First woman to run the Boston Marathon just did it again 50 years later
Fifty years after becoming the first woman to officially enter the Boston Marathon, Kathrine Switzer made history with her feet once again — and this time, no one tried to rip off her iconic bib number.
Switzer, now 70, donned bib No. 261 for the 121st Boston Marathon on Monday, the same number she wore in 1967 when then-race director Jock Semple tried to rip off her bib and stop her from finishing the race. The moment was captured in an iconic photo showing Switzer’s then-boyfriend coming to her aid.
She went on to finish the 1967 Boston Marathon in 4 hours and 20 minutes, roughly 24 minutes faster than her unofficial time on Monday of 4:44:31 after signaling the start of the women’s elite race. That was good enough for eighth place within her age group (70-74) and 22,586th place overall, according to unofficial race results.
Earlier in the race, Switzer posted videos to her Facebook page chronicling her run, referencing the approximate spot where Semple tried to stop her from finishing the race half a century ago.
“So proud of you Katherine,” one commenter wrote in response to the video. “You are such a role model for Women. Have a great race. Enjoy every minute.”
Prior to Monday’s race, Switzer — who won the 1974 New York City Marathon and finished second in the 1975 Boston Marathon — told the Boston Globe she started training about 18 months earlier and was told by her physiotherapist to train every other day and to focus on the recovery process.
“And I screamed because I’m an everyday kind of runner,” she told the newspaper.
Switzer said she finished two 20-mile races during her training, as well as distances of up to 1,000 meters at a 5K pace and core workouts twice a week. That’s a far cry from the regimen she ran during her peak as a competitive runner, back when she would log more than 100 miles per week and complete at least one 26.2-mile trek before each official marathon.
“But I’ve never been 70 before,” she told the Globe.
But Switzer — who organized 125 charity runners for Monday’s race through her 261 Fearless Foundation, a nonprofit she launched in 2015 to empower female runners — said she was primarily concerned with getting enough downtime prior to the demanding run.
“I’m not worried about the physicalness of my capability,” she said. “What I’m worried about — outside of an injury or something out of the blue — but what I do worry about is being tired.”
Switzer said she can easily recall the 1967 race half a century later. At the time, the 20-year-old journalism student from Syracuse University realized what finishing the course would mean to women around the world, particularly female runners.
“That’s a helluva lot of pressure. Actually, it’s the same pressure I feel on Monday. You know? Because people are going to remember me more if I don’t finish than if I do finish,” Switzer told the Globe. “And so, somehow I’ve got to finish.”
The incident thrust her into a role as an “iconic athlete, sports and social advocate, author and Emmy-award television commentator,” according to her blog, Marathon Woman. The number 261 has since come to symbolize being “fearless in the face of adversity,” Switzer writes.
She said she began the race 50 years ago simply as a “kid who wanted to run,” while referencing Roberta Bingay Gibb’s finish in 1966 without an official bib number.
“[S]o I wasn’t trying to break any barriers,” Switzer recalled on her blog. “It wasn’t until a race official attacked me during the run did I become determined to finish and speak out on behalf of all women.”
Women were ultimately allowed to officially run in Boston during the 76th race on April 17, 1972. Switzer finished in third place that year with a time of just under 3 hours and 30 minutes, according to Boston.com.
Fifty years later, Switzer continues to inspire. On Thursday, the Boston Athletic Association announced that Switzer’s bib number would be retired from the Boston Marathon. Race officials had previously retired just one other bib number — 61 — in honor of John Kelly, who notched 61 Boston finishes, MassLive.com reports.
“Now that she’s getting into her later years, you’d think she’d sit back and say, ‘I’ve done my part,'” runner Rosy Spraker told CBS Boston. “But now I think 261 Fearless is going to be her biggest achievement.”