Today I Learned

Frances Elizabeth Hayward was the first woman to unofficially complete the Comrades Marathon in 1923, during a time when the race was only open to white men.

The Natal Witness reported at the time, “Hayward made a steady pace, dropping to a walk on the hills, and, at Thornybush, was last but one, a good mile behind the others. She looked cheerful and fit, having previously announced her intention of making Drummond by 11:00. She got to Drummond at 11:14, not far off her intended schedule.”

The article ended with, “Another signal of women’s emancipation from the thraldom of good-natured disdain in which mere man has held her.”