1967 race in Boston changed not just my life, but millions of women's lives. There are also things that, when you get older, resonate more.

I organized this global series of races. The data from those races, along with the tremendous amount of lobbying and meetings with federations, convinced the IOC. We got the women's marathon in the Olympic Games in 1984. That was my dream.

I could feel my anger dissipating as the miles went by--you can't run and stay mad!

When I forgave Jock Semple on Heartbreak Hill, I also got really cross with women. I couldn't understand why they didn't get it, why they didn't know that running was so cool and why they weren't in the race as well. Then I thought to myself "How stupid can you be? You've had so much encouragement and motivation and these women haven't."

At the finish line of the 1967 Boston Marathon, one crabby journalist said it was just a one-off deal and women weren't going to run. Only a 20-year-old who had just run a marathon and was shot full of endorphin would say this but I said that there's going to come a day in our lives when women's running is as popular and as men's.

Jock Semple said "Oh the women ran well today the Boston Marathon and they deserve to be in the race." I had to laugh. I said "Well it took us five years but anyway, we're here." It pretty much changed everything.

There is an expression among even the most advanced runners that getting your shoes on is the hardest part of any workout