Runnerville

With the second showing of “Spirit of the Marathon” this week, one is left with the impression that Katherine Switzer was the first woman to run the Boston Marathon. But as Craig Snapp of San Diego writes, there was one who came before; one who was left on the cutting room floor when “Spirit” was produced.

Each played a vital role in the development of women’s running. Bobbi Gibb showed by her solo efforts that the marathon distance was, in fact, no big deal for women. Katherine Switzer showed by her tenacity in the face of adversity that women could compete in more than the athletic arena. Her subsequent work in developing the Avon International Marathon series was a critical element in achieving a women’s Olympic Marathon in 1984. Both deserve our praise, but make no mistake - there remains a cool relationship between the camps of the two women. Craig’s revealing story is below.

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BOBBI GIBB, THE FIRST
By Craig Snapp

Bobbi Gibb was The First Woman to run the Boston Marathon. Bobbi Gibb. Apparently, a lot of folks don’t know that, or have forgotten that. She did it in 1966. In 1967, she was The First Woman to finish, by over an hour ahead of The Second Woman. However, the latter had sent in an application, using only her initial for her first name, and so she, (illegally), received an “Official” number, although it could not be “Official”, because, at that time, women were not allowed to compete in events longer than 800 Meters! So, early in that 1967 edition, when race official Jock Semple saw a woman with a number, he attempted to remove it from her. Famous photos were taken of his attempt, he failed, she finished, and many forgot that Bobbi Gibb had hit the line eight miles ahead of second-place. In 1968, Bobbi Gibb was The First Woman to finish, again. This afternoon, I had the great opportunity to talk with Bobbi Gibb, and part of that conversation follows. 

Recently, Bobbi saw a movie, called “The Spirit Of The Marathon,” and said it was “Great,” and that she “Loved it!” She is a friend of the director, John Dunham, and he had filmed an interview with her, as “The First Woman To Run Boston.” For reasons unknown, that footage was removed from the final version. She felt as if she’d been “Erased from history!” Here is some of her history:

She’d begun running simply because she loved the feeling of it, completely outside of the world of sports and competition. It was a spiritual connection, and she “felt like (herself), felt like a bird, and felt connected to the universe.” This was the “pre-sanctioned era,” when the AAU prohibited women from competing beyond 800 meters. It was “universally believed, (even among female coaches), that women were not physically able” to run further than that, and if they tried, they would become “injured, and possibly die!”
 
Ms. Gibb fell in love with The Boston Marathon while standing on its sidelines in 1964. “The guys looked so beautiful,” she said, “and they were so quiet!” She became determined to do it, someday soon.
 
In 1965, she took a one-month drive across the country, from Massachusetts to California. “The open sky,” was wonderful, she “ran in different places” every day, including The Continental Divide, and was “in love with running, with earth, with life!” At the end, she “plunged into the Pacific,” closing one chapter of her “spiritual journey.”

In the Fall of that year, she went to The Woodstock Vermont Equestrian Ride. It was a three-day event, totaling 100 miles. The first day, she ran the entire 40-mile segment, and, on the second day, did the first 25. At that point, her knees were hurting, so she hitchhiked back. That gave her the confidence that she could do Boston.

In February of 1966, she wrote for her application. The race director, Will Cloney, wrote back saying that women were not allowed to run it by international rules, because they were “not physiologically capable” of doing it! That was “all the more reason to do it!”

On Race Day, Bobbi’s mother drove her to the start. Her parents had been “stunned” by her plan. She “warmed up for 2-3 miles”, stayed “close to the starting pen,” and “hid in the bushes” just before the gun went off. When it did, she jumped into the pack, and into “unknown territory!” She didn’t know whether she might be thrown out, and/or arrested!

To her pleasant surprise, the “men were very protective,” and after asking, “Are you a girl!?” they said that they “wouldn’t let anyone throw (her) out,” because “it’s a free road!” Reporters noticed her, and the word went forth that there was a woman on the course! The “crowds went wild!” When she crossed the line, in 3:21, she had “turned prejudice on its head!” had “finished in the top 1/3rd of the race!” and her performance was a “pivotal point in the evolution of social consciousness!”

The Governor of Massachusetts shook her hand, and there were “headlines all around the world that a woman had done Boston!” She had done it not for personal glory, but rather to “Inspire women, particularly, yet men, also!” For, “If this prejudice about women could be changed, who knew what other prejudices about all people could be altered!”
 
As mentioned, she returned to Boston in ‘67, was the first to finish, yet her performance was dramatically overshadowed by that of second place. And, in ‘68, she finished first for the third time. After that, she focused on her personal life, and passed on Boston. (Sara Mae Berman would be the first to finish, in ‘69, ‘70, and ‘71. In ‘72, Boston finally allowed women to be “OFFICIAL”, and Nina Kusisck of Long Island, New York became the “First OFFICIAL Women’s Winner.”)

In ‘86, Bobbi did Boston to celebrate her 20th Anniversary, and dedicated it to “World Peace, which was the real story.” In ‘96, she did it again, for her 30th Anniversary. That year, the “BAA officially recognized (her) accomplishments of ‘66-’68, and also those of Sara Mae, in ‘69-’71, by putting (their) names on a plaque!” She thought that her place In history was finally settled. However, that hasn’t quite turned out to be the case.

Now, going from Bobbi’s history to present time: To this day, The second-place woman from ‘67 continues to refer to herself as “The First Official Women’s-Finisher At Boston.” Two Problems: She wasn’t the “First”, because Bobbi finished 365 days earlier, and she wasn’t “Official”, because women could not be official until 1,825 days later! However, Ms. Second happens to work in the media, and Ms. Gibb happens to be a very private person. So, the misrepresentation continues, as does Bobbi’s potential erasure from history.

Hopefully, this will all be corrected someday. And, someday soon. Until then, I’d like to repeat, “Bobbi Gibb Was The First Woman To Run The Boston Marathon!” 

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A runner in the 32nd year of his career, Craig Snapp has run 85,000+ miles and 118 marathons, 26 of them Sub-3:00 with a PR of 2:42.

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