BOSTON (WHDH) - Kathrine Switzer, the first woman to officially run the Boston Marathon in 1967, ran the race again on Monday.
Switzer was 20 years old when she first ran in the Boston Marathon. She managed to get a bib number by using her first and middle initials when registering. During the marathon, a photographer captured the race director grabbing Switzer and trying to rip her bib numbers off. Switzer said she and the race director have since grown close.
“The man who tried to throw me out of the race 50 years ago, we became best of friends,” said Switzer, who added that he changed her life in a positive way.
Switzer has not run the Boston Marathon in decades but wanted to do it in 2017 to mark 50 years since she participated for the first time. Now 70 years old, Switzer completed the race in about four-and-a-half hours, about 10 minutes slower than her time in 1967.
“To look at this whole race as a social revolution, we are watching here a microcosm of what’s happening around the world, where women are really embracing running for an empowerment experience and becoming fearless,” said Switzer after she finished the race.
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