Actually, Arnie, John and I began to go under together; I could feel the downward pull. In fact, it infuriated me. The thing I worried about most was courage. He knew I had paid my dues in training and racing. Conoc las historias de Roberta "Bobbi" Gibb, Kathrine Switzer y Nina Kuscsik. Jock Semple, the race manager, assaulted Switzer during her run, attempting to grab her bib number and prevent her from competing. 325. Tom really looked as if steam was coming out of his ears; he was still in full bombastic mode, and each curse of his was accompanied by another jab or a challenging look over his shoulder. Hot damn, I thought, I have a coach, a training partner, a plan, and a goal: the biggest race in the worldBoston. Bobbi Gibb, first woman to finish the Boston Marathon in 1966, 67, and 68 After I finished the Boston Marathon in 1966, some kind soul draped a wool blanket over my shoulders. Fifty years ago, Kathrine Switzer became the first woman to officially finish the Boston Marathon. My dad knew I didnt jump into things untrained; although this marathon thing was a surprise, he had no doubt. Kathrine Switzer was a few miles into her history-making run at the Boston Marathon on April 19, 1967, when Jock Semple, the co-director of the famous 26-mile race, suddenly appeared behind. Im glad I got to know him the way I did. Over the years, it was always good to see Jock and receive such a nice, friendly greeting from him. When I started running the Boston Marathon in 1969, I had no trouble from him. About six kilometers into the marathon, though, an enraged race official called Jock Sempler tried to stop Switzer from running. Thats where I met 50-year-old Arnie, who had trained for years with the team. In fact, I had. Jock would bark at the guy, hang up, grouse about it for a few minutes, and then return to jolly Jock. "That story of a girl being told she was unwelcome, or wasn't good enough, was too slow, wasn't really an athlete, didn't count. We laughed ourselves silly, drinking beer and telling and retelling stories of the days adventures, and then it was past 10 p.m. and time to begin the long drive back to Syracuse. by. Arnie was actually the university mailman and a veteran of 15 Boston Marathons. Elle a 20 ans. Cross-Country Champion Signs NIL Deal With Nike, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. [2] Photographs of Semple attempting to rip Switzer's number off were widespread in the media. And, sure, he was a product of his time and thought women shouldn't be running marathons. He grudgingly agreed. It's an achievement Switzer is still extremely proud of. How do you know? After her eighth Boston Marathon, an opportunity arose to help Switzer bring that dream to fruition. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the Boston Marathon bombers death sentence, has been reinstated by the US Supreme Court. He was a loud teddy bear, really. These Tufts characters! "I tell you, the heart goes pitter-pat, no question about it.". Busting the Myth Behind Moctezumas Headdress; Did It Really Belong Him? Being a journalism student, this amused me most. When Organizer Jock Semple Realised A Woman Was Running He Tried To Tackle Her. A new 'veloway' is welcome news for Melbourne's cyclists. And he delivered perfectly. There had not been a female runner to officially participate in the 70 year history of the World's biggest Marathon. It has a pleasant, Yes, and the recommended time to keep it is 18 months. I knew something other women didnt know, and I felt downright smug. These clubs are expanding in places like Germany, Austria, the UK, and even China, with locations such as the Middle East, Africa and South America on the horizon for the next few years. Several days later, my mother and I realized we still had it at our house. He was shining. At this point, John "Jock" Semple jumped off the following press truck and charged after Switzer. We shared the Scottish thing. By the way, I love those photos of him chasing Kathrine in 1967. When Switzer arrived, she was given the bib number 261 and started steady and strong. And for every man who thinks women are somehow less skilled or incapable or doing the same things men can do, they can just go to hell. @yogapatriceLuckily, Switzer was running alongside her boyfriend, Tom Miller, a 235-pound ex-All American football player and nationally ranked hammer thrower. I did not want to mess up this prestigious race. (Paul Connell/The Boston . Jock Semple, tried to remove the number and force Ms Switzer from the course. All the positive encouragement gave them attention they had never had before. Zijn aanval is bedoeld om haar borst- en rugnummer af te nemen, want hij was ingeseind dat vrouwen zich hadden ingeschreven en dat was heiligschennis, zou Semple later in een boek toegeven. Technically, the rule book for the Boston Marathon made no mention of gender. "I was getting these letters from people in Paraguay, people in Japan, people in China, people in Canada, people in Chicago, Australia, and they were all saying the same thing: '261 makes me feel fearless.'