SWITZER TO LAUNCH AUTOBIOGRAPHY AT BOSTON MARATHON By David Monti (c) 2007 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Used with permission.
Women's
running pioneer Kathrine Switzer will officially launch her
autobiography, "Marathon Woman," at the Boston Marathon Expo which
opens on Friday, April 13. Although not the first woman to
complete the Boston Marathon --that was Roberta "Bobbi" Gibb who ran
unofficially in 1966 and clocked 3:27:17-- Switzer was the first woman
to run the race with an official number issued by the Boston Athletic
Association. Entered only as "K.V. Switzer" in the 1967 edition of the
race, her ruse was discovered by a race official, Jock Semple, whose
attempt to bodily remove her from the course was captured in the
now-famous photo, below.
"Forty years ago April 19, Jock Semple
tried to throw me out of the Boston Marathon because I was a woman,"
said Switzer in an e-mail message. "In the few years since then,
women's running has grown to the point where there are now more women
participating in races than men, and the women marathoners have become
the biggest stars of the sport. This is nothing short of a social
revolution and it has been a privilege being a part of making it
happen; my memoir reflects much of this inspiring history."
Switzer,
60, who won the ING New York City Marathon in 1974, has remained in the
sport as an author, broadcaster, race organizer and lecturer, and she
continues to inspire women with her message of fitness for life. The
book describes her personal struggles to overcome violence, prejudice
and ridicule on her way to self-fufillment as an athlete. In
Boston, Switzer will have a busy schedule. She will take part in a
seminar hosted by Runner's World magazine called "The Race that Changed
the World." The seminar will be held three times at the Boston Marathon
Expo at the Hynes Convention Center, 900 Boyleston Street, and Switzer
will be available to sign books at the Runner's World booth (see http://www.kathrineswitzer.com for times). On race day, she will be working on the CBS4 television commentary team.
"My 28th consecutive year with them," Switzer wrote.
Switzer
divides her time between New Paltz, N.Y., and Wellington, New Zealand.
She is married to Roger Robinson, an author and accomplished masters
athlete who, at age 50, ran two 2:28 marathons in a span of just 28
days.
