Running for change
Bobbi Gibb's battle to give women the right to run marathons.
"The audacity!" Roberta 'Bobbi' Gibb had just received a nine-word slap to the face: "Women are not physiologically capable of running a marathon." That was the reply she received when she applied to enter the Boston Marathon. She crumpled the letter and threw it on the floor. Bobbi knew she’d be running the race - whether they let her or not.
This is the story of one woman’s battle against derogatory sideswipes and archaic attitudes, and how far she went to remove the barriers that kept women from running practically every marathon in the world.
Audio scenes have been re-created.
On radio
Broadcasts
Sat 18 Jan 2025 05:32GMTLive News- Sat 18 Jan 2025 05:32GMTBBC World Service except West and Central Africa
- Sat 18 Jan 2025 18:32GMTBBC World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
Sun 19 Jan 2025 00:32GMTLive News- Sun 19 Jan 2025 00:32GMTBBC World Service except Americas and the Caribbean, East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
- Sun 19 Jan 2025 09:32GMTBBC World Service West and Central Africa
- Sun 19 Jan 2025 22:32GMTBBC World Service East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa only
- Next Saturday 04:32GMTBBC World Service except Australasia, East and Southern Africa, East Asia & South Asia
- Next Saturday 17:32GMTBBC World Service Online, UK DAB/Freeview & News Internet only
- Next Sunday 00:32GMTBBC World Service
- Next Sunday 03:32GMTBBC World Service Australasia, South Asia & East Asia only
- Next Sunday 04:32GMTBBC World Service East and Southern Africa
- Next Sunday 08:32GMTBBC World Service Europe and the Middle East & West and Central Africa only
- Next Sunday 10:32GMTBBC World Service except East and Southern Africa, Europe and the Middle East & West and Central Africa
Podcast
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