Boston’s Spotlight Shines Bright on Minnesotan Women during Historic Anniversary

For the first time in two years, the Boston Marathon returned to the Patriot’s Day holiday as two Minnesota women runners were in the national spotlight. One is a pioneer in the sport; the other is building off the legacy of women runners and finished as the fourth place American on the 50th anniversary of the first official Boston Marathon women’s race.

The pioneer is Val Rogosheske, one of the eight women to run in 1972 at the first official women’s race. Prior to that year, the much ballyhooed Amateur Athletic Union held a firm line against women competing in the 26.2 mile run. Marathon directors agreed with them for years, but public opinion turned after women fought for equality in all areas of society, including sports. 

Some women ignored the rules during the 1960s and ran as “bandits,” without official entry. Bobbi Gibb did it in 1966, finishing and beating many men on the Massachusetts course. In 1967, a photographer from the Boston Herald captured race organizer Jock Semple attempting to pull Kathrine Switzer off the course. Switzer had registered as K. V. Switzer, so she had an official bib.

While Rogosheske was never pulled off a course, she grew up with society pushing her away from the idea of competing. She attended Edina High School until 1965 and studied physical education at St. Cloud University, graduating in 1969—all without the opportunity for organized women’s sports.  

But someone challenged her to time herself running a mile on the St. Cloud track, and that got her motivated. She and her husband, Phil, moved to the East Coast, and she set her sights on Boston. When the officials fired the gun, she was one of the eight women to run (though she wasn’t included in a pre-race photo with the other seven). People cheered her on as she journeyed to Boston on foot.

Throughout the week leading up to this year’s race, runners could see pictures and hear stories about the women who ran in 1972. Pictures and stories of Rogosheske and the seven other women were nearly everywhere runners looked—the official program, Copley Square, every media outlet in the city—people could even view the light blue Asics Onitsuka Tigers that Rogosheske wore during her groundbreaking first marathon. They were on display in museum style, encased behind glass at the Boston Marathon Expo’s history exhibit.

Rogosheske spoke on a panel before this year’s race. She joined the other women who blazed the trail in 1972 (Carrie Tollefson mediated). Rogosheske was also nominated to the Boston Marathon’s 2022 “Honorary Team” along with Verna Volker, the founder of Native Women Running.