Winchester Town Day road race to honor hometown champion Bobbi Gibb

While many people know Bobbi Gibb was the first woman to run the Boston Marathon, they may not be aware she’s a hometown girl. Four Winchester High School students, however, have made it their mission to give her the recognition they feel she deserves in the community where she grew up.

“We heard from our teacher Mrs. [Roisin] O’Brien, about how great Bobbi Gibb is,” said Jack McCarthy, a sophomore. “We liked that she was from Winchester and we thought why not do something about it.”

The “it” would be a group project for Ann Marie Edenhofner’s civics class, which took place over the fall 2024 semester.

McCarthy, along with fellow sophomores Gabriella Fantini and Zoe Maclin, and junior Sharanya Mukherjee, decided to focus on a way to honor Gibb. The question was how.

Students said they brainstormed possibly starting a road race named after Gibb or re-naming the McCall Middle School track for her. But finding out Winchester Foundation for Educational Excellence (WFEE) already held a road race during Town Day made the decision easier and students reached out.

“WFEE had never dedicated a race for someone before,” Maclin said, of the event. “They told us it was something they had to consider.”

But the organization was very open to the idea.

“We found out what they were trying to do,” said WFEE Executive Director Maggie Vande Vrede. “Our board of directors was surprised to learn [Gibb] was from here and they felt it was really cool, what the students wanted to do.”

The race, which will take place June 7, offers runners and families a chance to run or walk 2.5 or 5 miles around Winchester. Participants can still register the morning of the race at the Griffin Center, 67 Shore Road, before the 8:30 a.m. start.

“It’s a very family friendly race,” Vande Vrede said. “There are lots of kids and strollers. You can’t use it to qualify for any major races, but it’s a great way to celebrate our town. Plus it’s a great way to kick off Town Day because you’re already downtown.”

Gibb will kick off the race on June 7. The WHS students are also expected to give a speech.

“I’m really looking forward to coming,” Gibb said, from her home last week. “I love Winchester. I grew up there and I have so many lovely memories of the people.”

She recalled running in the Middlesex Fells Reservation, her English teacher Mrs. Bailey and the high school, where she graduated in 1960.

Now 82, Gibb still runs an hour every day. But she won’t be participating on June 7, just sticking around to offer her support for the runners and speaking to her fans.

And she offered a message for all of Winchester ahead of time.

“Please send my love to Winchester,” she said.

Spreading the word

With WFEE’s board support, students were excited to spread the message about who Gibb was and what she’d done to break the equality barrier.

But how?

Once again, McCarthy said, it was their English teacher to the rescue.

“Mrs. O’Brien showed us her book,” he said.

And it made students think about how they wanted to share the story of how Roberta “Bobbi” Gibb in 1966 disguised herself and snuck into the marathon without a race number, finishing in 3:21:40 and placing 126th overall.

“After she competed in the race, she wasn’t allowed to get a medal for it,” Maclin said. “She was not allowed to sign up for the race and she didn’t receive any formal recognition for it. That was kind of surprising.”

McCarthy added Gov. John Volpe met Gibb at the finish line, along with the press and many cheering fans. According to Winchester’s town archives, Volpe was a Winchester resident at the time.

“He greeted her at the finish, even though they ended up taking away her medal,” McCarthy said.

It wasn’t until three decades later — 1996 — that the Boston Athletic Association recognized Gibb as the pre-sanctioned era women’s winner in 1966, 1967, and 1968 and her name was inscribed on the Boston Marathon Monument.

Because Gibb kept running and pushing for women to be included in the marathon, women were officially allowed to participate in 1972.

Students decided it was important that everyone in Winchester learn Gibb’s story. The group went back to WFEE and applied for a $500 student innovation grant in order to buy copies of “Girl Running: Bobbi Gibb and the Boston Marathon.”

“We were so nervous we weren’t going to get it,” Fantini said. “We were so excited when we got it.”

The grant bought 25 copies of the book. Mukherjee said the idea was for each elementary school library to receive one as well as each first grade classroom.

Additionally, the group has given a presentation about Gibb to students at the Lynch, Ambrose and Lincoln schools. They’re still waiting for an answer from Vinson-Owen.

“She was just such an amazing trailblazer for our town and she hasn’t gotten a lot of recognition in her own hometown,” McCarthy said.

Maclin said Gibb is a true inspiration for all little girls who want to participate in sports. The others in the group agreed.

“Bobbi Gibb’s story is not just inspiring for girls, but she’s an inspiration for anyone who feels like they can’t do something,” McCarthy said. “She thought she could do it and she did. It’s like our group, we didn’t think we could do any of this at first, but with perseverance, we did it!”

Making a difference

Edenhofner said she is incredibly proud of her students, especially since their class ended back in January.

“They have put a lot of time into this project this spring,” she said. “The class is over and they’ve taken a lot of their own personal time to do this and follow through on it.”

Students said they have learned so much along the way.

“I’ve learned you can make a difference, even if it’s a class project,” McCarthy said. “I was amazed at how people in town listened to us. They read the email we sent and were excited about our presentation.”

Fantini said she liked working in a small group with people who were as passionate as she was about getting Gibb her hometown recognition and bringing her story to the town’s kids.

“I learned you have to be willing to take the next step, like Bobbi Gibb did,” Mukherjee said. “Her story is so inspirational and we hope to inspire other people, like we did the first graders we talked to.”

Maclin added it was so easy to get involved.

“I would definitely say this taught me that it’s simple to get involved in your community,” she said.

And, she added, the group is recognizing one of their own.

“It’s really great that Bobbi Gibb is getting the recognition she deserves after all these years in our own town,” Maclin said. “It makes me feel great.”