This time she didn’t have to dodge an angry course director, but was instead accompanied by 261 supporters who ran alongside her. In her memoir, Switzer recalls Semple screaming as he reached for her bib number, “Get the hell out of my race and give me those numbers!”.
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The altercation between Switzer, a marathon official and her boyfriend during the race in 1967.
Of her legacy as a pioneer, she wrote in The Times: “We learned that women are not deficient in endurance and stamina, and that running requires no fancy facilities or equipment”.
Writing on Facebook after completing the 26-mile run, Switzer said: “I finished, like I did 50 years ago”. She’d registered under the name “K.V. Switzer” not with the intention of becoming a women’s pioneer in the sport but to prove to her coach, Syracuse’s Arnie Briggs, that women could run 26.2 miles.
Monday, bib number 17144 crossed the finish line thinking of the woman who came before her, and the ones that run alongside her.
Nothing in the rule book prohibited women from running the Boston Marathon, but few believed they had physical stamina to do it, reports CBS News correspondent Don Dahler.
Gilbert ran the race in 2011 and 2012 before taking time off. Seven of the top 11 finishers in the men’s division were Americans, led by Galen Rupp of Portland, Oregon.
Before the race, Switzer spoke with NPR about the day she made history.
Switzer donned her original bib number, 261, for the 2017 race.
“I feel so great”, Kiplagat said.
“When I started the race I felt like I was in the best shape of my life”.
Then, there are people supporting a cause, such as Andrew Frates, who is running for his brother, Pete Frates, who is known for having Lou Gehrig’s disease, or ALS, and creating the Ice Bucket Challenge.
This time, she was hailed for paving the way for women’s distance running around the world. “I still think I am in the best shape of my life”, Ayr said. Semple, who died in 1988, maintained he was trying to protect his race from worldwide rules that sanctioned only men’s marathons.
Women’s victor Edna Kiplagat (left) and men’s champion Geoffrey Kirui, both of Kenya, with the trophy at the finish line of the 121st Boston Marathon April 17, 2017.
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Who would have imagined, 50 years later and still toeing the line! “That’s when I knew it was going to be a particularly hard day”.
