Want to create an interactive transcript for this episode?
Podcast: Ultrarunning History
Episode: 64: The 100-miler: Part 11 (1970-1971) Women run 100-milers
Description: By Davy CrockettÂ
As the 1970s began, for the first time in decades, daring pioneer long-distance women athletes again joined in the 100-mile quest, with some opposition because of the lack of public acceptance for women to compete in long distances.
By 1970, the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) was governing American amateur running and working to prepare athletes for the Olympics. The AAU received growing criticism regarding its governance, arbitrary rules, locking out some runners, and banning women from competitions. But some races started to ignore the AAU rules and allow women to run. Most ultramarathons let them run, at least un...