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Kathrine Switzer breaks down her groundbreaking 1967 Boston Marathon moment
Kathrine Switzer’s No. 261 bib shows the signs of the times: tears at the corner where a Boston Marathon official tried to rip it off her mid-race. Switzer became the first woman to officially run the Boston Marathon in 1967 when she registered as “KV Switzer” (for Kathrine Virginia) to elude organizers even though there…Read More
Awaiting The Baton In The Relay Exchange Zone
How is your daily training/coaching/work routine doing and how challenging has it been for you in this environment? ” I am extremely fortunate in that I am in New Zealand, where we have a lot of space, fresh air, and are allowed to go outside. Attached is a funny photo of me exercising in New…Read More
The virtual running club for women who support women
Join the #261fearLESStogether Virtual Meet Run International running group 261 Fearless continues to operate worldwide, as women meet online to support each other through training. Founded in 2015 by athlete and activist Kathrine Switzer, 261 Fearless is global non-profit organisation that aims to empower women through local running clubs. Currently available in five continents, the…Read More
Here’s How Women In Sports Feel About The State Of Their Industry
The fight for gender equality in athletics took center stage in 2019 when the U.S. women’s soccer team filed a lawsuit for “institutionalized gender discrimination” with the league. The team received a flood of support in their dispute, most notably when World Cup sponsor Secret Deodorant publically sided with the team, donating $529,000 to the…Read More
Why We Run
Hey Friends! I love this study done around the world by adidas, showing Why We Run! I’m wondering if you are as surprised as I am that so many people have met significant life partners through running. On the other hand, why should I be so surprised? I met MY wonderful husband through running! And…Read More
Iconic runner empowers women through sport
Iconic athlete Kathrine Switzer has been inspiring Manawatū runners and empowering women in the sport. Switzer and husband Roger Robinson, who have both long been involved in running, have been in Palmerston North this week for three public events, including a women’s 261 Fearless run at Waterloo Park, a group designed to encourage women into running. The pair were…Read More
Public Invited to Run Friday with Boston Marathon Pioneer Kathrine Switzer
Kathrine Switzer, who in 1967 became the first woman to officially run the Boston Marathon – wearing bib number 261 – and is the founder of the global non-profit 261 Fearless, will be in Arlington this Friday to run with the 261 Fearless Club DC Metro/VA. The short, easy run will begin at 5:30 p.m.…Read More
City of Dunkirk, France Names Stadium to Honor Kathrine Switzer Running Pioneer
Dunkirk City Council and Mayor Patrice Vergriete recently dedicated their new stadium “Stade d’Athlétisme Kathrine Switzer” (“Kathrine Switzer Stadium”) during the official inauguration ceremonies which were held on September 14-15. “Kathrine Switzer made a very strong and symbolic statement when she competed in the 1967 Boston Marathon and paved the way for women to compete…Read More
Part-time Wellingtonian and women’s running hero Kathrine Switzer has French stadium named after her
A part-time Wellingtonian and women’s running trailblazer has had a stadium named after her in France. Kathrine Switzer was the first registered woman to run in the Boston Marathon, and spends half of her time in Wellington and the rest in her native United States. The stadium, in Dunkirk, was named Stade d’Athlétisme Kathrine Switzer, or Kathrine Switzer Stadium, in…Read More
Rosie Ruiz, the Boston Marathon winner who wasn’t, dies at 66
Hi Friends, All of us were shocked when Rosie Ruiz cheated in the 1980 Boston Marathon, especially me who was doing the coverage of the elite women in the race from a golf cart alongside and never saw her. But I grabbed her afterward and interviewed her, it became an interview in which she incriminated…Read More
The Beginning of a Movement
It was a chilly day in Boston on the morning of April 19, 1967. It had started to sleet, adding to the chill. Forgoing the more exposed t-shirt and shorts, most runners had decided to keep their sweatshirts and pants on. Among the runners was Kathrine Switzer, a 20-year-old woman, excited to run in her…Read More
Evolving Role
She didn’t know it at the time, but a photograph of Kathrine Switzer running in the 1967 Boston Marathon would become an iconic image for sports and women’s equality. The image showed Switzer, No. 261, in the middle of several men, as a race official attempts to pull her off the course. Switzer’s boyfriend, however,…Read More
Boston Marathon officials tried to pull her off the course, but Kathrine Switzer became the 1st woman to finish the race. Now she works to inspire other athletes.
She didn’t know it at the time, but a photograph of Kathrine Switzer running in the 1967 Boston Marathon would become an iconic image for sports and women’s equality. The image showed Switzer, No. 261, in the middle of several men, as a race official attempts to pull her off the course. Switzer’s boyfriend,…Read More
Kathrine Switzer
The controversy that swirled around this iconic event — a woman running in a men-only marathon — tends to diminish the athletic achievements of one of the world’s most renowned female runners. Kathrine went on to run Boston eight times, bettering her first time in 1967 of four hours 20 minutes down to 2 hours…Read More
Iconic Runner Hoping for a New Revolution
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…Read More
Running, Thinking, and Writing
In a New York Times essay last March, Maine-based writer Caitlin Shetterly described her joy in gritty, cold winter runs and the way these runs often spark creative thoughts. “On a run, ideas will bubble up,” she wrote. “Like little ice floes in warming waters, they’ll drift unencumbered until I can see them gleaming in the sun.” Just…Read More
Interview with an Icon: Kathrine Switzer on Breaking Rules, Busting Myths and Being Called “Just a Jogger”
Last month, around 30,000 runners raced the Boston Marathon, with women making up about 45 percent of the field. But in 1967, there was only one woman with an official bib: Kathrine Switzer. Aside from training for months through the bleak winter, the 20-year-old journalism student had to break barriers, overcoming prejudice, criticism and ridicule just…Read More
The University of Lynchburg announces commencement speakers for graduation ceremonies
LYNCHBURG, Va. (WFXR News) – Tuesday morning the University of Lynchburg announced the commencement speakers for their spring graduation ceremonies. The University released the following information: Kathrine Switzer will speak at our Undergraduate Commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 18. In 1967, she became the first woman to enter and run the Boston Marathon, despite it being closed…Read More
Switzer continues to pave path for female runners
Thousands of women ran in the Boston Marathon this year, but back in 1967, 20-year-old Kathrine Switzer was the only woman on the course. Her decision to participate in the marathon that morning sparked a social revolution that has given women across the world the motivation to run for over 50 years. In 1967, Switzer…Read More
Kathrine, Switzer la primera mujer en correr oficialmente un maratón: “El running es un gran ejemplo de igualdad”
Amediados de diciembre del 1966, y mientras trotaban bajo una feroz tormenta de nieve, Kathrine Switzer tuvo una fuerte discusión con su veterano entrenador, Arnie Briggs. Por aquel entonces, Switzer tenía 19 años, estudiaba periodismo deportivo en la Universidad de Siracusa, Nueva York, y, como la institución no tenía disciplinas deportivas para mujeres, ella practicaba…Read More