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On April 19, 1966, Bobbi Gibb became the first woman to run the Boston Marathon. Women weren’t allowed to officially enter the marathon (which was the only one in the country at that time) until 1972. But Bobbi was a strong runner and thought she could finish. Also, she didn’t think it was fair that women were not allowed in the race. So she hid in the bushes near the start line and joined the male runners. She finished in the top quarter of the entrants, which was an amazing feat for someone who was self-trained.
Bobbi ran again, unofficially, for the next two years. In 1967, another woman—Kathrine Switzer—also ran. She managed to get an official bib by registering using her initials, and she ran the race with her trainer and her boyfriend in the middle of a snowstorm. During the race, the race manager saw a woman running with a bib, and he was furious. He ran up to her with the intention of pulling the bibs off her chest and back. He pounced on her, but her friends pulled the race director off her and told her to “Run like hell.” She did—dazed and confused, but determined—and she finished the marathon. Her refusal to stop running made history and played a major role in bolstering the growing women’s movement.
I have tried to honor these courageous pioneers with my novel and to think about how their actions might have influenced other women and girls who heard about them. Somewhere in my research, I read that five women ran in the 1968 Boston Marathon. I only know the name of one of them—Bobbi Gibb. Although Faye and Francie are figments of my imagination, I like to think that the other four women were similar to them.
If you would like to learn more about women and their history in distance running, you could start with the following books and articles that I used for historical reference. I’ve included some helpful books about male runners, too.
Marathon Woman: Running the Race to Revolutionize Women's Sports, by Kathrine Switzer, DaCapo Press, 2017.
To Boston with Love, by Bobbi Gibb, Amazon Digital Services, 2016.
Wind in the Fire, by Bobbi Gibb. The Institute for the Study of Natural Systems Press, 2016.
26.2 Miles to Boston: A Journey into the Heart of the Boston Marathon by Michael Connelly, Globe Pequot Press, 2014.
Boston Marathon: History by the Mile, by Paul Clerici, The History Press, 2014.
First Ladies of Running: 22 Inspiring Profiles of the Rebels, Rule Breakers, and Visionaries who Changed the Sport Forever, by Amby Burfoot, Rodale, 2016.
Girl Runner: A Novel, by Carrie Snyder, HarperCollins Publisher, 2015.
Once a Runner, by John L. Parker, Jr., Cedarwinds, 1999.
The Boston Marathon: A Celebration of America’s Greatest Race by Tom Derderian, Triumph Books, 2014.
The Man Who Taught Me Everything, by Amby Burfoot, Runners World, March 27, 2007.
Thank you for reading my book. Happy trails!
Diane Byington
January 2018