Over 50 Years of Women Running Marathons

Of the 175 starters at Glass City Marathon’s first running in 1971, 4 were women. Of the 106 finishers, only 1 was a woman. Kathrine Switzer, is “the” Marathon Woman. Kathy Miller, as she went by in 1971, came into the race ranked as one of the top four female marathon runners Internationally. Her time of 3:47:09 was good enough to finish in 50th place overall, and the first ever Glass City Marathon women’s winner.

“Relatively few of the runners, herself included, would have been able to finish the race had it not been for the ‘beautiful cooperation’ of the people running water stands and hoses along the route. ‘Those people were great,’ she said. ‘The race would have been a flop without them.’”

(Source: The Toledo Blade, Monday, June 21, 1971)

“If I don’t finish this race, then everybody’s going to believe women can’t do it and they don’t deserve to be here, that they’re incapable. I’ve got to finish this race. I finished in four hours twenty minutes. That race changed my life.” — Kathrine Switzer