In 1977, Dusty Rhodes met with Jess Bell of the Bonne Bell cosmetics company with the idea of bringing an all-women’s race to Boston. They met in Central Park, discussed the details on a park bench, and the Bonne Bell Mini Marathon was scheduled for October of that year.
Rhodes passed out flyers around the city, chasing down runners one by one to tell them about the event. Although only 200 women were expected to run in the inaugural race, 2,231 women showed up and women’s racing was here to stay.
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