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Life Excellence Podcast

// KATHRINE SWITZER // EPISODE 037 IS NOW LIVE! // On this episode of LifeExcellence, Kathrine discusses how that snowy day in 1967 both radicalized and inspired her to create opportunities for other women in running. Click here to listen to the episode! About LifeExcellence:Read More

Striding Into Boston Marathon History with Kathrine Switzer

It’s one of the most famous running photos in history, and it doesn’t show a champion crossing a finish line or a brokenhearted runner-up. It’s the indelible image of a 63-year-old man trying to push a 20-year-old woman out of the Boston Marathon, contending (though gender wasn’t mentioned in the rules) that women weren’t allowed.…Read More

The Woman Who Made all Women Run

Wow–on @BostonMarathon Day, @Eurosport France released this amazing story about me and other women runners in our successful pursuit of inclusion in running, from the early organizing  days, to Olympic inclusion, to now our work with @261Fearless.  Merci Journalist Remi Bourrieres!! “London. Boston. Paris. Perth. Jerusalem. This month of October 2021 looks like a real international marathon festival, like a return to life after the…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 ManawatĆ« 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

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’AthlĂ©tisme 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’AthlĂ©tisme Kathrine Switzer, or Kathrine Switzer Stadium, in…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