Bobbi Gibb - The Rebel

FIRST WOMAN TO COMPLETE THE BOSTON MARATHON

ARCHETYPE: THE REBEL

Day 100/135

Athletic Accomplishments

You may remember the story of Kathrine Switzer, the first woman to complete the Boston Marathon as an official entrant, getting her bib under the name K. Switzer, and getting nearly tackled by then-race director Jock Semple. While while Switzer is the first one on the official books, she was not the first rebellious runner to push through to the finish line.

Bobbi Gibb is a three time Boston Marathon champion, an especially remarkable feat because she ran before women were permitted to run marathon distances. Gibb has earned a bevy of awards and honors and has been named to the Road Runners Club of America Hall of Fame. Pretty incredible for someone who did not—and mostly could not—pursue a professional running career.

Character Archetype: The Rebel

Bobbi Gibb's 1966 Boston Marathon finish wasn't merely notable because she won, but that she dared to try.

As a woman, Gibb was categorically prohibited from running the Boston Marathon. It wasn't just that the Boston Marathon specifically excluded women. It was also that in 1966 women's races were not allowed to exceed 1.5 miles. Why that distance? Well, the predominant thinking was that running longer than that would, like, jiggle your ovaries too much? I wish I was kidding.

When Gibb applied to run the 1966 marathon, race director Will Cloney explained that women were not capable of running 26 miles. To Gibb, that sounded like a challenge.

As hundreds of men lined up at the start line, Gibb hid in the bushes nearby, wearing a hoodie and her brother's shorts over a bathing suit. She jumped into the race in the middle of a pack and was quickly discovered by the runners around her, who immediately supported her.

Word of Gibb's marathon attempt quickly traveled throughout the city and people, and media flocked to the course to see her run. Gibb illegally crossed the finish line in 3 hours and 21 minutes, beating two thirds of the all male field, and received a prompt handshake from the governor of Massachusetts.

Gibbs ran again in 1967 and 1968—still unofficially—with the number of women in the field growing again. It wasn't until 1972, 6 years after her first finish, that the Boston Marathon recognized the women's division. Nine women ran that year.

In 2019, almost 12,000 women officially finished the Boston Marathon. Because ridiculous rules were made to be broken.