The first woman to officially run the Boston Marathon in 1967 has returned to the race 50 years later.
70-year-old Kathrine Switzer is running the Marathon under the number 261, the same number she wore when she entered the 1967 race at the age of 20.
At that time women were not allowed to race until 1972.
When officials realized she was a woman, one tried to actually force her off the 26-mile route, yelling: ‘Get the hell out of my race and give me those numbers!’
A famous photo shows Switzer’s then-boyfriend Tom Miller pushing the official off the road so she could finish.
Switzer made sporting history by completing the 1967 marathon under the qualifying time of 4 hours 44 minutes 31 seconds despite being attacked by the race director for being a woman.
She says she started training for the marathon when her coach, Arnie Briggs, said that women were ‘too fragile’ to run the marathon.
Speaking ahead of today’s race, Switzer told NESN: ‘I’m so excited about Monday. It’s going to be great’, Daily mail reports.
Switzer is running the race with 100 female runners from 261 Fearless Inc, a non-profit she founded to inspire women runners.
For the 121st Boston Marathon, race organisers have retired bib 261, in honour of the number Ms Switzer wore during the race in 1967. The Boston Marathon has only retired one other number in its history: 61, for 61 races begun by athlete Johnny Kelly, the Independent reports.
Switzer has completed 40 marathons. She was the first woman to run the race with an official number.
In 1966 Bobbi Gibb was the first woman to finish the Boston Marathon but unofficially.
