They’re afraid to run.' I said, 'OK.' So we filled out the entry form together, I paid my $2 entry fee. I looked it over and I said, 'Well then, how come women aren’t running?' And he said, 'Because they don’t believe they can. There’s nothing here that says it’s for men only, and nothing on the entry form about gender.' He said, 'No, you have to get travel permits, you have to pay a $2 entry fee, you have to fill out the entry form, you have to follow the rules.' I said, 'Maybe it’s a men’s-only event.' He said, 'No, it’s not. I thought we could just go and jump into the race. We ran 31 miles, and he was so impressed - he was so impressed after he passed out - that women had inherent potential and endurance and stamina. I trained mightily with him and one day we ran 26 miles, and then I said, let’s run another five to make sure we can do it. But he said, if I would prove to him in practice that I could do it, he’d be the first person to take me to the Boston Marathon. He didn’t believe a woman could run, no matter what. My entering the Boston Marathon in 1967 was a reward from my coach, Arnie Briggs. Kathrine Switzer, author of ' Marathon Woman: Running the Race to Revolutionize Women's Sports,' and founder of 261 Fearless.

Now, 50 years after that first run, Switzer is running the Boston Marathon again - this time, with more than 13,000 other women racing alongside her. And Switzer went on to finish the race in 4 hours, 20 minutes. Her boyfriend, a former all-American football player, shoved him off. It was the 71st Boston Marathon, and she was running with 600 other starters.Īt 1.5 miles, race director Jock Semple tried to pull Switzer off the course. She was the only woman in the field, and the first woman to run the race with an official bib. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia) This article is more than 6 years old.įifty years ago, on a cold morning in 1967, Kathrine Switzer stood on the start line of the Boston Marathon.

Switzer was the first woman with a bib issued by the Boston Athletic Association to finish the Boston Marathon in 1967. Beach is on the verge of becoming the first person to run the Boston Marathon 50 consecutive times if he completes the race on Monday. Kathrine Switzer talks with Ben Beach during a media availability at the Copley Plaza Hotel near the Boston Marathon finish line Thursday, April 13, 2017, in Boston.

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