Bobbi Gibb

        At a time when it was believed that women were not physiologically capable of running marathon distances and the longest sanctioned women’s race was 1.5 miles, Bobbi Gibb challenged the prejudices and became the first woman ever to run the Boston Marathon.

        Refused an entry application to the prestigious men’s division race, she decided to run anyway. She felt certain that once people knew that women could run these distances, the race would open up to women. She knew that if she could disprove this false belief, she would throw into doubt all the other false beliefs about women that had served for so long to deny women opportunities in many walks of life.

        She hid in the bushes near the start, wearing her brother’s Bermuda shorts and a blue hooded sweatshirt. When the starting gun fired, she eased into the middle of the pack. The men around her quickly realized that she was a woman, and to her great relief, they were supportive.

        When she removed the hot and constricting sweatshirt, everyone could see that she was a woman, and to her surprise, the crowd cheered. The press saw a story in the making. A local radio station broadcast her progress along the route.

        She ran all the way to Boston and crossed the finish line in three hours, twenty-one minutes and forty seconds, ahead of two thirds of the men. Her feat, which was front-page headlines, astounded the world and was a pivotal event that helped to change social awareness and drew attention to running as a way of life for everyone.

        In 1996, the Boston Athletic Association officially recognized her three wins in 1966, 1967 and 1968, and her name was inscribed with the names of the other winners on the Marathon Memorial in Copley Square, Boston.

        It was not until 1972, when the Amateur Athletic Association changed the rules governing sports, that an officially sanctioned women’s division race opened in Boston. Until that time, all women were running in the yet to be sanctioned women’s division Boston Marathon. This era is now referred to as the pre-sanctioned era. Sara Mae Berman was the pre-sanctioned women’s winner in 1969, 1970 and 1971. Nina Kuscsik was the first women’s winner of the officially sanctioned women’s division in 1972.

Introducing Bobbi's most recent book

Wind in the Fire

Available at Harvard Book Store

 http://www.harvard.com/book/wind_in_the_fire/

The Garden (detail)
Mural on canvas by Bobbi Gibb
Copyright 2000 Bobbi Gibb

The Garden (detail)
Mural on canvas by Bobbi Gibb
Copyright 2000 Bobbi Gibb