Sports · Running & Athletics · 6 hrs ago
Six Women Challenged Separate-Start Rules at the 1972 NYC Marathon
The 1972 New York City Marathon took place inside Central Park and had 278 entrants.
Only six of them were women, including a Boston Marathon winner and a 17-year-old college student.
The Amateur Athletic Union, which governed the sport, had long restricted women’s participation in marathons.
In 1971, it allowed women to compete only if they started 10 minutes before or after the men, or from a separate line.
Many runners saw this rule as a form of discrimination against women.
The women gathered at the starting line as 272 men waited nearby, making the start a test of rules separating women from men.
The account describes this moment as one that changed racing, but does not say what happened next.
Six women lined up for the 1972 New York City Marathon in Central Park, where rules required them to start 10 minutes before or after the men.
The Amateur Athletic Union had adopted the separate-start rule after the 1971 marathon.
Many runners saw the rule as discriminatory.
The women gathered near 64th Street and Central Park Drive before the race began.
- Who
- Six women entered in the race, alongside 272 men.
- What
- The women lined up under rules requiring a separate start from the men.
- When
- The first Sunday morning in October 1972; shortly before 11 a.m.
- Where
- Central Park, New York City.
- Why
- The Amateur Athletic Union required women to start separately from men; many runners viewed the rule as discriminatory.
The Amateur Athletic Union
Women runners and supporters
Starting rules
The Amateur Athletic Union
The AAU allowed certain women to take part in marathons if they started 10 minutes before or after the men, or from a different starting line.
Women runners and supporters
Many runners viewed the separate-start requirement as discriminatory.
Women’s participation
The Amateur Athletic Union
The AAU had previously barred women from marathon race courses and later permitted certain women to participate under separate-start conditions.
Women runners and supporters
Women sought to run longer distances and race in marathons.
Organizers of the first New York City Marathon courted women and ignored AAU rules barring women from marathon courses.
The AAU ruled that certain women could take part in marathons if they started separately from the men.
Six women lined up for the New York City Marathon as 272 men waited for their 10-minute head start.
- Women entered
- 6
- Men slated to run
- 272
- Race distance
- 26.2 miles
- Starting location
- Near 64th Street and Central Park Drive
- AAU start rule
- 10 minutes before or after the men
What people are saying
certain women