A Little Bit about Boston:
The Boston Marathon was first run in 1897 after John Graham became inspired by the Olympic Marathon. The course was 24.5 miles and a team of 15 runners competed. The winning runner finished in 2:55:10. Quite a feat given the athletic gear of the day! The starting line was eventually moved from Ashland to Hopkinton, making the Boston Marathon a full Olympic course.

The first woman to run Boston was Roberta Gibb, who ran with an unofficial race number from 1966-68. In 1967, Katherine Switzer did not clearly identify herself as a woman on her application and was issued a number. Race officials tried to physically remove her from the race! At that time, there was no formal recognition of women in long distance running. It was not until 1971 that sanctions were given to allow women marathon runners. The following Boston Marathon in 1972 saw 8 women runners, all of whom both started and finished the race.

I have been reading that the large numbers of runners walking along like Frankenstein on the day following Boston can be attributed to the stress of downhills on the course. Advice is given to develop strong quadriceps, and that this can help you walk down the stairs without having to descend them backwards the following week!