Running Her Own Race

On April 19, 1967, twenty-year-old Kathrine Switzer pinned bib number 261 to her sweatshirt and lined up at the start of the Boston Marathon. No rule explicitly barred women, but none had ever entered with an official number. She had registered as "K. V. Switzer," and in the chaos of the starting line, no one noticed. Around mile four, the press truck rolled past.…