance on her legs and scout markers in prep for race day. Her goal time is absent. Rather, she wants to finish knowing she ran her best race yet.

 

“That may not mean a PR. That may not mean my highest place ever,” Cragg said. “I want to come off of Boston knowing that I ran a better race equivalent of my 2:27 in Chicago.”

 

The pressure to represent herself and the U.S. is always there, but she described it as a “good nervous” that she’ll use to her advantage. She’s practiced running the hills about once a week, but acknowledged she isn’t discounting any part of the course. Cragg and Linden, former teammates at Arizona State, look forward to lining up against each other.

 

“Amy is definitely one of the toughest competitors I’ve ever run against. I know her style and racing techniques probably more than anyone so it gives me an advantage, but the whole field is there,” Linden said. “It’s friendly competition, but obviously when you get out there you want to run people to the ground.”

 

Flanagan, Linden and Cragg have the top times entering the 2016 Olympic Team Trials for the marathon in Los Angeles next February. They each hope to compete for one of three spots for Rio. Boston will serve as a build-up and, perhaps, a preview for the Trials.

 

It may also serve as a chance to finally, finally, end Rainsberger’s 30-year reign.

 

“I don’t think the title is out of reach at all,” Linden said. “I think the last couple of years on the women’s side, we’ve been knocking at the door. It’s just a matter of time. We need to keep putting America’s best in the race, and we certainly have that this year.”