By AMBY BURFOOTAPRIL, New York Times, April 16, 2016
In 1965, the year I first ran the Boston Marathon, there were no women in the field of about 400 participants. On Monday morning, more than 13,000 women will start the 120th Boston Marathon.
The women’s running boom is one of the most revolutionary stories in sports, yet it is underchronicled. Running serves as the foundation for many other sports, and women began running before they poured into tennis, soccer and basketball. They also learned many profound lessons from their successes in running.