Joan Ullyot was a physician and runner whose research and advocacy helped persuade the International Olympics Committee (IOC) to add a women’s marathon to the Summer Olympics.Until the mid- to late 20th century, conventional wisdom said that women should not run long distances or engage in vigorous activity.
Some said they were simply unable to complete athletic feats like a marathon, while others held that the exercise would cause irreversible damage to their bodies.
Ullyot was among the women who proved this theory wrong, running marathons regularly. And her research showed that she was no outlier: Women could and did run long distances without harming their health.Ullyot’s 1976 book, “Women’s Running,” made the case for distance running.
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