When Bobbi Gibb tried to enter the Boston Marathon in 1966\, she was told women were not &ldquo\;physiologically abl e to run twenty-six miles.&rdquo\; Even when she snuck in and finished the marathon\, the running federations\, medical community\, and broader cult ure continued to tell women they weren&rsquo\;t capable of such feats of e ndurance.
\nThis talk explores the nearly twenty years between Gibb& rsquo\;s run and when the women&rsquo\;s marathon was finally entered into the 1984 Olympic Games. It&rsquo\;s the story of how women from different walks of life came together to change our social ideas about what they ca n and should do.
\nMaggie Mertens \;is an independent journalist
and author. Her work\, which often focuses on the intersection between ge
nder\, culture\, and sport\, has appeared in The Atlantic\, The Wall Stree
t Journal\, Sports Illustrated\, and The Guardian\, among others. Her firs
t book\, \;Better Faster Farther: How Running Changed Everything We Kn
ow About Women\, is a national bestseller.
Join us and learn ab
out the histories\, contributions\, and lived experiences of those around
us as we uplift community voices and explore stories that act as mirrors o
f our own lives and windows into experiences different from our own.
Presented through the Humanties Washington Speaker's Bureau program.
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