Kathrine Switzer and the Boston Marathon

This year’s Boston Marathon will be on April 16.  This race began in 1897.  It has undergone many historical changes in the course of its history, some tragic and some reflecting the social transformations that have taken place in America over the last 50 years.

I recently had the opportunity to hear Kathrine Switzer, the first woman to officially run the Boston Marathon, describe her experience in 1967. Her story mirrors the struggle that American women faced in the 1960s and in some cases still face in 2018.  It is important to be familiar with the historical female figures that helped change the lives of American women.