. He was just trying to enforce the rules as they were at the time. I loved listening to themuntil this night when I snapped and said, Oh, lets quit talking about the Boston Marathon and run the damn thing!. It was the photo press truck; on the back were risers so the cameramen could each get a clean shot as the vehicle pushed up to the front of the field. He was a good friend, coach, and inspiration. "[11], In 1981, he published an autobiography, Just Call Me Jock. But in 1988, he passed away because of pancreatic and kidney cancer (Switzer). The other guys in my club told me Jock was a mean SOB. "I've got to tell you, it was 24-7 work. First, some experts predicted that long-distance running would harm womens health. Semple died of cancer of the liver and pancreas in March 1988 in Peabody, Massachusetts. "People around the world saw it on television in 1984 and said, 'woah, women are suddenly running 42.2km, are you kidding me? Mr. Semple was a physical therapist for the Boston Bruins and the Boston Celtics for more than 40 years and was also a trainer for Olympic athletes. Switzer in print beside 261 gave me a little frisson. Leave us alone! I put my head down. How to get icebound frostbrood vanquisher mount? Gosh, I missed it. Switzer", a gender-neutral name she says wasn't intended to mislead officials it was habit, the same way she signed off her college papers. The three of us made a face at each other as if to say, Oh God, can you imagine what his mother is going to say when he brings that home?, Now we were halfway and in the famous Wellesley Hills, where in one of Arnies theories, the race began. Suddenly ahead in the grey mist I could see an orange sweatshirt. Switzer recalls in her memoir that: "a big man, a huge man, with bared teeth was set to pounce, and before I could react he grabbed my shoulder and flung me back, screaming, 'Get the hell out of my race and give me those numbers!". I could hear the journalists on the truck behind us yelling, Go after her, go after her! to the driver. But up at the top of Hereford, we rounded the corner onto Boylston, and there it was: the long slope down to the front of the Prudential building, to a line painted on the street, FINISH. As we jogged over to the start, Tom said, God, youre wearing lipstick!, I always wear lipstick. I remember going to visit him for a massage at the old Boston Garden. I couldnt help it. Seems to me it was the picture of her BF shoving Jock Semple aside that made her mark. In fact, back in 1967 women werent allowed to race at all, but Kathrine Switzer wasnt having any of this bullshit, specially after her own coach insisted the Boston Marathon was too far too long for "a fragile woman," which was the reason behind not allowing women to race in the first place. On business trips to Boston, I sometimes visited Jocks corner at the Boston Garden, where he served as trainer for the Bruins and Celtics. Later on, Will Cloney, director of the Boston Athletic Association said, "Women can't run in the Marathon because the rules forbid it. References So Switzer ran with the entry number 261, she trained, lined up at the start on April 19, 1967 and went for it. He was a little scary when you first encountered him. Switzer believes the sense of fearlessness and empowerment that comes from running is universal. Semple died of cancer of the liver and pancreas in March 1988 in Peabody, Massachusetts. Tom ran with his chest stuck out, and even Arnie pranced; it was nice to see. As I got to know Jock better in the roaring 1970s of American road racing, he became one of my biggest fans. Jock was just enforcing the rules. AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time which is 10 hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time), abc.net.au/news/kathrine-switzer-50-years-ago-women-not-allowed-to-run-marathon/8287576, Help keep family & friends informed by sharing this article, How a 21yo man with the code name 'Svyat' smuggled residents past Putin's private army, Anna called police to report an assault, but they took out a family violence order against her. Tom banged on my door holding out a sanitary napkin bag from