Events › How Women Won the Marathon and Changed Our View of Gender

In 1966 Bobbi Gibb tried to enter the Boston Marathon and was told women were not “physiologically able to run twenty-six miles.” Even when she snuck in and finished the marathon, the running federations, medical community, and broader culture continued to tell women they weren’t capable of such feats of endurance. This talk explores the nearly twenty years between Gibb’s run and when the women’s marathon was finally entered into the 1984 Olympic Games. It’s the story of how women from different walks of life came together to change our social ideas about what they can and should do.

Sponsored by Humanities Washington and the Vashon Park District.

For adults.

Registration not required.