"Because if I don't finish this race, nobody's going to believe women can do it and they're not going to believe women deserve to be here. Image: Jock Semple was a 'feisty' man who had a 'short fuse' according to Switzer All the guys were wonderful."īut the situation completely changed just over two miles into the race. Switzer said: "You can imagine at the start of the marathon, everybody was happy and laughing and cheering, and really very supportive of me. Over 600 runners started the Boston Marathon on April 19 in 1967, in cold, wet, and breezy conditions. Unlike Gibb and because her gender was not clear on the entry form, her official registration was approved after paying a $2 entry fee. Switzer which she says was not a deliberate way to disguise her identity but the way she always signed her name.
Switzer said Briggs finally changed his mind and said "if any woman can do it, you can do it, but you'll have to show me in practice, and if you can, I'll be the first person to take you to Boston." Switzer proved her endurance by running the distance plus an extra five miles. In 1966, Bobbi Gibb was the first woman to run and complete the Boston Marathon but the 23-year-old hid in a bush near the marathon start line and disguised herself in a hoodie after she was disqualified from officially entering the race because of her gender. Image: Switzer persuaded her coach she could run the Boston Marathon
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