50 years ago, this woman broke the Boston Marathon gender barrier
But in 1966, she decided to do it anyways. The 23-year-old hid behind forsythia bushes near the start, wearing her brother's shorts, a black bathing suit, a large hoodie and a $6 pair of boys' running shoes.
“It dawned on me that if I could run Boston," Gibb said, "I could erase other false beliefs about women’s limitations."
The Boston native is back this year as the race's Grand Marshal. She will ride in the pace car as organizers celebrate her breaking of the gender barrier.
The incredible story of Bobbi Gibb, the first woman to run the Boston Marathon https://t.co/eH7JI0zr9C pic.twitter.com/GNzhZ15DsR
— The Female Lead (@female_lead) April 18, 2016
Roberta Gibb: The first woman to run & finish the #BostonMarathon in 1966. She didn't get official credit until 1972 pic.twitter.com/AtahFpJt04
— Alyssa Pack (@PackAlyssa1) April 18, 2016
"I was afraid I was going to be arrested," Gibb told the Hartford Courant recently of her experience in 1966. "I knew if the officials saw me, they would prevent me from running. The uppermost thing in my mind was not being stopped and I wanted to demonstrate what I'd come here to demonstrate."
Now 73 years old, she still runs daily. Kudos to Bobbi Gibbs.
In honor of Bobbi Gibb, the first woman to finish the Boston Marathon #BostonMarathon pic.twitter.com/Lz7oRi10lR
— Lori Riley (@lrileysports) April 18, 2016