the back of the toilet and a big safety pin. The finish line crowd consisted of about a dozen waterlogged people, none of whom clapped for us. I felt so ashamed, I was crying. Kathrine Switzer became the first woman to officially run the Boston Marathon despite being attacked by the race director who tried to physically pull her out of the race because she was a woman. In 1957, Semple narrowly escaped arrest for assault after attempting to knock down a marathon competitor who was wearing webbed snorkeler's shoes and a grotesque mask. But Switzer is staunch in her belief and hope that running can help women. Kathrine Switzer was involved in an iconic moment at the 1967 Boston Marathon; she was attacked by race director Jock Semple who tried to throw her out while she was running, but the pair later . My fear and humiliation turned to anger.". We all looked alike, like ragtags. Running was a serious business to him. She had registered for the event as "K.V. Kathrine Switzer became the first woman to officially run the race 45 years ago, despite stewards trying to physically force the 20-year-old off the road. He was able to say he was sorry and to admit he had made mistakes. He saw me daily until I was healed, never charged me a cent, and became a friend even though I ran for the enemy. Everyone was cursing, most loudly Arnie, the mild-mannered sweetheart, who proclaimed he was going to Kill That Jock Semple Who Should Know Better Being a Runner Himself! He wanted to concentrate on us. "It's about creating a community of women, of how to break down barriers of judgement and limitations and have everybody meet on an equal playing field," she says. After I won in 1975, I was invited to give a talk at Ashland High School. [1] In a 1968 interview Semple complained that Miller was a hammer thrower. He was always kind and generous to me, and I saw him giving plenty of free treatments to others, too. Last year, Loroupe was the Chef de Mission of the first Refugee Team to compete at the Olympics. Standing on the floorboards and holding onto the outside door rail was Jock Semple! That was how scared I felt, as well as deeply humiliated, and for just a tiny moment, I wondered if I should step off the course. .css-17zuyas{display:block;font-family:Sailec,Sailec-fallback,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;font-weight:bold;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-17zuyas:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-17zuyas{font-size:1rem;line-height:1.4;}}@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-17zuyas{font-size:1rem;line-height:1.4;}}@media(min-width: 48rem){.css-17zuyas{font-size:1rem;line-height:1.4;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-17zuyas{font-size:1.2rem;line-height:1.4;}}.css-17zuyas h2 span:hover{color:#CDCDCD;}Cross-Country Champion Signs NIL Deal With Nike, TikTok Challenge Run Until Goes the Distance, A Future NFL Star Just Ran a Blazing 40-Yard Dash, This iRobot Roomba Vacuum Is On Sale On Amazon, Allyson Felix: I Don't Doubt My Decision at All, Wife Performs CPR on Husband After Heart Attack, Doctor Jumps in Half Marathon to Get Donors Liver, Man Proposes at Finish of Gasparilla Half Marathon, Amazing 98-Year-Old Runner Runs a Sub-60-Minute 5K. [8], Later in life, Semple reversed his position on women competing in the marathon. However, Switzer's boyfriend and friends pushed Semple off of her and Switzer ran like hell away from him and the rest of the race staffall 26.2 miles to the finish. It was your idea to come to Boston! I shot back. . Proceeds from sales of the newly released book Just Call Me Jock go to the Barbs Beer Foundation, which is racing to find a cure for lung cancer. Where had he come from? Switzer hopes her Boston Marathon team of more than 100 women and seven men "as a tribute to the men who helped me at Boston" will help put Fearless 261 on the radar so they can start working in harder-to-reach areas. . My entry and run in the 1967 Boston Marathon is usually the first thing people ask me about, and it is important to have the facts presented accurately. For several years I worked on weekends in our Hopkinton office, and Jock would occasionally stop by. If that girl were my daughter, I would spank her." I could handle that; pain was nothing. And something else. I turned to Arnie and looked him in the eye. After completing every achievement associated with the Icecrown Citadel raid, you are rewarded. Part of what made the Boston Marathon special to me was its historical importance. "That's when my dream to get the women's marathon at the Olympics became a reality because