Kathrine Switzer

Kathrine Virginia Switzer (born January 5, 1947) is an American marathon runner, author, and television commentator.

In 1967, she became the first woman to run the Boston Marathon as an officially registered competitor, Five years later, in 1972, women were first accepted officially to run the Boston Marathon. Switzer finished third in that 1972 race and Semple presented her with her trophy.

Life and career

Switzer was born on January 5, 1947, in Amberg, American-occupied zone of Germany, the daughter of a major in the United States Army. Her family returned to the United States in 1949. She graduated from George C. Marshall High School in Fairfax County, Virginia, then attended Lynchburg College. She transferred to Syracuse University in 1967, where she studied journalism and English literature. but he conceded to Switzer: "If any woman could do it, you could, but you would have to prove it to me. If you ran the distance in practice, I’d be the first to take you to Boston."

Kathrine Switzer had decided she would run as an official competitor. Switzer registered using her assigned AAU number, and paid the full race fee. The required certificate of fitness and the application signature she provided were both submitted under the name 'K.V. Switzer.' Switzer later said she signed the application "as I always sign my name." She also stated that her name had been misspelled on her birth certificate, so she often used her initials to avoid confusion.

Switzer's father was supportive of his daughter's entry into the race, and on race day, other runners assembling for the start greeted her with support and enthusiasm, leading her to feel "very welcome".

Semple ran at Switzer and tried to rip her race number off to prevent her from continuing as an official competitor. In her memoir, she wrote:

Semple's attack removed one of Switzer's gloves, but not her race number. When Switzer's slightly-built 50-year-old coach Arnie Briggs attempted to protect Switzer, Semple knocked him to the ground. Semple complained in a 1968 interview about Miller's success in stopping his attacks, saying, "That guy's a hammer thrower, for cripes' sake!" The symbolism of Switzer's escape from Semple's attack far overshadowed the success of Bobbi Gibb, who completed the race for the second time and was the first woman to cross the 1967 finish line, with a time almost an hour faster than Switzer's. As she had in 1966, Gibb ran without a race number. She was not challenged during the race.

Semple later claimed that Switzer had been issued a number through an "oversight" in the entry screening process.

Boston Athletic Association director Will Cloney—who had rejected Bobbi Gibb's entry into the 1966 Boston Marathon giving as his reason his claim that women could not run that far—was asked his opinion of Switzer competing in the race. Although Gibb had completed the marathon the previous year with a good time, the race rule book made no mention of gender, and Switzer had a valid race registration, Switzer, with other female runners, tried to convince the Boston Athletic Association to allow women to participate in the marathon. Finally, in 1972, the Boston Marathon established an official women's race.

Later competition, work, and honors

Switzer was the women's winner of the 1974 New York City Marathon, with a time of 3:07:29 (59th overall). Her personal best time is 2:51:37, at the 1975 Boston Marathon.

Switzer was named Female Runner of the Decade (1967–77) by Runner's World Magazine. She later became a sports reporter, writing articles and commenting on televised running events, eventually receiving an Emmy Award for her work. She created the Avon Running Global Women’s Circuit, a series of women's running events held in many countries, which led to a women’s marathon being included in the 1984 Olympic Games. In 1979, the Supersisters trading card set was produced and distributed; one of the cards featured Switzer's name and picture. She famously interviewed Boston Marathon fraudster Rosie Ruiz in 1980, asking her if her dramatic win and improvement in her time was due to running intervals, and Ruiz responded "I'm not sure what intervals are. What are they?" ,

Switzer wrote Running and Walking for Women over 40 in 1997. She released her memoir, Marathon Woman, in April 2007, on the 40th anniversary of her first running of the Boston Marathon. In April 2008, Marathon Woman won the Billie Award for journalism for its portrayal of women in sports.

Switzer has said that when she attends the Boston Marathon, she is glad to see other female runners:

She was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 2011 for creating a social revolution by empowering women around the world through running.

In 2015, Switzer launched a global non-profit called 261 Fearless with an ambassador program, club training system, and events. 261 Fearless uses running as a means to empower women to overcome life obstacles and embrace healthy living.

For the 2017 Boston Marathon—her ninth time running the race, and the 50th anniversary of her first time—she was assigned bib number 261, the same number she had been assigned in 1967. She was placed in wave 1 and corral 1 and finished in 4:44:31. She was leading a team of runners from 261 Fearless, and rather than being the only woman officially in the race like in 1967, she was joined by over 13,700 women—almost half of the total runners. That same year, the Boston Athletic Association announced it would not assign bib number 261 to any future runners, as an honor for Switzer.

Also in 2017, she ran the New York City Marathon for the first time since 1974; she finished in 4:48:21.

In May 2018, Switzer was the commencement speaker at the 164th commencement of Syracuse University, and received an honorary doctorate of humane letters degree.

In 2025, Switzer met Sophie Power, an ultrarunner pictured breastfeeding her three-month old son in the middle of the Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc in 2018, at a running conference in the UK. Both women reflected on the impact on women's sport their two photographs had made.

Personal life In 1968, Switzer married Tom Miller, the man who had put an end to Semple's attack in 1967. They divorced in 1973. Switzer subsequently married and divorced public relations executive Philip Schaub. She then married British-born New Zealand runner and author Roger Robinson in 1987.

Switzer eventually made amends with Semple after he changed his mind with regard to women in sports. The two became close friends, and she last visited him shortly before Semple's death in 1988.

Achievements