At 70 years old, Kathrine Switzer has completed the Boston Marathon once again, fifty years after making history as the first official woman finisher. This time, she finished with an unofficial time of 4:44:31, just 24 minutes slower than when she was 20. Returning to Boston was her long-standing dream.
“I’m exhilarated,” she said after finishing the 26.2-mile race on Monday. “All the way along the route, people had heard my story, saw my bib, and they were holding signs up that read ‘261 Fearless’ and ‘Go, Kathrine!’ They were screaming and going crazy. It was amazing, especially the little girls who were there with their moms. They were just jumping up and down.”
“It’s just an enormous sense of gratitude for the city of Boston, the streets of Boston, which changed my life and helped pave the way for what is nothing less than a social revolution in women’s running,” she said. “When I crossed the finish line — to celebrate 50 years of looking back and seeing the huge progress and changes that have been made — I can only say that I’m extremely grateful for the experience.”
In 1967, Switzer signed up for the marathon as K.V. Switzer, challenging the male-dominated event. While women were not officially excluded, many doubted their ability to run such a distance. During the race, officials, unaware of Switzer’s participation, attempted to disqualify her by ripping off her bib. Despite the challenge, she persisted, becoming a symbol of female empowerment in sports.
Reflecting on her past encounter with a race official, Jock Semple, Switzer ran by the same spot in this race, remembering him fondly. Semple, who initially opposed her, later became her friend before passing away in 1988.
“I just blew him a big kiss. I said, ‘There you go, Jock,'” she said. “This was the guy who, for better or worse, changed my life. As it turned out, it was for better. At the time, it was a terrible experience, but in the fullness of time, it was the best thing that ever happened to me.”
Switzer, wearing her original bib number, 261, was joined by 125 runners supporting her charity, 261 Fearless, empowering women and girls through running. The Boston Athletic Association retired her bib number after she crossed the finish line.
She broke the barriers of sexism in her first Boston Marathon, now aims to challenge ageism. Despite completing the race, she’s not ready to make it her last. Her next goal is to participate in the New York Marathon.
“People are saying about old people in sports what they used to say about women — ‘You shouldn’t push yourself, you’re too weak, you’re too fragile, you might break, don’t push it,'” Switzer said. “I don’t think there’s any limit for aging, and I think this is the next new frontier.”
Post-race, Switzer expressed her desire for a “cup of coffee and a piece of chocolate” and planned to celebrate with a Boston-brewed draft beer at dinner with her husband and friends. She hopes her story continues to inspire women of all ages to be active, strong, and confident.
“I had a choice of what to wear today — capris or shorts. At 70, my legs are not gorgeous like they were when I was 28. And I said, ‘I’m wearing the shorts,'” Switzer said. “I’ve got 70-year-old legs, and they deserve to look gnarly. But I don’t care, because I just want to run and run well.”