On this day in history let us not forget that the award for Best Boyfriend In The Universe still belongs to undefeated champion Tom Miller— boyfriend of Kathrine Switzer, who in 1967 became the first woman to run the Boston marathon with an official numbered bib at a time when women were barred from marathon running for being too frail to compete.

When Jock Semple (no seriously), the Race Director for the marathon, saw a woman running— a WOMAN! running alongside the strong MEN! Using her WOMAN LEGS! Like some kind of COMPETITOR! —he leaped from the administrator’s bus screaming that a dame (side note: can we bring this back, please?) had no place in his race and attempted to rip her number off her chest and tackle her to the ground. Kathrine— who was wearing LIPSTICK like some kind of WOMAN, she was a WOMAN running like a MAN but with long HAIR I mean SERIOUSLY, WHAT NEXT— was admittedly terrified of this pasty Scottish man screaming in her face that she should Get the hell out of my race and give me that number, DAME! (Say it out loud, it feels righteous.)

When it became clear that Kathrine could not get away from Semple, who had her by the shirt, Kathrine’s 235-pound boyfriend Tom delivered a pretty gorgeous body-block, sent Semple flying—literally, flying through the air, where he then fell and looked sort of dead for while—and the two kept running. They kept running for the remaining 22.2 miles. That’s a lot of miles. History was embarrassed of its previous behaviors; it soon let women register to run marathons. Semple became known as a bastion of the Old Guard, the sad and angry misogynist who would be left behind as the world forged on. Switzer became an icon, a Hall of Famer, a 35 marathon completer. 

The lesson: Ladies if you’ve got a man who will send a crazy woman-hater flying through the air, hold on to him, keep running, keep being a dame, keep your numbers.