Dale Greig was a Scottish pioneer of women’s running who became one of the first women to run a marathon.
Dale Greig was a Scottish pioneer of women’s running who became one of the first women to run a marathon. In 1964, when she entered the Isle of Wight Marathon, most people assumed women were too weak to finish a marathon. The race’s organizers let her run, but with precautions: She had to start four minutes before the men who were running, and she would be trailed by an ambulance as she ran. Not only did Greig finish the marathon; she came in ahead of many of the men who ran, including 19 who didn’t finish. Her time of 3:27:25 made her the first woman to break the 3:30 mark in a marathon and was certified as a world record for women marathoners.
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Died: May 12, 2019 (Who else died on May 12?)
Details of death: Died at a hospice in Paisley, Scotland at the age of 81.
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After the marathon: Greig continued her successful amateur running career for many years after her record-setting success. She was the first woman to run the 53-mile London-to-Brighton race in 1972, even though women wouldn’t be officially allowed to run it for another seven years, and she was the first woman to run the Ben Nevis 10-mile mountain race. In 1974, she won the women’s World Veteran Championships marathon in Paris.
Greig on her first marathon: “Once I started, I knew things would be all right. I felt sorry for the men I kept passing in the closing stages — they looked embarrassed.”
What people said about her: “Her pioneering efforts opened the way for women throughout the world to be admitted to marathon races, having ventured into uncharted territory at a time when some respected authorities still believed that running such long distances was harmful for a women.” —Arnold Black of Scottish Athletics
Full obituary: New York Times
Birthdate: March 15, 1937 (Who else was born on March 15th?)
Related lives:
- Grete Waitz (1953–2011), first women to run the marathon in under 2:30
- Gabriele Grunewald (1986–2019), elite runner inspired as she battled cancer
- Harriette Thompson, set marathon record at age 92
