Sara Mae Berman, born May 14, 1936 in the Bronx, New York, is a distinguished American distance runner. Berman came from a generation in which women were not encouraged to be athletic, especially after having children. Berman, along with a group of female runners, actively campaigned for equal rights for women in the sport of distance running. Berman competed in her first road race in June 1964 as an unofficial entrant in the 5-Mile Handicap Race in Marlborough, Massachusetts. She would go on to win the Boston Marathon three times, before women were recognized as official participants (1969 in 3:22:46; 1970 in 3:05:07; and 1971 in 3:08:30). In 1970, she won the first RRCA Women’s MarathonChampionship held in Atlantic City, New Jersey, besting a field of six female starters with a time of 3:07:10. That same year, she also finished third in the inaugural New York City Marathon women’s division. Her accomplishments in the sport extend well beyond the race course. Berman was the first female RRCA officer, serving as Vice President from 1966-67. She was one of the original road race course certifiers in New England in the 1960s. She, along with her husband, certified the Boston Marathon course in 1967, enabling runners to qualify on the course for the United States Olympic Trials Marathon held in 1968 in Alamosa, Colorado.