It is commonly referred to as the "Boston Incident". The infamous spark between runner and race director, which ignited the women's running revolution. Kathrine Switzer created a global frenzy, when the Boston Marathon race director, Jock Semple tried to forcibly remove her from the course.
Since the scuffle during the race in 1967, Switzer will always be best-known as the woman who challenged the all-male tradition and became the first woman to officially enter and run the Boston Marathon.
Little did she know that when she laced up her trainers, donned the number 261 and entered the starting pen that day, that she would break the gender barrier and change to face of female running forever.
Whether participating in a Race for Life event, running the Glasgow Women’s 10K, completing a marathon or any mixed gender race, women everywhere owe a little to Kathrine Switzer.
I had the pleasure of meeting the living legend during her visit to Scotland in June – to talk a the Running the Highlands (RTH) weekend in the Royal Deeside.
Dressed with style and elegance, Switzer instantly projects the aura of a winner. She may have spent her life being knocked for being a woman, but she still remains very feminine and graceful - from her perfectly styled hair and make-up to her tailored clothes and kitten-heeled shoes. She is proudly composed, with her head held high. Clutching a Louis Vuitton handbag in one hand, whilst sipping from a cup a coffee with the other.
With a confident and sunny disposition, you instantly warm to her. There’s a magnetic positivity that radiates from her.
Joining her at the RTH weekend is husband, Roger Robinson. Another high achiever, Robinson enjoyed a 30-year career as an international elite runner - representing both England and New Zealand in World Championships. He has set marathon records for his age group and written three of running’s most original books.
Equally proud and turned-out in razor-sharp pressed trousers and shirt, they wouldn’t look out of place in Monaco. Switzer’s cheery “have-a-nice-day” Americaness is a contrast to Robinson’s quintessential English - complete dry sense of humour - manner. But together, it works. Their are duo act. Smiling and giggling at their inside jokes and finishing each others sentences. It’s a charming synergy that’s spurned from 18 years of common ground and companionship.
Notepads at the ready, the RTH participants were alert and keen to hear Switzer and Robinson speak. Looking for divine inspiration. Anything that would help them run better, faster or longer.
Addressing an entranced and fascinated audience, Switzer commenced with the history of her life.
“At the age of 12, I was a keen hockey player.” She started: “My Father advised me run a mile everyday. To a young girl, that’s like climbing Kilimanjaro. I struggled everyday, but the conditioning made me a better player. I thought I had something magical, so I kept it a secret. Running gave me the self-esteem and empowerment that the other girls didn’t have. It was my little sense of victory every day.”
She continued with her daily run and hockey through to college in Virginia, where the men's track coach asked her if she would run a mile for the team at a meet. In a small religious town, this was something almost sacrilegious. The media where out in force to capture the woman who dared to run with men. She finished the mile in an admirable 5:58, but later received hate mail saying that God would strike her dead for running with men.
Switzer decided to become a sports journalist and transferred to Syracuse University in 1966. At Syracuse she went to see the men's cross country coach. As it was against the NCAA rules, she couldn’t run officially, but she could train with them. It was at Syracuse where she met Arnie Briggs, who was the University postman and unofficial team manager. An ex-marathon runner, who had run the Boston Marathon 15 times, Briggs took Switzer under his wing and taught her about running.
Switzer: “We were running six to ten miles a night. Arnie would keep me entertained with stories of the Boston Marathon. I was entranced and fascinated. Finally, I said let's stop talking about Boston and just go and run the damn thing. He turned to me and said, ‘women aren't capable of running 26.2 miles.”
Switzer knew that In 1966, Roberta Gibb had run the Boston Marathon. She hid in the bushes until the gun went off and then slipped into the pack. She finished in 3:21 – beating two thirds of the men - but her time was not recorded as she had not officially entered.
Briggs didn’t believe that story, but told Switzer that if she could prove to him that she could run 26.2 miles, he would personally take her to Boston.
