TRAILER Black African women have dominated the three major US 26.2-mile marathons; the Boston, New York City, and Chicago Marathons. This African dominance began in 1994 when a Kenyan woman became the second Black woman to place in any of ...See moreTRAILER Black African women have dominated the three major US 26.2-mile marathons; the Boston, New York City, and Chicago Marathons. This African dominance began in 1994 when a Kenyan woman became the second Black woman to place in any of these marathons. Between 2014 and 2025, almost three-quarters of the top five women finishers of the three major U.S. marathons were Black Africans. However, nineteen years earlier, Baltimore-native, Marilyn Bevans, made world history as she became the first Black woman to place in the top five in these three prestigious marathons. However, nineteen years earlier, Baltimore-native, Marilyn Bevans, made world history as she became the first woman, regardless of race, to place in the top five in these three prestigious marathons. She accomplished this without a coach, sports bras, women's running shoes, and hi-tech smart phones and watches with chronographs, MP3, GPS, heart monitoring, and AI capabilities. 2027 is the 50th anniversary of her golden year when she was runner up at the Boston and Chicago Marathons, won the Maryland and Beltsville Marathons, and was ranked as one of the world's top ten fastest women marathoners in 1977. This is the story of Marilyn Bevans. She quietly ran into history. Written by
Anthony Renard Reed
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