The Woman Who Ran a Revolutionary Race



Marathons were a part of the first international Olympics in 1896, but it would be almost 100 years before women were allowed to compete. In 1967, Kathrine Switzer became the first woman to run the Boston Marathon as an officially registered competitor. During her run, marathon manager Jock Semple (pictured in the dark suit) assaulted Switzer, trying to grab her bib number and thereby remove her from the official competition. After knocking down Switzer’s trainer and fellow runner, Arnie Briggs, Semple was shoved to the ground by Switzer’s boyfriend, Thomas Miller (pictured behind her), who was running with her. That allowed her to complete the race. Switzer finished the marathon in approximately 4 hours and 20 minutes. As a result of her run, the Amateur Athletic Union banned women from competing in races against men. It wasn’t until 1972 that the Boston Marathon established an official women’s race. Switzer won the Boston Marathon in 1975 with a time of 2 hours 51 minutes 37 seconds.