I said, 'If I can do that, how much talent is out there? I was not going to say a word. Tom, John, and I dropped the pace, dropped our arms, shook our hands. Thus it was really Jock who gave me the inspiration to create more running opportunities for women. I wasnt running Boston to prove anything; I was just a kid who wanted to run her first marathon. There was a mob of runners in every getup imaginable funneling into a penlike area. llamado Jock Semple, que ejerca de codirector de la carrera, detectando que Switzer era una mujer, . While other participants in the race were excited and impressed by Switzer's presence, the race manager, Jock Semple, was not, to say the least. "'It was a very strange feeling because to me that number had simply been just three digits, but what was happening was people everywhere were relating to a story. Would I have the courage to keep running if it really hurt, if it got harder than I was used to, if Heartbreak Hill broke me? Jack Fultz won the 1976 Boston Marathon and has a PR of 2:11:18In 1972, Jock Semple threatened to toss me out of his race, too. Here she recalls how a female runner. But at mile four, an angry Semple chased after Switzer, then tried to grab her number and drag her from the race. Hij is Jock Semple, een van de organisatoren van de race. Here, were pinning these on the back of our gloves. "Kathrine Switzer on the Marathon Moment That Changed Millions of Womens Lives", by Chris Greenburg, Boston.com, April 18, 2015, RRCA American Long Distance Running Hall of Fame, "1st woman to officially run Boston Marathon to do it again 50 years later", "Distance Running History: RRCA Hall of Fame Inductees 1980 - 1989", "John Semple, Marathon codirector and Bruins, Celtics therapist; 84", "Who Was That Guy Who Attacked Kathrine Switzer 50 Years Ago? Semple was born in Scotland, immigrated to the U.S., ran Boston a handful of times himself (with a best of 2:45:09 in 1947), and then served as volunteer race director through much of the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, and early 1980s. A lot more. He was excited to see a womanthe firstcome out to run, and took slowpoke me under his training wing. Arnie was smiling and shaking his head. I could get diarrhea. Excerpted from Marathon Woman, Kathrine Switzer's memoir. crying at the ceiling "These MIT boys! Again Tom had convinced me I was just a girl, a jogger, and a no-talent like me now had bumbled the Olympic Dream out of his life. We were his people. I knew if I quit, nobody would ever believe that women had the capability to run 26-plus miles. He was a friend not just to BAA runners like me, but to all runners. Equal rights and all that, you know.) She has been honored widely for her achievements, most recently . References [ edit] He was a great motivator to me. I felt really sad, but I was angry, too. We all knew him. Ese da vimos a Jock Semple, comisario juez de la maratn, intentar sacar a empujones de la carrera a Kathrine Switzer por ser mujer, no pudo lograrlo por el apoyo que le dieron a la corredora otros participantes en el evento. Kathrine signs her name 'K.V.Switzer' and when the entry form arrived in Boston, officials assumed K.V. Kathrine Virginia "Kathy" Switzer (Amberg, Alemania, 5 de enero de 1947) es una escritora, comentarista de televisin y atleta estadounidense, ms conocida por ser la primera mujer en correr un maratn (el maratn de Boston) con un dorsal. Arnie agreed, reluctantly. My fear and humiliation turned to anger. The first few miles went without incident. The woman in question was Kathrine Switzer, number 261, registered with the generic credentials K. V. Switzer, partly as a ruse not to be excluded from the assignment of the bib. I felt special and proud of myself. He was very progressive, said Marja Bakker (a later organizer of the race). I felt unable to flee, like I was rooted there, and indeed I was, because the man, this Jock guy, had me by the shirt. I didnt want to askit sounded sissyso I said, Arnie, when do we get to Heartbreak Hill? Arnie looked startled. She also wrote a memoir and books for runners. Here you are a big-shot sports reporter and your editor tells you to wait for the girl. "They believed in what I wanted to do to organise this global series of races and use those of leverage with the International Olympic Committee," Switzer says. We turned from Commonwealth Avenue onto Beacon Street, and now it really did seem endless. The guys were in heaven; they sounded like roosters in a barnyard all the way back to Syracuse. They wrote down what they wanted to write down. Another woman, Kathrine