Marathon Woman: Running the Race to Revolutionize Women's Sports [Hardcover]

Kathrine Switzer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 30, 2007

Katherine Switzer ran the Boston Marathon in 1967 where she was attacked by one of the event's directors who wanted to eject her from the all-male race. She fought off the director and finished the race. From the childhood events that inspired her to winning the New York City Marathon in 1974, this liberally illustrated book details the struggles and achievements of a pioneering women in sports.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Deseret Morning News, 4/18/09
“The photographs included are amazing, as is her story of how running transformed her life and how she used it to create more opportunities for other women."

 

Inside Texas Running, May 2011

“Brilliant race descriptions and personal life stories.”

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Kathrine Switzer, one of the greatest icons in sports, has been an authority on running and women's fitness for over 40 years. She is best known for pioneering the official entrance of women into the marathon, beginning with her epoch-making run in the previously all-male Boston Marathon in 1967, and went on to become a world-ranked athlete and the winner of the 1974 New York Marathon. Switzer is an Emmy-award winning television commentator, having covered a continuous string of the sport's major events, including the Boston, New York, Pittsburgh, and Los Angeles marathons, as well as the Olympic and Goodwill Games. Her first book, Running and Walking for Women Over 40, has sold over 100,000 copies. She lives in New Paltz, NY.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (March 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786719672
• ISBN-13: 978-0786719679
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.3 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #926,204 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great story, great writing, April 3, 2007

By 

L. Montgomery - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Marathon Woman: Running the Race to Revolutionize Women's Sports (Hardcover)

I picked up this book a week ago at a race expo (and also had the opportunity to meet and chat with Kathrine Switzer). I devoured this book within a few days. Her writing is great, her story compelling and inspiring. She weaves together the story of her own personal running history, the history of womens long distance running, her quest to have the marathon included as a womens event in the Olympics (a monumental feat), including her own interpersonal struggles with the men in her life and development of her career along the way. Her writing was very candid, occasionally funny, and she had a wonderful way of including and articulating some of her more trivial thoughts and incidents, which brought the book to life.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspirational and compelling, April 8, 2007

By 

Patrick C. Higgs (Melbourne Beach, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Marathon Woman: Running the Race to Revolutionize Women's Sports (Hardcover)

Marathon Woman: Running the Race to Revolutionize Women's Sports
I read a good bit both professionally, and for pleasure. Marathon Woman is the absolute best non-fiction book I have ever read. From the moment I picked the book up, I was constantly wondering what was going to happen next. I simply could not put it down. Ms. Switzer has a very easy reading, conversational style to her writing that makes the reader feel as if she is standing next to you relating an exciting event. What struck me the most about the book is that it is far more than a compelling and interesting story. It is also far more than a running story. Instead it is almost a textbook on responsibility, without the preaching we have all come to expect when that word is used. Traits such as persistance, effort, planning, and doing something because it is the right thing to do, shine throughout the whole book. Yet while readers come to greatly admire the courage of Ms. Switzer, we are also seeing exactly how we can apply the belief that if you want something, are willing to put in the effort, and you stick with it, you are most likely to succeed. It was an inspiring and very enlightening book. I can't want to read her next one!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic read, May 1, 2008

By 

K. Wetzel (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Marathon Woman: Running the Race to Revolutionize Women's Sports (Hardcover)

This was hands down one of the most inspiring running books I've ever read. Kathrine's foresight into the sport of running amazes me - we can thank her not only for bringing the women's marathon to the 1984 Olympic games but also for today's modern marathon "comforts" that didn't exist when she first hit the streets of Boston.
I read this while training for a marathon and her story kept me going during those long and painful runs. This book is a must-read for any runner, male or female.