The 1970's

The Calgary Roadrunners took over the organization of the Calgary Marathon and it has been an annual event in Calgary since 1971. One of the biggest highlights of the 1970's, however, remains the inclusion of women in the race.

In 1975, 41-year-old Carmen Robinson of Banff became the first winner of the women's division in the Calgary Marathon in a time of 3:59:12. Second place Cathy Broderick was a full forty minutes behind Carmen, with a time of 4:30:04. These two women were also among the first women ever to run a marathon in western Canada.

According to Doug Kyle, up until the early 1970's, it was just an accepted fact, by both men and women in our society and elsewhere in the world, that women could not run long distances. Women now make up nearly half of the marathon participants, thanks to the dreams, hard work, and perseverance of women like Carmen Robinson and Cathy Broderick.