DID YOU KNOW?
In 1967, Kathrine Switzer was the first woman to run the Boston marathon. After realizing that a woman was running, race organizer Jock Semple went after Switzer shouting, “Get the hell out of my race and give me those numbers.” However, Switzer’s boyfriend and other male runners provided a protective shield during the entire marathon.The photographs taken of the incident made world headlines.As a result of her run, the AAU barred women from all competition with male runners, on pain of losing the right to compete.
Kathrine later won the NYC marathon in 1974 with a time of 3:07:29.
It just gives me shudders to think how our society was male dominated once upon a time and the way females were treated. Things that we take for granted in today's world is because few women like Kathrine Switzer showed the courage to stand upto the authorities and defy them!
On behalf of the women community, I bow to this courageous lady for her guts and boldness. And that's why they say:
Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex... It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction.
You can read more about Kathrine Switzer here: http://www.kathrineswitzer.com/index.shtml
You can read more about Kathrine Switzer here: http://www.kathrineswitzer.com/index.shtml
Also: Lost Hope?