“It was a good way to enter high school - I felt aware and protected of my own body.” “I felt like I had a victory under my belt every day and nobody could take this away,” she said.
She started by running a mile every day during the summer before she began high school. She began running at age 12 with support from her father, who discouraged her from trying out as a cheerleader. Her entry number, 261, inspired the name of 261 Fearless, a nonprofit she founded in 2015 to unite women through the creation of running clubs, education programs, communication platforms and social events. Switzer, 70, and Elizabeth Gray, who left an abusive marriage and pursued her dream of running in her first marathon, spoke Thursday at the university’s Crystal Cove Auditorium to an audience of about 50 people.ĭuring Switzer’s hour-long speech, she spoke of the journey leading to her being the first official female entrant in the Boston Marathon in 1967. Groundbreaking runner Kathrine Switzer shared her story of participating in what had been the all-male Boston Marathon during a UC Irvine event about breaching barriers and creating social progress through running.
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