GOOD

The First Woman To Run The Boston Marathon Is Running It Again 50 Years Later

This time race organizers are honoring her instead of trying to throw her out

 Jeremy Repanich
04.17.17

Image via Kathrine Switzer/Twitter

When Kathrine Switzer became the first woman to officially run the Boston Marathon 50 years ago, two miles in, the director tried to physically remove the 20-year-old, grabbing her and yelling, “Get out of my race!”​ This year Switzer returns to run the 26.2 miles, but the organizers will be honoring her instead of trying to throw her out.

Back in 1967, women weren’​t allowed to run the Boston Marathon. Experts believed miles of pounding the pavement would make their uteruses fall out. (That’​s not a joke, people believed that.) When women ran just 800 meters at the 1928 Olympics, doctors implored them to never let that happen again, so it wasn’t until 1960 that female competitors could run a race over 200 meters at the Olympic Games. Major marathons, like Boston, didn’t view women any differently, barring them altogether.

Switzer was able to enter Boston in 1967 because organizers thought she was a man. On her application she used her initials K.V. Switzer, and thus organizers issued her a bib. Everything was going fine for Switzer early in the race, starting among 740 men without incident. But a couple miles in, when the media bus passed the pack to follow the leaders, a member of the press spotted Switzer and said to race director Jock Semple, “Hey, Jock, you’ve got a broad on your hands today.”

Semple, incensed, ran after Switzer and tried to rip off her bib number and pull her out of the race. But before he could get a firm hold Switzer’​s boyfriend, Tom Miller, ran over and shoulder checked him away from her.

“You know, we laugh about it now because it's so funny when a girl is saved by her burly boyfriend,” Switzer recently told NPR. “I said to my coach immediately after the incident, ‘I have to finish this race now because if I drop out of this race, nobody's going to believe that women are serious.’” And so she persevered and finished.

The photo of Semple trying to grab Switzer became an iconic symbol of women fighting for their rightful place in sports. By 1972, Boston officially changed its policy to allow women to enter the race, and in 1984 the Olympics, finally added the women’s marathon. Switzer continued to race, winning the 1974 New York Marathon and taking second in Boston two years later.

Today, at 70 years old, Switzer is running with the same bib number she wore 50 years ago, No. 261, and when she crosses the finish line, the Boston Marathon will retire it in recognition of her contribution to women’​s sports.

Sports

A new form of sound-based AI is being deployed to protect endangered African elephants

Between Alexa, Siri, and Google, artificial intelligence is quickly changing us and the way we live. We no longer have to get up to turn on the lights or set the thermostat, we can find the fastest route to work with a click, and, most importantly, tag our friends in pictures. But interacting with the world isn't the only thing AI is making easier – now we can use it save the world, too.

Keep Reading Show less
environment politics
Good News

Anonymous official claims Trump imitated Hispanics in a thick accent, calling them 'useless'

An anonymous White House official claims President Trump cruelly limited Hispanic immigrants in their new book, "A Warning."

The book, to be released on November 19, gives an alleged insider account of the Trump White House and paints a picture of the president as a chaotic man who lacks the mental and moral acumen required for the job.

The anonymous staffer says that Trump once feigned a Hispanic accent and made fun of women attempting to immigrate to the U.S.

Keep Reading Show less
donald trump racism immigration
Politics

Video of an Oakland train employee saving a man's life is so insane, it looks like CGI

via KTVU / YouTube

The 63-year-old Oakland-Alameda Coliseum, currently branded the RingCentral Coliseum, is one of the most decrepit sports venues in America.

The home to the the NFL's Oakland Raiders (until they move to Las Vegas next season) and MLB's A's, is notoriously known as the Black Hole and has made headlines for its frequent flooding and sewage issues.

One of the stadium's few positive aspects is its connection to public transportation.

Keep Reading Show less
bart bay area rapid transit man falls on platform heroic deeds oakland raiders oakland coliseum oakland a's CNN Fox News NFL
Hero Video

A 92-year-old woman was reunited with the Jewish family she helped hide during the Holocaust

Yad Vashem

Since 1992, the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous has been holding reunion ceremonies between Holocaust survivors and rescuers once a year. But the tradition is coming to an end, as many have died or are too frail to travel. What might be the last reunion of its kind took place when a 92-year-old woman met up with the two surviving family members that she helped hide during the Holocaust, and their descendants.

Sarah Yanai and Yossi Mor introduced Melpomeni Dina (nee Gianopoulou) to their almost 40 family members, all decedents of the Mordechai family, the family of seven that Dina and her two sisters hid during WWII. "There are no words to describe this feeling," Dina told the Jeruselum Post. "It is very emotional for us to be together again."

Keep Reading Show less
holocaust israel world war ii
Culture

Anti-Vaxxers outraged over this dark, but hilarious 'Anti-Vax Mom' Halloween costume

via Facebook / Autumn Dayss

Facebook user and cosplayer Autumn Dayss has stirred up a bit of Halloween controversy with her last-minute costume, an anti-Vaxx mother.

An image she posted to the social network shows a smiling Dayss wearing a baby carrier featuring a small skeleton. "Going to a costume party tonight as Karen and her non-vaccinated child," the caption over the image reads.

Keep Reading Show less
anti-vaxxers halloween costumes
Health