Kathrine Switzer

Kathrine Switzer, the first woman to run the Boston Marathon in 1967! In that race she was physically attacked by the race co-director for officially registering and running in what was then considered a men’s only race. He grabbed her shoulder and screamed at her “GET THE HELL OUT OF MY RACE AND GIVE ME THOSE NUMBERS.” After this happened she said “I KNEW IF I QUIT, nobody would ever believe that women had the capability to run 26- plus miles. If I quit, everybody would say it was a publicity stunt. If I quit, it would set women’s sports way back, instead of forward. If I quit, I’d never run Boston. If I quit, Jock Semple and all those like him would win.” By the time she finished the race, she vowed to create opportunities for women in running and to become a better athlete herself. Since that life changing race, some of her accomplishments include:
•Running the Boston Marathon 8 times
•First class of inductees to the National Distance Running Hall of Fame
•She is STILL the last NY woman to have won the NYC Marathon
• Creating the Avon International Running Circuit in 1977, a global series of women’s races that became her life work