The Boston Marathon is one of the world’s best-known racing events, although some of its history is difficult and, at times, exclusionary. One of the best-known examples is 1967, when Kathrine Switzer was told to get out of the race—one she was perfectly qualified to run—because she was a woman.
Despite having an official bib number, she experienced harassment during the race. Even the race director, Jock Semple, tried to remove her from the race near the two-mile mark.
Recounting that experience in a 2017 ESPN feature, The Legacy of 261, Switzer explained, “He screamed at me, ‘Get the hell out of my race and give me those numbers!’” Switzer’s boyfriend shouldered Semple out of the way, and she continued the race, finishing with a time of 4 hours and 20 minutes.
Twenty years old at the time and a journalism student at Syracuse University, she registered under the name “K.V. Switzer.” Race organizers likely didn’t think that the “K.” might have stood for a woman’s name; that is, until they saw her running with bib number 261 on April 19, 1967…