NCW Libraries hosting talk on women in marathon running

WENATCHEE. — NCW Libraries will host a free virtual program later this month examining the history of women’s participation in marathon running and the social changes surrounding it.

“How Women Won the Marathon and Changed Our View of Gender” will be presented online Thursday, March 26, at 6 p.m. as part of a Humanities Washington program offered through NCW Libraries.

The presentation will explore the nearly 20-year period between 1966, when Bobbi Gibb first attempted to enter the Boston Marathon, and 1984, when the women’s marathon was added to the Olympic Games.

According to information from NCW Libraries, Gibb was told when she attempted to register for the Boston Marathon that women were not physically capable of running the 26-mile distance. She later ran the race unofficially and completed the course, though women continued to face skepticism from athletic organizations, the medical community and broader cultural attitudes about endurance sports.

The presentation will examine how women from different backgrounds challenged those views and helped change public perceptions about women’s athletic capabilities.

The program will be presented by Maggie Mertens, an independent journalist and author whose work focuses on gender, culture and sports. Her writing has appeared in publications including The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, Sports Illustrated and The Guardian.

Mertens is the author of “Better Faster Farther: How Running Changed Everything We Know About Women.”

Registration for the online program is available through the events calendar at ncwlibraries.org. Participants will receive a Zoom link after registering.

NCW Libraries serves North Central Washington with 30 community libraries, a bookmobile and a mail-order library.