Once upon a time, less than 50 years ago, women weren’t allowed to run marathons as it was feared that they’d prove much too arduous for us delicate ladies. Kathrine Switzer changed all that when, in 1967, she entered the then all-male Boston Marathon under the name KV Switzer. She was wearing bib number 261 when an angry race official tried, unsuccessfully, to evict her from the race by ripping it from her chest, an action that was caught on camera and sent shockwaves round the world. Switzer went on to campaign against this discrimination and five years later women were allowed to enter the Boston Marathon.
