The “wall” in marathoning is famously known to be the 20 mile mark, where a runner’s muscles run out of glycogen and extreme fatigue sets in. For women in 1966 the starting line had become a wall, as the IOC and AAU had decreed that women could not even enter the race.

Bobbi Gibb had discovered a joy in distance running. After witnessing the 1964 Boston Marathon she began to train in earnest, eventually working her way up to running 40 miles at a clip. Bobbi attempted to apply for entry to the 1966 Boston Marathon but her application was denied, the response being that women were not physically able to run 26.2 miles.

At noon on Patriots’ Day in 1966, Bobbi hid in the bushes near the starting llne in Hopkinton. She slipped into the race after the starting gun went off. Worried that she would be pulled from the course, Bobbi wore a hoodie to conceal her gender. Male runners soon discovered the truth and provided support and encouragement. When word got out that a woman was running, the media followed her progress and spectators cheered her on. 

She abandoned the hoodie and paced herself carefully, finishing in the top third of the field with a time of 3 hours and 21 minutes.News headlines around the world celebrated Bobbi Gibb as the first woman to run the Boston Marathon. Her achievement was a turning point in society’s perception of what women can do.