A milestone for the Raisin River Foot Race attracted a couple of big names in the running world back to Williamstown this weekend.
As the event — a staple of the town’s annual fair — marked 35 years on Saturday, world-renowned marathoners Kathrine Switzer and Ed Whitlock shared their experiences of the sport.
Swizter broke gender boundaries by being the first woman to run the Boston Marathon, while Whitlock holds the fastest time for a 42-kilometre race run by anyone his age.
“You’ve been breaking records for the last few years” said Roger Robinson, a historian of the sport and Switzer’s husband, as he interviewed the pair on the main stage of the Williamstown fairgrounds as part of the anniversary celebrations.
Whitlock, who is now over 80, said he planned to run in Sunday’s foot race and noted he takes to the road for two to three hours each day.
“You kind of get used to it,” he siad. “And then you realize, you can run a marathon.”