Switzer, completed the 1967 race having registered officially. Arnie knows this maniac, I thought wildly, as I tried to pull away. After what happened today, I felt responsible to create those opportunities. He wasnt kiddingit was freezing rain, with sleet and wind. We assumed he had caught the sag wagon. If I quit, it would set womens sports back, way back, instead of forward. Because powder products do not contain water, bacteria growth is more difficult. Katherine K.V." Switzer meldete sich im Jahr 1967 beim Boston Marathon an. The distance, as it always does, gave me time to think and dissipated my anger. We were so stiff we could barely unfold ourselves from the car. and more vaguely about her 1967 Boston Marathon encounter with Jock Semple. However, Switzer recalls feeling puke-ish when this happened. Toms precise execution, the way he took out Jock and only Jock, was sublime athleticism, but I was not grateful for the save. I felt sick at heart, it was awful; it had gone too far, I wished Tom was not there, I wished I was not there. I pinned my numbers on my sweatshirt and not my burgundy top. We use our own and third-party cookies to personalize and improve the use and experience of our users on our website. Some wouldn't survive. Semple died of cancer of the liver and pancreas in March 1988 in Peabody, Massachusetts. Jon, make it collect, he said. I was a 19-year-old journalism student at Syracuse University, and since there was no womens running team there or anywhere else for that matter, I began training unofficially with the mens cross-country team. No dame ever ran the Boston Marathon! he shouted, as skidding motorists nearly killed us. [14] The Jock Semple Award given by the Boston Athletic Association is named in his honor. She became the first woman to compete in the Boston Marathon as an official registered competitor in 1967. Ya don belong heah! It took the help of several runners around me to calm Jock down to the point where he recognized me. Another accurate source is the Life is for Participating chapter in the book Spirit of the Marathon by Gail Waesche Kislevitz (2003). The marathon was like his child, thats how he felt about it. All Rights Reserved. He was trying to rip off her numbers, as Amateur Athletic. See? He said it was wrong to run without registering and, besides, I could get in serious trouble with the Amateur Athletic Union, our sports strict governing body. They were very crabby, which is what I would have been if I had to stand out in this freezing wet for four hours and 20 minutes, which is what one of them said our time was. Kathrine Switzer and Jock Semple eventually overcame their differences - 1973 Boston Marathon "Iconic athlete, sports and social advocate, author, and Emmy award-winning television commentator, Kathrine Switzer was the first woman to officially enter and run the Boston Marathon. Off the back and side the journalists began firing aggressive questions, and the photographers hung out close to get face shots. The drive seemed an eternity, and I had this impending feeling of doomhere we were driving at 40 miles an hour and it was taking forever. He was just about the only one supporting the marathon at the time. Although Switzer has been working towards the advancement of women's rights for the best part of 50 years, setting up a charity is an idea she only started percolating on recently. Erst nachdem sie schon mehr als 3 km zurckgelegt hatte, wurde ihr klar, dass es um mehr ging und sie fr die Frauenrechte lief. You could say women and women's rights have come a long way. In 1967, Kathrine Switzer was nearly pulled off the Boston Marathon course by race official Jock Semple. No problem. That was how scared I felt, as well as deeply humiliated, and for just a tiny moment, I wondered if I should step off the course. Journalist and book author Hal Higdon finished fifth in 1964 in 2:21:55When I arrived in Boston for my first marathons, Jock Semple was the main man, but also (on the surface) a mean man. Everyone was shouting. We were just falling into the rhythm of Arnies stride and beginning to relax when Tom, still fuming, turned to me and blurted out, Youre getting me into all kinds of trouble!. But the thought was only a flicker. It was Big Tom, in the orange Syracuse sweatshirt. We acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and work. Pic: Supplied/Brearley. Tom Derderian, author of Boston Marathon: Year-By-Year Stories of the Worlds Premier Running Event The first time I met Jock, in 1966, I was naked and dripping wet. It's something Switzer says she has seen in the success of Kenyan runner