WOMENS RUNNING THROUGH THE YEARS

1954 —  Diane Leather became the first woman to run a sub-5-minute mile (4:59.6) on May 29.

1960 — Women were allowed to participate in five running events in the Summer Olympics, including the 800 meters, which had been banned after the race in 1928 because of questions as to whether it was too taxing for female athletes.

1967 — Kathrine Switzer was the first woman to run the Boston Marathon with an official bib registered under the name K.V. Switzer.

1972 — The AAU allowed women to register for marathons after dropping its 1961 ban on women competing in U.S. road races.
 

1977 — the sports bra was invented.

1978 — Nike introduces first women-specific running shoe, with the Nike Waffle Racer.

1983 — After being unable to compete in the 1980 Summer Olympic Games due to the U.S. boycott, Mary Decker Slaney wins gold medals in the 1,500-meter and 3,000-meter runs at the IAAF World Track & Field Championships in Helsinki, Finland.

1984 — Joan Benoit Sameulson from the USA wins the first women's Olympic marathon, held in Los Angeles.

1985 — Great Britain’s Zola Budd breaks the world record in the 5,000-meter on the track running barefoot..

1988 — Norway’s Grete Waitz won the New York City Marathon for the ninth time.

1991 — Susan G. Komen’s Race for the Cure debuts the first pink ribbon at its NYC event. The now-iconic symbol for breast cancer awareness was given to all breast cancer survivors and participants of the race.

1994 — TV talk show host Oprah Winfrey crosses the finish line at the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C. in 4:29:15. Her effort, which included her losing 80 pounds in the year leading up to the race, sparked a new running boom among women, with the theme of “anyone can do it.”

1996 — Russian middle-distance runner Svetlana Masterkova sets the women’s mile world record of 4:12.56 at a race in Zurich, Switzerland just a few weeks after becoming the second woman in history to win Olympic gold medals in the 800- and 1,500-meter events.

 

2007 — British runner and marathon world record-holder Paula Radcliffe won the New York City Marathon 10 months after giving birth to her daughter.

2009 — Women’s Running publishes its first issue and is now the largest women-specific running magazine in the world.

2012 — Shalane Flanagan, Desiree Davila and Kara Goucher finish 1-2-3 at the U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon in Houston. It was the first time the top three finishers ran sub-2:30 in the trials.

2013 — High school running prodigy Mary Cain finished second in the 1,500 meters at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, becoming the youngest American to represent the U.S. at an IAAF World Championships. She became the youngest woman ever to make the finals and placed 10^th.

2014 — Shalane Flanagan’s fast early pace at the Boston Marathon sets the tone for the first four finishers to break the course record against the race’s most competitive field in history. Flanagan finished seventh with the fastest American women’s time in Boston history.