Bobbi Gibb – The First Woman to Run the Boston Marathon

This International Women’s month we want to take a look back on a true icon in Women’s History. Bobbi Gibb was the first woman to run and complete the Boston Marathon! However, due to misinformation and sexist policies, she had to break the rules to achieve this.

In 1966, Bobbi applied to take part in the Boston Marathon, but her application was denied. “Women are not physiologically able to run a marathon” and the Amateur Athletics group, who organized the event, were not willing to “risk the liability of having her compete.” The prevalent myths at the time were that long distance running made women’s legs swell, put hair on their chest and face, and would lead to their ovaries falling out. None of it back by any reputable science, of course!

But Bobbi wouldn’t take no for an answer and so she set out to prove a point. Since she couldn’t get an official runner’s bib, she had to hide out in a bush near the starting line and sneak into the crowd of runners as the race started. Bundled up in a sweater to hide her figure, she run unnoticed for some time. But eventually the male runners around her caught on! Fortunately the men cheered her on, even the crowd began cheering her on to keep going! (This was a much better response than what Kathrine Switzer would receive in the same race just one year later). As she approached the finish line, she removed her sweater revealing who she was and finished with a runtime of 3 hours and 21 minutes, beating two thirds of the other competitors. Since she hadn’t been approved to be in the race, she didn’t officially win, but her participation became an inspiration for many.

The next year Kathrine Switzer ran in the race with an official bib. Though Jock Semple, co-runner of the Boston Marathon, tried to forcibly remove her. Thanks to Kathrine’s running ability (and her ex-football playing boyfriend who tackled Jock Semple) she finished the race! However, Jock had her disqualified. Still, Bobbi and Kathrine’s successful runs were the death knell for the sexist belief that women couldn’t run marathons, and soon women only marathon events popped up in 26 countries!

Bobbi serves as a reminder to question the status quo and how persistence can lead to positive change!