It Must Be A Kathryn Thing

Last week, I decided that I needed a little inspiration during my final weeks of training, so I started reading Marathon Woman. It's the story of Katherine Switzer, the first woman to officially register for the Boston Marathon!

As a child, Katherine wanted to become a cheerleader, but her dad told her that she shouldn't be cheering for people from the sidelines. People should be cheering for her instead! He suggested that she try out for the women's field hockey team, but she claimed that she wasn't fit enough. He told her that if she run one mile every single day around the yard, she'll definitely make the cut. Every day, she completed her laps. She referred to herself as "King of the Hill" after she finished her workouts. Keep in mind that women just didn't run back then! Eventually, she made the high school team and then the college team! By then, she was running three miles on a daily basis.

One day, she was out running on the track. The men's cross country coach saw her and asked her if she would consider running on the men's team during a couple of meets because he was down a few runners. She agreed to run the mile at the next meet, and the media really had a field day! Most of the school came out to see this woman compete against the men. She placed last, but she finished!

Katherine decided to transfer to another university later on in her college career. She approached the men's cross country coach about the possibility of running with the team at her new school. He told her that she couldn't compete with the men due to regulations, but that she could train with them! So ... she did!

She started training with the team on the nearby golf course. She was slower than the men, but they treated her as any other teammate nonetheless. Katherine started running with Arnie, the assistant coach. He was an elderly gentleman that had finished several Boston Marathons. Running was his passion! Together, Katherine and Arnie were "two peas in a pod." I suppose that Katherine enjoyed the company, and Arnie was just glad to be able to keep pace with someone.

Arnie told Katherine miles of stories about his marathon days. Eventually, Katherine got tired of his stories. She didn't want to live vicariously through Arnie; she wanted her own Boston Marathon experience. The problem was that women didn't run marathons in 1967! Female runners were "dogs." "It wasn't healthy for women to run marathons because their uteri could fall out."

Katherine convinced Arnie that she was capable of running the Boston Marathon. Arnie became Katherine's personal trainer. She registered for the marathon under the name, K. V. Switzer. Officials assumed that she was a male, so she received a bib number.

Katherine is currently waiting nervously at the starting line. She's the only female in a sea of males.....

(To Be Continued)