Celebrating "50 Years of Women Owning the Roads"
The 2022 Mastercard New York Mini 10K, the 50th running of the world’s original women-only road race, was a celebration of women and girls of all ages and abilities.
“Fifty years ago we opened the streets of New York and the world to women for the first time,” said Kathrine Switzer, who helped organize the first Mini, a 6-mile race known as the Crazylegs Mini Marathon, in 1972. “We celebrate today 50 years of women owning the roads.”
A World-Class Sporting Event
This year’s race drew one of the best fields in Mini history, featuring Olympians, Paralympians, and NYRR race champions. Senbere Teferi of Ethiopia broke the tape in the open division, winning in a time of 30:43. Susannah Scaroni of the United States was the wheelchair division champion in a world-best 10K time of 21:10. Read more about the thrilling pro races.
Honoring Distance-Running Legends
Legends and pioneers of women’s distance running were on hand to mark the 50th anniversary, including Jacki Marsh-Dixon, the first Mini 10K champion; Switzer, the 1974 New York City Marathon champion who also ran the first Mini 10K; Deena Kastor, Olympic medalist and 2004 Mini 10K champion; and Lynn Blackstone, Pat Barrett, and Nina Kuscsik, three of the “Six Who Sat” at the 1972 New York City Marathon. Switzer and Blackstone ran this year’s Mini.
A Celebration of Multi-time Mini Finishers
More than 250 women have finished the Mini 10K 15 or more times, and 84 of them took part this year. Known as Crazylegs, these multi-time finishers gathered for a group photo before the start.
The Future of Running
This year’s event included a Kids Run at the Mastercard New York Mini 10K for youth ages 8-18. More than 350 participants ran a 1.2-mile course before the start of the adult 10K.
In addition, 14 young women took part in the NYRR Run for the Future graduation 5K at this year’s Mini. Run for the Future is seven-week program that introduces 11th- and 12th-grade young women to running and concludes with their first 5K. Running legend and 2004 Mini 10K champion Deena Kastor served as a Race Buddy for the girls.
50th Anniversary of the Passage of Title IX
On June 23, 1972, just three weeks after the first Mini, President Nixon signed into law Title IX, mandating equal educational and sport opportunities for girls and women and opening doors to generations of female athletes. The 1972 Mini was part of a groundswell of women’s running achievement that year that showed the power and capabilities of women athletes.
“At the time I was running 100 miles a week, and yet the men who controlled events for women said that I wasn’t strong enough to run distance,” said Marsh-Dixon, who won the first Mini as a teenager. “It took women standing up and fighting for our right to put one foot in front of the other and to go as far as we wanted to go and as far as our training and our innate abilities would take us.”
Broadcast and Media Coverage
The professional athlete races were streamed live on USATF.TV, and you can read coverage of the race in major media outlets, including ABC, CBS, CNN, The New York Times, and Women's Running.