Switzer trained consistently. She added: “On my first attempt at 18 miles, I hit the wall. But I kept going and finally we set the day to run distance. We mapped out about four 10K loops and as we were finishing up the last loop, Arnie turned and said, 'I can't believe you are going to make it.' All of a sudden I put on the brakes and said, 'What if we mismeasured the course and we're short of 26.2 miles?' I began to doubt we had measured the distance accurately. Just to be totally sure, I wanted to add another five miles. During the last stage of the 31-mile run, Arnie began weaving. At our finish line, I threw my arms around him…and he passed out!”
The next day, Briggs gave Switzer a race entry form. They checked the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) rulebook for regulations on woman’s marathon running, but there was no reference to gender. Switzer filled out the entry form, paid the $3 entry fee, and signed it – the way she always did - K.V. Switzer.
That night, she went out with her boyfriend Tom Miller, who was a 17-stone hammer thrower. He was always amused by her ‘jogging’ tales, but even more so about her marathon attempts. He decided to sign up on the basis that if a girl could do it, he could do it too.
The weather on the day was pretty cold and grim, so most of the runners were wrapped up. As Switzer pinned on her number, some of the other runners noticed her and got very excited and supportive. Switzer lined up to go through the starting pen with Arnie Briggs, her boyfriend Tom and John Leonard from her cross country team. As they passed through the pen, they had to lift their sweatshirts to display their numbers. Will Cloney, the co-race director, pushed Switzer through the starting gate. The race started and off went the first registered female marathon runner.
Four miles into the race, the media truck - packed with photographers - came along. The journalists’ bus - with race directors Will Cloney and Jock Semple on board - followed. Switzer explained: “By then, I had disposed of my sweatshirt and my hair was flying. I didn't try to disguise my gender at all. Heck, I was so proud of myself I was wearing lipstick.” The journalists started to taunt Jock that a girl had infiltrated his race. Jock, well-known for his violent temper, jumped off the bus and went after her. “I tried to get away from him but he had me by the shirt. Tom came to the rescue and smacked Jock with a cross body block and sent him flying through the air. At first I thought he had killed him. Arnie just looked at me and said, 'Run like hell,' . I did. And the photographers snapped away. The rest is history”.
Switzer went on to finish the 1967 Boston Marathon in 4:20, but was later disqualified by Jock Semple. She was also expelled from the AAU for “running with men” and “running without a chaperone”. Despite the set back she went on to run 35 marathons, including eight boston marathons. she ran a personal best of 2:51 in 1975 and won the 1974 new york city marathon. For three decades, switzer has dedicated her multifaceted career to creating opportunities and equal status for women in sport. She started the Avon International Running Circuit, a global series of events in 27 countries - which have reached over a million women - and lead to the inclusion of the women's marathon in the olympic games.
Switzer and Robinson now split their year across two homes. New Paltz, north of New York in the summer and Wellington, New Zealand in the winter. Both still run about six miles each day, but don’t consider themselves competitive. Switzer: “I still participate in races, but don’t take my myself real seriously until the last 200m, then I get competitive”. She laughs: If there’s a grey-haired woman near me, she’s dead meat!”. Robinson: “I still run, but always with a hobble. One knee retired in 1996.”
Together, Switzer and Robinson have written and compiled their latest book – 26.2 Marathon Stories.
The marathon is the most popular individual athletic event in the world, with over a million people set to enter one this year and another 50 million cheering them on from the sidelines. This beautiful coffee table book is the ultimate tribute to the marathon and the ultimate inspiration to the runner.
With 26.2 chapters and over 200 photographs, the book examines the marathon through the lenses of history, philosophy, sociology, athletics, culture, fashion and science. It delves into all that a marathon entails: the endless hours of training, the demands on your body, the fear at the starting line, the sinking feeling of hitting of wall and the overwhelming high of crossing the finishing line. It takes at trip through history and lists the heroes (and the villains!) of the race, looks at the world’s greatest marathons, captures the determination of the runners and analyses the agony and ecstasy of this solitary endurance feat.
