When Women Weren't Allowed to Run

When I talk about a world where sports weren't open to women, they look at me like I'm talking about a different planet. That's a great sign, meaning we've come a long way.
Yet, it pays to remember that a world were sports were nearly off-limits to girls and women wasn't that long ago.

This story in the New York Times tells the tale of Dr. Julia Chase-Brand who became the first woman to run a road-race in the U.S., 50 years ago. You might wonder why women weren't allowed to run.

Here's one explanation:

"Even in the Olympics, women were not allowed to run more than a half-mile lest, it was believed, they would risk their femininity and reproductive health. The most alarmist officials warned that a woman who ran a more ambitious distance might cause her uterus to fall out."