Gibb to run Beach to Beacon

CAPE ELIZABETH – Roberta “Bobbi” Gibb, the first woman to finish the Boston Marathon, in 1966, announced Tuesday she will participate in the Beach to Beacon 10K race in Cape Elizabeth on August 4.

Gibb is running to raise awareness for the Kids First Center, a program dedicated to supporting Maine parents and children who are going through divorce or separation. The Center is the 2001 Beach to Beacon race beneficiary.

Gibb is considered a pioneer in women’s road racing. She first ran the Boston Marathon in 1966, six years before women were officially allowed to enter the race. Denied entry to the race, because officials considered women “not physiologically able to run,” Gibb got mad and decided to prove them wrong. She wore a hooded sweatshirt over a black bathing suit and Bermuda shorts, avoiding the attention of officials by hiding in the bushes near the race start. By the halfway point women from Wellesley College were cheering for her wildly, and she finished in 3 hours and 20 minutes.

Gibb is friends with Maine running legend and Beach to Beacon founder Joan Benoit Samuelson. Samuelson helped persuade her to run to raise awareness for the Kids First Center.