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Kathrine Switzer to launch autobiography at 2007 Boston Marathon Expo

Posted April 5th, 2007 at 8:00 AM by David Monti

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Motivation, Books

Kathrine Switzer 1967 Boston Marathon 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.

Kathrine Switzer Marathon Woman cover 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.

PHOTOS: Jock Semple attempts to push Kathrine Switzer off the course of the 1967 Boston Marathon (public domain); Cover photo of “Marathon Woman” (courtesy of Carroll & Graff).