Six days from now, 30,000 people will hit the pavement, running 26.2 miles from Hopkinton to Boston. This year marks the 120th running of the Boston Marathon, a race that is steeped in history. Three Boston Marathon legends, Bobbi Gibb ( @BobbiGibb), the first woman ever to run Boston 50 years ago, Amby Burfoot ( @exerscience), the winner of the 1968 Boston Marathon, and Bill Rodgers, four-time Boston Marathon champion and former record holder, joined Jim on Tuesday night to discuss the race.
Gibb recounted her infamous 1968 marathon, "I trained for two years for this and never dreamed of this." Today, Gibb is an attorney, neuroscientist and artist. She brought a sculpture she created of a woman runner to the Greater Boston set and she's hoping to get a sculpture of a woman runner along the course of the race.
Burfoot recently wrote the book, ' The First Ladies of Running,' which features Gibb, along with 21 other women. He wrote it because many women marathoners don't know these stories. "These were the pioneers," said Burfoot. "Their stories deserve to be heard." Rodgers and Burfoot were roommates at Wesleyan, before Rodgers went on to win four Boston Marathons.
The trio discussed the joy of the Boston Marathon and the tragedy of the 2013 Marathon bombing. Burfoot was stopped a mile from the finish line in 2013, but he returned last year and will run it again this year. "We seem to have perfected something in the Marathon ... I think its the safest place to be in the world," said Rodgers. Gibb called the race, overall, a "celebration of life."
All three still run and continue to inspire runners today.
