A Short History of the Mini
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race exclusively for female participants, the 6-mile Crazylegs Mini
Marathon. To understand how extraordinary this achievement was and to
appreciate how far the Mini has come since then you must travel back to
a time when distance running was a very different pastime than it is
today.
In 1972, the "running boom" had not yet hit. Distance running was a
fringe activity practiced by a few dedicated souls. The New York City
Marathon had been run but twice, with a mere 55 finishers the first
year (1970) and 164 the second (1971).
As marginal as distance running was among the population as a whole, it
was even more esoteric as an activity for women. In most road races the
number of female finishers could be counted on one hand. In fact, not a
single woman finished the first New York City Marathon and only three
crossed the line in the race's second running.
But by 1972 things were starting to change for women runners. In April,
women were permitted to officially enter the renowned Boston Marathon
for the first time. In June, President Nixon signed into law the
landmark Title IX legislation, which mandated equal funding for women's
sports programs that receive federal aid. In Munich in September, the
women's 1500 meters was run for the first time at the Olympic Games.
All the while, female participation in road races while still tiny
compared to men's participationwas slowly, steadily growing.
More...from the New York Road Runners at:
http://www.mini10k.org/history.php