Women Warriors: Kathrine Switzer

 Kathrine Switzer: "Yep, I'm a Girl!"

The First Woman to Officially Run the Boston Marathon

"You would have to prove it to me"

Kathrine Switzer was a college student when she ran her first marathon. While this is certainly not an unusual statement today, it was unheard off in 1966. Women weren't permitted to enter marathons as it was thought that the lengthy race was far too demanding on women's fragile bodies. Enter Kathrine Switzer, a 19-year-old journalism student at Syracuse University who was an avid runner training unofficially with the men's cross country team since there was no women's team. After a tiff with her coach, Arnie Briggs, a highly experienced runner with 15 Boston marathons under his belt, he told Kathrine that they'd enter the race if she could prove she could run the distance in practice first. So, three weeks before the Boston marathon, Kathrine and her coach did a trial run. Not only did Kathrine finish the 26 miles with her coach, she was feeling so good that she insisted on running another five mile lap. She finished the 31 miles full of energy and excitement. Briggs passed out. The next day, Briggs insisted that Kathrine sign up for the Boston (2).

"I will not take off my lipstick"

The day of the race arrived and Kathrine, Briggs, and Kathrine's then boyfriend, Tom, gathered at the start line. Many runners did double takes to which Kathrine replied with little waves, smiles, and nods that communicated "Yep! I'm a girl and I'm here to run!" Most of the runners were overwhelmingly excited to see a woman joining the race. Many approached her with statements of joy, congratulatory messages, requests for photos, or other well wishes. As the trio was warming up in the midst of the other curious runners, Tom noticed Kathrine was wearing lipstick.

"God, you're wearing lipstick!"

"I always wear lipstick. What's wrong with that?"

"Somebody might see you are a girl and not let you run. Take it off."

"I will not take off my lipstick."

And with that, the three headed to the start and waited for the gun to go off. 

"Run like hell!"

The marathon began as all races do, with excitement and fun fueled by the energy of the cheering crowd, but around the fourth mile, that changed. One of the race officials had spotted Kathrine and attacked her, attempting to rip off her bib while screaming:

 "Get the hell out of my race and give me those numbers!" 

Officiant Jock Semple attacks Kathrine Switzer, attempting to rip her bib off and drag her off the course (4)

Kathrine kept running, and Tom and Arnie physically intervened. Arnie shouted for her to "Run like hell!" as they helped pull the officiant off of her. Gone was the fun of the start of the race, now there was only adrenaline, fear, and a resolved determination that she must finish the race, no matter what.

"If I quit..."

Kathrine had lost a glove in the attack which was a brutal loss given the terrible, cold, snowy weather and was quickly beginning to feel embarrassed, unsure of herself, and miserable. As the adrenaline began to subside, Kathrine thought "for just a tiny moment, I wondered if I should step off the course. I did not want to mess up this prestigious race. But the thought was only a flicker. 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 back, 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. My fear and humiliation turned to anger," and so through the cold, the blisters, the blood soaked socks, and the intense emotions, she pressed on and finished the race, over an hour before her boyfriend finished. She was met with a flood of journalists and photographers asking her all sorts of questions that she answered as best she could. Her blistered feet and blood soaked socks made the attending first aid doctor nearly faint (2). But overall, Switzer was proud and filled with joy and accomplishment as any marathon finisher should be. 

After the Race

Switzer at 70 completing her 9th Boston Marathon with the same bib
number she wore for her first Boston, 50 years prior (5)

Kathrine Switzer entered the Boston marathon because she loved to run and wanted to experience the Boston Marathon herself; she had no intentions of making apolitical statement or causing a scandal on that snowy, grey day. But after her dramatic finish, Switzer was determined to ensure no other female athlete faced the same challenges she did. She fought for women's rights in athletics and was a major force behind the Boston Marathon's change to allowing female runners in 1972. She also created the Avon International Running Circuit which is a series of global women's races that paved the way for the Olympics to institute the women's marathon as an official event in 1984. Much of Kathrine's activism was through her own persistence and presence as an athlete. She continued modeling that women could and should train for these highly competitive races and is still running today. In 2017, at age 70, Switzer ran the Boston Marathon for her ninth time, bringing her lifetime marathon count to 40 (3). Because of Kathrine, women all over the world are able to enter marathons and run without obstacles. She continues to be an inspiration to female athletes of all ages through her activity in her running, her 2007 memoir Marathon Woman, her experience as a sports commentator on several networks, and her many awards and recognitions for her contributions to athletics (1). 

Sources

(1) Bowers, Rachel G. “Kathrine Switzer Finishes Boston Marathon Again, 50 Years Later - The Boston Globe.” BostonGlobe.com, The Boston Globe, 17 Apr. 2017, https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/specials/boston-marathon/2017/04/17/switzer/X2g0fN86vEMwkDz0M32E9L/story.html.

(2) “The Girl Who Started It All.” Runner's World, 3 Mar. 2022, https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a20801860/kathrine-switzer-runs-the-boston-marathon/.

(3) “Home.” Kathrine Switzer - Marathon Woman, 4 Feb. 2021, https://kathrineswitzer.com/.

(4) “Kathrine Switzer on the Marathon Moment That 'Changed Millions of Women's Lives'.” Boston.com, The Boston Globe, 18 Apr. 2015, https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-marathon/2015/04/18/kathrine-switzer-on-the-marathon-moment-that-changed-millions-of-womens-lives/.

(5) “Kathrine Switzer: A Pioneer in Women's Sports.” New York Road Runners, https://www.nyrr.org/about/hall-of-fame/kathrine-switzer.