Kathrine Switzer, who in 1967 was the first woman to officially enter and run in the Boston Marathon, will give a free public lecture at 7 p.m. Nov. 7 at California State University, Fresno’s Satellite Student Union. Her talk is presented by the university’s Women’s Studies Program.
Switzer will be in Fresno to participate in the Eye-Q Two Cities Marathon on Nov. 9, Fresno’s first full marathon, run in conjunction with the seventh annual Trail of 2 Cities Half Marathon. The Fresno marathon is a Boston qualifier.
Switzer is best known as the woman who challenged the all-male tradition of the Boston Marathon, creating uproar when a race official tried to forcibly remove her from the competition. The incident is, in part, the reason Switzer has dedicated her multifaceted career to creating opportunities for women.
She has run 35 marathons, winning the 1974 and ’75 New York City Marathon and reaching No. 6 in world at one time. After a successful athletic career, she turned her attention to the creation of women’s opportunities in sports, a sports marketing career, communication and motivating others in fitness and business.
Her books include “Running and Walking for Women over 40: The Road to Sanity and Vanity” (St. Martin’s Press, 1998), “26.2: Marathon Stories (Rodale Press; 2006) and “Marathon Woman: Running the Race to Revolutionize Women’s Sports” (Carroll & Graf; 2007).
Switzer is the recipient of the New York State Regents Medal of Excellence and the Billie Jean King Award from the Women’s Sports Foundation.
For more information call 559.278.2858 or e-mail Dr. Kathryn Forbes at kathrynf@csufresno.edu.
Related link(s): www.katherineswitzer.com, www.csufresno.edu/womensstudies
