ABSTRACT
Opening Illustration In 1967, the idea of women participating in a long-distance race as grueling as the Boston Marathon was so farfetched that no offi cial document stated that women were prohibited. Kathrine Switzer, a
19-year old Syracuse student, loved running and had been training with her coach Arnie Briggs to do long-distance races; she even completed a 30-miler to prepare herself to complete in the fl agship race in the United States. Registering as K. V. Switzer, Kathrine started the race with Briggs and her boyfriend, Tom Miller. Two miles in, race offi cials attempted to eject her from the race, with race director Jock Semple lunging at her, attempting to pull her from the course and tear off her race number (see Figure 3.1). Miller and Briggs defl ected Semple, allowing Kathrine to fi nish the 26.2 mile race in a respectable 4 hours and 20 minutes. Th e experience was a life-changing one for Switzer, as her experience inspired her to become a lifelong advocate for equal opportunity for women in athletics and beyond. More broadly, Switzer’s historic run helped propel a sea change in women’s sports, marked in 1972 by women’s offi cial inclusion in the Boston Marathon and the passage of Title IX legislation, which prohibited discrimination in education, including athletic programs. Change came a bit more slowly to the Olympics, however; it was not until 1984 that the women’s marathon was fi rst included as an event.
