Space Marathon

Sidedoor

Smithsonian Institution

Science, The Smithsonian, Tony Cohn, Art19, African American History And Culture, Exhibit, Dc, Exhibits, Pop Culture, Zoo, National Museum, National Zoo, Natural History, Air And Space, Smithsonian, Postal Museum, History Of The World, History, Sidedoor, Museum, Washington, Society & Culture, American History

4.6 • 2.3K Ratings

🗓️ 12 April 2023

⏱️ 33 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Until the 1970s, women were barred from competing in U.S. marathons because of the belief that the "violent movements" would wreak havoc on their reproductive system, "thus defeating a woman’s true purpose in life, i.e., the bringing forth of strong children." Through a series of steps, stumbles —and one epic tackle— running pioneers like Roberta "Bobbi" Gibb and Kathrine Switzer blazed the trail for women marathoners who followed, including Sunita Williams — the first person to run the Boston Marathon IN SPACE!

Guests:

Sunita Williams, astronaut

Jennifer Levasseur, curator, Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum

Peter Sagal, marathoner; host of NPR's Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me!

Bobbi Gibb, first woman to run the Boston Marathon

Kathrine Switzer, first women to officially run the Boston Marathon

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is SideDor, a podcast from the Smithsonian with support from PRX, I'm Lizzie Peabody.
0:24.3	So need to Williams grew up in Needham, Massachusetts, just outside Boston, which is right next
0:29.2	to Wellesley, which infamously is like the halfway point or so of the Boston Marathon.
0:34.7	To Sinita, or Sunny, as she likes to be called, the Boston Marathon wasn't just a race.
0:40.2	It was a backdrop for a very special day every April.
0:45.4	Flowers would begin to bloom after a long cold Massachusetts winter.
0:49.0	Bird songs return to the trees, the snow, gone, most of the time.
0:54.2	You know, you ride your bike over to, you know, where the marathon is and cheer everybody
0:57.7	on and this is so cool.
0:59.7	As a kid, Sunny watched the hordes of runners stream past, thousands of them.
1:05.6	Dreaming someday, she might run the 26.2 mile race herself.
1:10.3	You know, in the way that you always imagine that you'll do something someday eventually.
1:14.8	But when she turned 17 and got accepted into the US Naval Academy, she realized, wait a second.
1:20.9	Oh my god, I'm joining the Navy, I'll never come home again, I'll never be able to run
1:25.1	this wonderful race that I see every year.
1:29.4	So she did the only logical thing, complained to her mom a lot for days and weeks and months
1:35.3	and then the third Monday and April rolled around.
1:38.6	And my mom said, get in the car and I was like, what, she was getting the car.
1:43.4	I'm tired of you complaining.
1:45.9	Sunny's mom drove her to the starting line of the Boston Marathon.
1:49.5	And gave me a quarter, dropped me off and said, I'll meet you in Wellesley.
1:54.1	And if you have a problem, give me a call.
	...

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