Did you know that in 1972, just 3 years before I was born, the Boston marathon became the first marathon competition to allow women to enter; the distance was previously considered too grueling. In 1984, the Olympics opened the marathon competition to women. 1984! I was in elementary school before the Olympics finally allowed women to compete in the marathon distance!
But even before the Boston marathon officially allowed women to race, there were a few daring females who snuck in. In 1966, Roberta Gibb cleverly hid in the bushes until about half of the racers had passed her by. Then she quickly jumped in, ran the course, and finished in 3 hours, 21 minutes, 40 seconds (albeit unofficially). Inspired By Gibb, the following year Katherine Switzer applied under her initials, K.V. Switzer, and was accepted. About four miles into the race, officials noticed “K. Switzer” was actually a girl and tried to boot her from the run. Switzer’s boyfriend shoved the official away, allowing her to finish the course in about 4 hours, 20 minutes. (I don’t know about you, but I would like to give her boyfriend, Tom Miller, a big high five!!)
K.V. Switzer, 1967
Flash forward to 2013… Despite several cancellations due to weather and the Boston Marathon terror attack, 2013 was a record year for the marathon 26.2 mile distance with more than 1,100 marathons run across the country generating 541,000 finishers with a breakdown of 57% men (308,400, all-time high) and 43% women (232,600, a new high overall and percent) and 47% Masters – 40 and older (254,300, also a new high overall and percent). (Let’s be very clear! As of 2013, I did NOT yet fall into the Masters category! Although, I proudly claim it as of 2015 :)!)
Let that sink in… Just 41 years prior (basically my lifetime), it was “No girls allowed!” Just 29 years prior, women weren’t allowed to compete in the Olympics at the marathon distance. And yet, as of 2013 nearly half of marathon finishers in the U.S. alone were women!
Too grueling for us?! I think not.
Would you join our team?
Please make a donation in support of my efforts to run the Boston Marathon with Team In Training and help get us all closer to a world without blood cancers, http://pages.teamintraining.org/ma/boston16/adourte
Sources:
http://www.everydayhealth.com/fitness-pictures/fun-facts-about-marathons.aspx#02
http://www.runningusa.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=news.details&ArticleId=332
My Journey to Boston... 