Julia Hanlon interviewed Bobbi in her home in Rockport earlier this month. Download or listen to this engaging podcast that covers the full range of Bobbi's passions - how they are interconnected and why she has pursued them. This interview provides a rich back drop to her current endeavor to create the first ever life size sculpture of a female runner on the Marathon course.
Bobbi Gibb to Sculpt Statue: April 13th Kick-off at Hopkinton Country Club
BOSTON (AP) — Some of the biggest names in Boston Marathon history are backing an effort to put up a statue honoring the first woman to complete the race — an accomplished sculptor who has been commissioned to create the piece.
The 120th marathon next week marks the 50th anniversary of Roberta "Bobbi" Gibb's pioneering run in 1966, when women were not even allowed to register. She hid in the bushes at the starting line in her brother's Bermuda shorts, pulled her hood up to hide her ponytail, and jumped into the all-male pack of runners.
Those who know her say Gibb, now in her 70s, is modest and has never tried to exploit her groundbreaking run for personal gain. She admits she's a little uncomfortable creating a statue of herself, but she's doing it to honor the tens of thousands of women who have followed her footsteps.
"I'm really embarrassed doing a sculpture of myself, so I would prefer to do a generic woman, maybe with the names of the first 50 women's winners," Gibb, who studied at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts School and still runs almost every day, said from her studio north of Boston.
At the Boston Marathon, Leading the Way for Women Fifty Years Ago
Boston Marathon runners applaud Bobbi Gibb's historic run
WHEN BOBBI GIBB CRASHED THE BOSTON MARATHON AND BLAZED A TRAIL FOR WOMEN
Honoring 50 Years of Women at the Boston Marathon
1st woman to finish Boston Marathon sculpts her own statue
Finally honoring Bobbi Gibb, the first woman to run the Boston Marathon
By Jen A. Miller, espnW.com, Apr 14, 2016
On a warm day in the winter of 1966, Bobbi Gibb was getting in a long run on the beach when she accidentally ran to Mexico. She was recently married to a Navy man, which brought her from her home in Massachusetts to San Diego, and to the Pacific Ocean. Running there was a new, even shocking experience for her.