In 490 B.C. the Greek messenger,  Pheidippides , ran about 40 kilometers from the town of "Marathon"to  Athens to announce the victory of  Athens over Macedon . Since then ,the 42-kilometer "Marathon"race has become a great test for athletes. However, for many years  , only men were allowed to run  this  race ,  because the distance was said to be unbearable for women. In 1966, an   American  women named Roberta Gibb proved that idea wrong. Gibb had always enjoyed running .One day in 1964 , she saw the Boston Marathon happening as she was running in the woods. Since running meant a lot to her, she began training harder , hoping to join the marathon some day. Gibb finally applied to run in the 1966 Boston Marathon, but she was not given entrance because the Boston Marathon Association considered that women were not strong enough to run 42  kilometers . Yet, this was no obstacle to Gibb, for she knew she had the physical and mental strength to complete the race .On the day the 1966 Boston Marathon was held , Gibb hid in the bushes and jumped into the race when it began. She finished the race in 3 hours and 21 minutes, defeating two thirds of the men in the race and proving that women could run the marathon. Although what Gibb did was only to realize her dream, in doing so she showed the world that women could accomplish greater things than many people believed they could. why were women forbidden to run the 42-km marathon ?
Training was only provided for men . Women could not work as messengers. Women were believed too weak to finish it. It was a race held only for professional athletes