Four hours, 20 minutes.
That was how long it took Boston Marathon participant No. 261 to run 26.2 miles on April 19, 1967 — a run taht catapulted 20-year-old Kathrine Switzer from anonymity to historical icon in her sport and for gender equality.
As the first woman to officially register complete the race as a registered participant, it was a watershed moment for the sport and, thanks to a series of photos of her being attacked on the course by a race official trying to rip off her racing bib once he discovered she was competing, it became a galvanizing moment in the women’s rights movement of the era.
