This weekend is the New York City Marathon. Athletes from all over the world will push themselves to run that incredible distance through the streets of New York. I’m in awe of these athletes.
It’s hard for me to imagine that not too long ago, women were told they couldn’t run. There were no women runners in these long-distance races. It was believed women couldn’t or shouldn’t run. As we look forward to seeing incredible runners this weekend, this week’s amazing true story picture book, is a look at the woman who paved the way.
“Her Fearless Run” by Kim Chafee and illustrated by Ellen Rooney is the story of Kathrine Switzer and her historic Boston Marathon run. Kathrine grew up running when no other girl did. She loved the way it felt to run. When she was a student at Syracuse University, the coach saw her run and invited her to train with the team (they did not permit women to race but she could train with the team). As she trained, she increased her mileage and when running 10 miles, wanted to train to run a marathon. As much as her coach believed in her, he doubted she could do it because women don’t run marathons.
Hearing doubt pushed Kathrine to want it even more and she continued increasing her mileage and training with the plans to run the Boston Marathon. She checked the rules, and it didn’t specifically say a woman could not enter so she did. She listed her initials instead of her first name so one realized a woman was running until the race started. While some cheered her on, others (including race officials) tried to stop her. This only fueled her more. She was determined to make it to that finish line because it wasn’t just about it. She wanted to prove women could run a marathon.
While I hope no girl will ever hear that they can’t do something simply because they are a girl, I hope if any girl does hear those words, she can channel her own “Kathrine Switzer” determination and prove the world wrong.