The Chink In The Armor

Fifty-one years ago, a 23-year-old named Roberta (Bobbi) Gibb became the first woman to complete the Boston Marathon. She was later recognized as the women’s winner that year [1966] and in 1967 and 1968, making her the first Boston Marathon female winner in history. In the decades since, Gibb has spent her time expanding her knowledge about the world in every way she could: she earned a degree in philosophy at UC San Diego, studied at Tufts and at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, has written two books, became and artist and established herself as an advocate for social change and awareness.

When Gibb spoke with Women’s Running last month, she was at an art colony in Massachusetts, where she’s spent time working on a life-size sculpture of a female runner–the first of its kind that was contracted by the 26.2 Foundation to be displayed along the Boston Marathon route.