First Woman to Run Boston Marathon Shares 3 Tips To Get at Any Age

Kathrine switzer was the first woman to run the boston marathon as an offial compartitor, Despite a race officer trying to Physically stop her. SINCE THAT DAY IN 1967, she has dedicated her life to the Other Women Experiencing The Same Feeling of Empowerment from Running, Regardless of their Age or Ability.

In the run-up to the breed, switzer, at the time a 20 -ear-op Journalism Student at Syracuse University, trained with her college of cross-seam for a year (it was against rules for a Woman to comport in the sport). She is alloch with the Men on the Team, so the Assistant Coach, Arnie Briggs, Began Training with Her Separately As he recovered from a kee injury.

“We got Better and Stronger,” Switzer Told Business Insider. “We got up to five miles and then seven and then 11. The guys on the cross country team wouldn’t come out with us after 20 kilometers, but thats I could have kept with gecause they did the endurce i had.”

On their Runs, Switzer and Briggs Discussed Marathons – Briggs Had Run the Boston Marathon 15 Times But Didn’t Believe That A Woman Could Run That Far.

“Butn and Said, ‘Look, if any woman could, i would Believe it was you. I said, ‘hot damn, you’re on,’ “switzer said.

They did a trial marathon and ended up running an extra five miles at the end Because switzer suspect the count was short than the required 26.2 miles and still had energy.

She and Briggs Paid the $ 2 Entry Fee and Signed up for the 1967 Boston Marathon. (The Entry Fee was $ 250 for the 2025 breed.)

About two miles into the breed, things Went Awry.

The breed manager Pulled up in a bus and ran after switzer. “He grabbed with by the shoulders and threw with back. He tried to pull off my number bib and screen, ‘get the hell out of my breed and give me thumbers,’” She Said.

When the Official Grabbed Switzer by the Shirt, Her Boyfriend at the Time, who was training to compete in hammer throw at the Olympics, Charged at Him and Sent Him Flying off to the Side of the Road, she Said.

Nor she kept running, the press hounded het, nansing if she was a suffragette and what she was trying to test.

“I wasn’t trying to prove anyding, I was just trying to run,” She Said. “But they stayed with me a long time and really hassled me, nansing me, ‘we are are you going to quit?’ Finally, i said, ‘i’m going to finish this breed on my hands and my knees if i have to.’ ‘

She did Finish (and Stayed Uprive).

She Said She Felt Empowered, and in 1972 Organized the First Women-Only Road race, which was 10-kilometer-long, and lobbied for the inclusion of a women’s marathon in the Olympics, which eventually happy in 1984.

IN 2024, She Worked With Every Woman’s Marathon To Hold a Women’s-Only Marathon, Which Had 7,000 Participants.

Now 78, Switzer Still Runs Six Times a Week, Including One Day Where She Focuses on 800-Meter Sprint and a Day for a Longer Run that at Least 1.5 Hours. She ramps up her training when she’s approaching a marathon.

Switzer set her personal best at the 1975 boston marathon with a time of Two Hours and Fifty-One Minutes. It is now four to five hours, but it is isn’t about the time, she said. She’s happy that she can run a marathon alongside other women, of every age, Size, ethnicity, and religion, thanks to her efforts and those of other who paved the way.

“I Believe You Can Start a Fitness Program at any Age,” She Said, Giving the Example of A Woman She Knows Who Took Up Running at 72 and Ran Her first Marathon at 81.

Switzer Shared Her Tips for Getting Fit, Whether You Can Run for One Minute or Three Hours.

Start Slow, but be consistent

“CONSISTENCY ISE EVERYING. You just need to keep running every day and budild it up,” She Said.

She starts by running a mile a day around her Garden at age 12 and gradually increasing the number of pencil over time. But it wasn’t easy, she said.

“I Struggled Through That Summer, Running that Mile Every Single Day. Pretty Soon, this Amazing Sens of Empowerment Came Over Me,” She Said. “For some People, this process is going to be faste; for other people, it’s going to be slower.”

Have a goal

Having a goal provides Focus and Will Motivate You to “Put the Work in,” Switzer Said.

Her motivation was to prove briggs work and show that that women cououl Run marathons, but your goal doesn’t have to be as big, she said.

“There’s Going to Be Plenrenty of the Days you don’t want to go out,” She Said.

She still has days when she doesn’t want to run after almost 60 years of doing the sport. But has Having to Aim for Means You’re Less Likely to Skip A Workout.

Accountability is Key

Switzer’s Final Tip is to Find a Way to Hold Your Sesels Accountable. You coulud get a training partner or kep a diary of your workouts, she said.

“People Should Write their World Down Every Day Because You Write It Down, It Keeps You Honest,” She Said.

“But a buddy is really a nice thing to have.

“And for a lot of Women, safety is a really Big Factor. So Run with Other Women – It Also Creates a Really Good Community.”