In the 1960s there were no women’s marathons. Women were told distance running would harm their health. But a few women broke the rules.
Women’s marathon history – the 1960s
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Women’s endurance running history articles
IAU 100km World Champion Eleanor Adams Robinson
Eleanor Adams was IAU 100km World Champion in two consecutive years, 1990 at Duluth, USA and 1991 at the Del Passatore race in Italy.
British women’s success at IAU 100km World Championships
British women have been very successful at the IAU 100km World Championships, taking seven gold medals, two silvers and seven bronzes. They stand second in the medals table behind Russia who have won 19 medals. GB have won the team competition twice, placed second...
Three wins at the Westfield Sydney to Melbourne race
In the 1980s British ultrarunner Eleanor Adams won the c1000km Sydney to Melbourne race three times.
New York Six Day Race 1984
At the New York Six Day Track Race in 1984, Eleanor Adams and Yiannis Kouros set new world bests for the event.
The first Badwater ultra race
The story of the first Badwater ultra race in 1987 where two British runners and two American runners ran a 146-mile route from Badwater Basin to the summit of Mount Whitney.
The unsung heroines
Molly Schiot's book "Game Changers: the unsung heroines of sports history" is dedicated to "all the women who were forever told 'no'". It is replete with examples of women who followed their dreams and ambitions in sport despite prejudice, discrimination and...
The Avon International London Marathon, a first-hand account
On 3rd August 1980, 200 women from 27 countries lined up in Battersea Park in London to run a marathon: the third Avon International Marathon. Maureen Fitzpatrick was one of those women, excitedly waiting at the start and hoping to complete her first marathon at the...
Diane Leather and the 5 minute mile
On 29th May 1954 Diane Leather became the first woman to run a mile in less than 5 minutes, when she competed at the Midlands Women’s Amateur Athletic Association Championships at Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium. Her time was 4 minutes and 59.6 seconds. Why is her record-breaking achievement far less well-known than Sir Roger Bannister’s sub-4 minute mile record, set 23 days earlier?