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Even though there were huge strides in civil rights and women’s liberation in the 1960s, it might have well been the dark ages in other aspects. In 1966 Bobbi Gibb desperately wanted to run the Boston Marathon, a 26 mile test of endurance that’s regarded as one of the most important amateur races in the country. Even though she ran 40 miles a day in preparation for the race, she was denied entry because race director Will Cloney believed that women weren’t physically capable of running long distances.
On April 19, 1966, Gibb dressed in her brother’s clothes and joined the race near the starting pen. When men realized that Gibbs was a woman they cheered her on, and when she finished the race the Governor of Massachusetts, John Volpe, was waiting there to shake her hand.