Written by Kathrine Switzer

Reviewed by Coach Adolfo Salgueiro

I’ve wanted to read Marathon Woman for quite a while. For years. But because I thought I knew the Kathrine Switzer Boston Marathon story, other running books ended up jumping the line. Now that I tackle it, and finished it, I am glad I did. There is so much more to the generic story most of us think we know. There is so much more about this pioneering woman that every runner with the most basic interest in the history of our sport, especially women, should know.

The book was originally published in April 2007, for the 40th anniversary of her historic 1967 Boston Marathon. A new and updated version was released for the 50th anniversary.

Runners with basic knowledge in the history of running may know who Kathrine Switzer is. Yes, she was the first woman that while properly registered, ran the Boston Marathon. Yes, she is the protagonist of that set of three photos where the marathon official, Jock Semple, attacks her while trying to rip her bib. And yes, she is one of the pioneers of women’s long-distance running.

The set of photos by Harry A. Trask that propelled women’s running into a legitimate sport

But that is just part of the story. Only part of her legacy. She did so much more to promote that women were more than able to run beyond 800 meters, that they could run as far as they wished, including marathons at high speed without their uterus falling out. She was the catalyst of the women’s marathon becoming an Olympic event starting in 1984. And she did it not as a banner of feminism but because she believed women could do it, and se set out to prove it through actions. Not just words.

I am not going to go deep into the history of women’s running in the last 50 years. That is what the book is there for. But have this in mind: if you are a woman runner reading this post, next time you are in a race and see that more than half of the field being female, make sure you thank Kathrine Switzer.

I am sure that if Switzer did no endured and persevered through what she did, women would still be running marathons today. Another pioneer would have risen to the occasion. But Switzer was the one who did it, and as such, she should be recognized as a trailblazer in our sport. One of the most influential figures in history.

Switzer was more than a curiosity. She won the NYC Marathon, 2nd set up at 2:52 PR in Boston.

In her first-person account the author is very candid, vulnerable, and open about her life, both on and off the asphalt. She starts as a girl who just wants to run but finds no outlet, through her fateful first marathon, her win in the NYC Marathon, her 2:51 PR, the AVON race series for women and finally establishing the female marathon as an Olympic event.

Switzer is funny, intimate, candid and holds no punches while discussing her personal life experiences, especially when it comes to the men she has shared her life with. Her romantic relationships were not the best, yet she was able to persevere and come victorious on the other side, without surrendering as a victim and still making her life’s goal a reality.

You don’t have to be a runner, or a woman for that matter, to enjoy and learn something from Marathon Woman. I highly recommend it. It is worth two particularly important resources: your time and your money.

Have you read Marathon Woman? Let me know your thoughts in the comment box below.