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The Boston Marathon once barred women from participating. Sara Mae Berman ran anyway

Published April 18, 2022 at 12:33 PM EDT

Fifty years ago, women were not allowed to run in the Boston Marathon due to a myriad of false assumptions about the female anatomy.

Sara Mae Berman ran anway. She reflects on what it meant to run then and what it’s like to see women run now.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Sara Mae Berman, at her home in Cambridge, Mass., wears a medal she was presented for her Boston Marathon wins in 1969, 1970, and 1971. The Boston Athletic Association began recognizing women racers officially in 1972. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)
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Sara Mae Berman, at her home in Cambridge, Mass., wears a medal she was presented for her Boston Marathon wins in 1969, 1970, and 1971. The Boston Athletic Association began recognizing women racers officially in 1972. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)