Arguably, Kathrine Switzer is one of the most recognizable runners of all time. Widely known for becoming the first woman to officially run the Boston Marathon, despite being grabbed on the course by race organizer Jock Semple (a nod to her original Boston bib number, which aims to empower and educate women through running), she’s become an icon for women’s sports.
While her athletic accomplishments are impressive—she won the 1974 New York City Marathon and owns a personal best of 2:51—Switzer was instrumental in normalizing women’s participation in road running and helped get the women’s marathon in the Olympics. Along with Edith Zuschmann, Switzer co-founded the nonprofit 261 Fearless (a nod to her original Boston bib number), which aims to empower and educate women through running.
Last month, Switzer stopped by the Runner’s World x adidas Clubhouse DAA Industry Opt Out Noor Alexandria Abukaram, Foot Locker XC Results Cedric Hernandez, a co-captain of NYC Bridge Runners. Switzer shared how she faces difficult decisions, knows when to break the rules, and what her father taught her about being strong.
get out for a run.
On her dramatic run at the 1967 Boston Marathon
I was only 20, and I had a very traumatic, embarrassing, humiliating experience that challenged me. Everybody wanted me to quit, expected me to quit, because I was a girl, and girls couldn’t run marathons. And if they did, their uteruses would fall out. These are the kinds of myths that I was up against. I had done 31 miles in practice two weeks before, so I knew that I could do this race. I made the decision to finish the race.
And we call it our “261 Moment.” It’s the moment when you take things that make you very, very fearful, and you decide to make a tough decision and do it the hard way, but finish the job. And never look back when you make that decision.
On what it means to be a badass
I’ve always had a problem with language changing. When I was called a badass, I really thought it was something bad. Like I was naughty or something. Badass, now, I understand means somebody who’s empowering and doesn’t say no.
Badass to me means strength. But more than strength is persistence, hanging in there, not giving up, and being willing to change something that’s bad or not workable or stupid. And to make it work. Because in bad things, usually there’s an opportunity,
On when it’s okay to break the rules
I think when you look at a rule that’s really stupid. But sometimes it’s a rule that’s been around for a very, very, very long time and there’s a lot of important people behind it making it stick. Unfortunately, you really don’t get anywhere by just bashing. So I would always try to get inside the system and work from within the system. But I knew the end goal was to change that rule. [I would] work on convincing people one-on-one and create a community of people who say, ‘Yes, this needs to change.’
On getting the women’s marathon in the Olympics
We did that with the help of some powerful people, by lobbying them. Particularly, the Los Angeles Olympic organizing committee really wanted the women’s marathon in 1984 Olympic Games. We had the requisite number of countries, we had the medical evidence, and we took it to the IOC with our help, and they voted it in 9-1 to let the women run the marathon. To me, that moment was as important as giving women the right to vote.
On her relationship with her dad
I wanted to be a high school cheerleader. You know, cute dances with the captain of the football team. My father said, “You don't want to be a cheerleader, honey. Cheerleaders cheer for other people. You want people to cheer for you. The game is on the field—life is to participate, not to spectate.”
My dad was 6-foot-5, he was an Army colonel, and he was right wing conservative. And he said, “You should go out and run a mile a day and make the field hockey team in your high school. You’d be the best player if you ran a mile a day.”
I had a sense of empowerment going into that high school that nobody could take away from me. Here I was, a scrawny little kid, sitting next to a guy who was 18 years old in one of my first classes. I was petrified. But he didn’t run a mile a day. I did. And I felt really strong.
On her favorite part of the day
shes become an icon for womens sports, get out for a run. And it is the best damn part of the day. Just being out there with the Tweety birds and the sun coming up. I do my gratitude list. I get back to God. I relax, and I say, “It’s going to be a great day.” It puts it all in perspective.
Australian Sprinter, 16, Runs Record-Breaking 200m Runner’s World. He’s a former all-conference collegiate runner who has reported on the ground at major events such as the Paris Olympics, U.S. Olympic Trials, and Boston Marathon. He’s run 14:20 in the 5K and enjoys spotting tracks from the sky on airplanes. (Look for colorful ovals around football fields.)
