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Minnesota Now with Nina Moini
Matt Sepic, Cathy Wurzer, Simone Cazares and Lindsay Guentzel
Minneapolis

Quite a run: St. Cloud woman lauded 50 years after her historic Boston Marathon

A person stands at a starting line wearing a visor and windbreaker
St. Cloud's Val Rogosheske, who raced in the inaugural women's division in 1972, stands at the starting line of the 126th Boston Marathon Monday in Hopkinton, Mass. Rogosheske is running the race with her two daughters, 50 years after running her first Boston Marathon.
Mary Schwalm | AP

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A St. Cloud, Minn., resident who was among the first women to run the Boston Marathon was back in Boston Monday to mark the 50th anniversary of her historic feat.

Val Rogosheske ran the race in 1972, the first year organizers began admitting women. She was part of a small group that year — she was one of eight to register — and didn't have much experience.

"Apparently the other seven women had already run marathons and had actually gone under three hours and 30 minutes for the race, which is a pretty fast time. And I had never run a marathon before,” she told MPR News.

However, she found a lot of encouragement along the route.

"Male runners were so wonderful and supportive. And all the people along the way were supportive. Back 50 years ago there weren't the organized aid stations that there are now. So people would stand there with their garden hose running,” she said.

Rogosheske said she’d run Monday’s race with her two daughters.

Click the audio player above to hear the full segment.