What caused the Running Boom of the 1970s?
A.Plan of Investigation
The Running Boom of the 1970s was when running for sport was fully acceptable and even popular. Before the the 1970s, somebody who was seen running at night by himself with no particular destination was met with suspicion. It was also believed that women could do permanent harm to themselves by running more than one mile. So it makes you wonder what exactly happened to change all this? I plan to investigate this topic by studying the athletes who ran distance at this point in time and what their relationship to the public was. I also plan on researching the person who made exercise popular as well as how athletic companies fanned the fire. I will research these topics by reading books from my local library, watching videos, as well as accessing online forums.
B.Summary of Evidence.
A decade before the 1970s, health statistics and surveys showed that American children were failing physical health tests on a greater scale than their European counterparts. Posture Clinic of New York Columbia - Presbyterian Hospital conducted six physical tests used to test muscle strength and flexibility to children in Europe and the US and the results were astounding, Fifty-seven point nine percent of the American children failed one or more of the tests compared to the eight point seven percent of the Swiss, Austrian and Italian children (Kennedy). This study was publicized by President Kennedy in a Sports Illustrated article. It was a continued effort to help Americans be more concerned about their health after Eisenhower created a Council of Youth fitness on a cabinet level.
Dr. Kenneth Cooper set up the scientific purpose for running long distance in 1968 by publishi...
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...t running as a legitimate activity for citizens to part take and enjoy as a part of an active healthy lifestyle.
F.Bibliography
"Aerobics." Encyclopedia Brittanica. N.p., n.d. Web. 2013.
"The Defining Running Shoes of the 70s." Sneaker Report. N.p., n.d. Web. 2013.
"Kathrine Switzer, Pioneering Boston Marathon Runner, on Fight to Stay in 1967 Male-Dominated Race." YouTube. YouTube, 26 Feb. 2013. Web. 02 Nov. 2013.
Kennedy, John. "The Soft American." - 12.26.60. N.p., 26 Dec. 1960. Web. 7 Feb. 2014.
Lambrecht, Nathalie. "The Running Boom of the 1970s." Yahoo Contributor Network. N.p., n.d. Web. 2013.
Rappoport, Ken. "Joan Benoit." Ladies First: Women Athletes Who Made a Difference. Atlanta: Peachtree, 2005. 81-89. Print.
Word Count:1,630
Kennedy, Richard S. http://www.anb.org/articles/16/16-00394.html; American National Biography Online Feb. 2000. Access Date: Sun Mar 18 12:31:47 2001 Copgyright © 2000 American Council of Learned Societies. Publish by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
“The athletic craze began in the late nineteenth century when American’s were looking for some recreational activities to add to their daily lives during the Depression. In the cities, industrial wage earners frequented play grounds. They went dancing at the dance halls and had fun at the amusement parks. People that lived in rural areas simply rode bicycles, played baseball or football. “
Kathrine Switzer is not a name you as often as Susan B. Anthony or Sojourner Truth in the fight towards women's equality, but in 1967 she made a stand for all women and proved that she was and still is strong enough to do anything a man can do. Run the Boston Marathon, this little task to some now was a huge step for her, she had to push against everything almost every man most of her life except or few, including one of the men's coaches “A woman can't run the Boston Marathon. Women are too weak and too fragile for 26.2 miles. No dame ever ran no marathon.”(ESPN). During a time period where women in the United States were fighting for equality in the world, Kathrine Switzer battled her way for equality in the world of sports. In 1967 she
Hightower, Kyle. "Female Athletes Pushing the Boundaries of Sports." Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, FL). 02 Jul. 2005: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 23 Apr. 2014.
Introduction--While some sports were not as popular as they are today, little did people know how large of a role they would play in society during the 1930s.
The ideal images of female athletes presented in the films for this class have had a strong connection to the images of ideal women in society in general. Like the ideal image of women, there are many variations of the ideal image of female athletes. While Dare to Compete tracked the evolution of the role of the real female athletes, the feature films we watched presented varying views of the ideal female athlete, which has been different in different times and places.
Female educators in the early 1900’s strived to control the participation of women in sport, establishing certain constraints in order to maintain a male-dominated sports sphere. Athletic activity was healthy; yet too much athletic activity was rigorous and harmful to the female body. At the same time, though, these educators made a point to stress the presence of femininity in sport—which directly contributed to the introduction of sexuality into sport. If the educators of the early 1900’s did not have such an overbearing presence in female sport, maybe there would be no discussion about the swimming suit modeling of Amanda Beard, or the sexy, controversial, eccentric outfits Serena Williams shows off while playing at Wimbledon.
Swisher, Clarice, People Who Made History: John F. Kennedy (San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc. 2000)
J.F. Sallis (1993) “Epidemiology of Physical Activity and Fitness in Adolescents”, in Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, Vol.33. no.4-5, 403-408.
Mrs. A. Saves Olympics, Challenges Patriarchy. The Associated Press. 2004. MSNBC News. 2 Jan. 2005. <http://www.msnbc.msn.com>.
" Doris R. Corbett WaynePatterson." THE SOCIAL SIGNIFICANCE OF SPORT. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2013.
Winegar, Karen. "TV Coverage of Female Athletes is Better but not Equal." Star Tribune 24 July 1997 1A+.
Sabo, Don. "Women's athletics and the elimination of men's sports." Journal of Sport & Social Issues, Feb98, Vol. 22 Issue 1, p27.
Gail, a dark, tiny, female reporter, is given the assignment of investigating Babe, one of the most talented female athletes of the twentieth century. Suggestions have sprung up that Babe was not a woman at all. These suggestions have come from beer corporations and radical right-wing opponents of a new growing opinion that men and women's sports should equally share primetime TV slots.
Over the past decade or so, we’ve seen a dramatic increase in the number of women dominating in their respective sports. As well as, seeing women dominate in their professional sports, we’ve seen women become more prominent in broadcasting, and reporting on sports as well. An occupation that once was male dominated, is not so much anymore. These strong female figures, such as Ronda Rousey, Venus and Serena Williams, Maya Moore and Erin Andrews are making waves and names for themselves in sports history with their notable athleticism, feministic views, and sports knowledge. These great women are making a statement that sports are not just for men, but also for both men and women, and sports previously where only men participated are starting to see women enter that field. Even in a male