Bobbi Gibb wanted to run in the Boston Marathon in 1966. Officials
rejected her application, saying: “Women are not physiologically able to run a
marathon. We can’t take the liability.” Bobbi hid in the bushes, waiting for
the race to begin. When half of the runners had passed her, she jumped in.
Bobbi wore boys’ shorts and sneakers, a bathing suit, and a hoodie. “I knew if
they saw me, they’d try to stop me,” she said. “I thought I might be arrested.”
It didn’t take long for fellow runners to realize she wasn’t male, but no one called
the police or ran her off the road. Instead, they offered their protection. When
Bobbi shrugged off her hoodie, the crowd erupted – not in anger, but in joy.
Massachusetts Governor John Anthony Volpe met Bobbi at the finish line to shake
her hand. The first woman to run the marathon had just finished in the top
third.
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