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.
\nPresenter Maggie Mertens \;is an independent journalist and author. Her work\, which often focuses on the intersection between gender\, culture\, and sport\, has appeared in The Atlantic\, The Wall Street Journal\, Sports Illustrated\, and The Guardian\, among others . Her first book\, \;Better Faster Farther: How Running Changed Everyt hing We Know About Women\, is a national bestseller.
\nPresented thr
ough the Humanties Washington Speaker's Bureau program.
\;
Join us and learn about the histories\, contributions\, and lived exper iences of those around us as we uplift community voices and explore storie s that act as mirrors of our own lives and windows into experiences differ ent from our own.
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