The content of their book was the basis for their talk at the RTH event. Robinson spoke about the history of running – a subject he is fascinated by and very knowledgeable on. There’s a glint in his eye when he goes on to discuss the bygone times of his first and life-long love – cross-country running. He even recited some of James Fleming’s poetry on running – in a Scottish accent. He paid tribute to Scottish runners including Dale Greig and Alasdair Wood and his life-long pal, Mel Edwards, who he described as a “Labrador that’s just been let out the car”. He even talked of his love and admiration for Glasgow-born ship riveter Jock Semple – the man who tried to throw his future wife out of the Boston Marathon.
Together, they recited some of the inspirational and comical personal quotations from well-known marathoners, that are published in the book.
26.2 Marathon Stories is not a training guide. It’s not physical. It’s emotional. It’s passionate and gripping. There are bits that move you to tears. There are lines that make you laugh out loud and there are chapters that spur you to throw on your gear and sprint down the street. There are lots of interesting facts, but mostly it salutes the marathon runner with overwhelming accounts of this magical event. It’s captivating and essential reading from cover to cover.
If you’re considering running a marathon or would like to remember the swirling emotions of your marathon accomplishments, then this is a must-have read. Tap in to the energy of some of running’s greatest athletes and prepare for goosebumps. As a marathon runner myself, the line that ends chapter 26.2 will be stamped on my heart forever…”In truth a marathon has no finish. Its effects are carried for life within the body, the memory, the life story and the self-image. To finish a marathon is to attain a small piece of immortality.
Fact box
26.2 Marathon Stories is published by Rodale and retails at £16.99. Visit, www.rodalestore.com for further information. Buy online at www.amazon.co.uk.
Running the Highland weekend breaks run throughout the year and cost from £208 per person. The price includes accommodation, expert advice, guided runs and all meals. For further information, visit www.runningthehighlands.com, call 08451-577422 or email neil@runningthehighlands.com.
Switzer and Robinson’s top tips
Switzer on training: Get out there everyday and do something. Even if it’s just 10 minutes. Go for a little bit of magic everyday.
Robinson on training: Know the purpose of each training run. Run hard on hard days and easy on easy days. Never compete. Save that for races
Switzer on racing: Preparation prevents intimidation.
Robinson racing tip: Go out slow. Pretend you’re running inside a plastic bag. Enjoy the adrenaline, but remain apart from it. Don’t start racing until you’re half way round the marathon. You’ll know when to break. It’s a instinct. You can smell it. Your body will tell you when it’s time.
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Editor’s note:
Useful quotes from the book, that might make good display quotes.
Ahead lies strenuous effort, weariness, and pain, but we will endure it all voluntarily for the sheer enjoyment of trying.
Running marathons is not the long sought Fountain of Youth, but it may be the nearest humanity has yet come to finding it.
Each runner can run with world record holders like Paula Radcliffe and Paul Tergat. It’s like singing at the Met or playing in US Open.
The marathon attracts people from all walks of life, from all over the world, with every possible kind of motivation. Each has a different story and a different experience. Nothing else in the world unites so many people in a single purpose – men and women, rich and poor, from every ethnic group, every age and in every physical shape.
Every marathoner runs alone. Breath, heartbeat, the strike of the feet on the road, the sweat-soaked shirt, the aching legs – it’s all private. To run the marathon is a wholly personal decision. Only the runner can summon the will to complete it, and the satisfaction of finishing will be each runner’s alone. Yet every marathoner runs with many others. They share the road, the purpose, the struggle and the satisfaction. Together they make up a race, a field and a community.
Robinson’s philosophy on running: Running is a fundamental movement that puts you in contact with the earth, the elements and your body. In the modern world, that is beyond price.