Tegla Loroupe, who became the first black African woman to win a major marathon in 1994, when she took out the New York Marathon. Youre at the top of Heartbreak Hill! but that day it was so unremarkable, I didnt know it from any of the other hills. We sat across, yattering away, when my eyes became fixed on the mans newspaper. That was the International Olympic Committee. (Unlike today, the marathon did not require qualifying times then.) I did not want to mess up this prestigious race. "What we're realising is most of the women in the world still live in a fearful situation. Videos Video #1 Channel:- Sky Sports News ', "I thought seeing that on television would change a lot of minds, and it did millions and millions.". Wait a minute, maybe they believed all those old myths like running ruins your reproductive organs, and it scared them away because they didnt know better and nobody gave them opportunities to disprove this nonsense. So we ate everything: bacon, eggs, pancakes, juice, coffee, milk, extra toast. [Semple and his wife, Betty, never had children. The following is an excerpt from my memoir, Marathon Woman. Kathrine Switzer at the 1967 Boston Marathon, shortly after being attacked by Jock Semple. We caught him quickly, of course, surprising him. Are you a suffragette? (Huh? I loved the guy. "Tiny, brave Arnie," as Switzer described him in her memoir, did his best to interveneuntil Miller knocked Semple out of the way with a full-blown block. Then, at just about mile four, came a honking of horns and someone shouting, Get over, runners move to your right! There was a lot of shuffling and some cursing as a big flatbed truck forced us all to the side of the narrow road. I didnt hit the official, you hit the official, Tom. I said it quietly. She was the only woman in the field, and the first woman to run the race with an. My thinking rolled on: The reason there are no intercollegiate sports for women at big universities, no scholarships, prize money, or any races longer than 800 meters is because women dont have the opportunities to prove they want those things. This service may include material from Agence France-Presse (AFP), APTN, Reuters, AAP, CNN and the BBC World Service which is copyright and cannot be reproduced. Everyone was sodden; hats were gathering snow, as were the shoulders of the runners standing in the pen. It was a helluva race so far, thats for sure, and we still had over 20 miles to run. My God! I shouted and ran over to him, babbling, Excuse me, sir, please let me look at your newspaper! I was so frantic that he thrust it at me like it was on fire. Jock Semple is best remembered as the apparent madman who chased after Kathrine Switzer 50 years ago in the 1967 Boston Marathon. Kathrine Switzer asegura que "a veces suceden cosas malas para que tengas la oportunidad de corregirlas". It was . 0. Then I drifted ahead. Plus, I felt so great. Then I saw Arnies faceit was full of fear, too; his eyes were goggled and he shouted, Run like hell! All the adrenaline kicked in and down the street we ran, flying past the press truck, running like kids out of a haunted house. at the 6.5 miles (10.5km) mark. Bob Hodge, third in 2:12:31 in the 1979 Boston MarathonWhen I entered the Boston Marathon in 1974, I personally delivered my application to Jock in the old Boston Garden, where he was known to make toasted-cheese sandwiches on the radiators. . She was running with Briggs and her boyfriend at the time, Thomas Miller, when race official Jock. Switzer has run 41 marathons, won the 1974 New York City Marathon and in 1975, her two-hour and 51-minute marathon in Boston was ranked sixth in the world and third in the USA in women's marathon. Let him go. ", "Kathrine Switzer on the Marathon Moment That 'Changed Millions of Women's Lives', https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jock_Semple&oldid=1130639034, Athletics (track and field) administrators, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Articles lacking reliable references from November 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 31 December 2022, at 05:34. That takes courage, and it showed his true character. The next day Arnie came to my dorm and insisted that I sign up for the race. Aw hell, kid, you can do it. My God, hes alive! She became the first woman to compete in the Boston Marathon as an official registered competitor in 1967. In 1967, Kathrine Switzer was spotted early in the Boston Marathon by race director Jock Semple, who tried to rip the number off her shirt and remove her from the race. There were 741 people listed on the program, a huge race. I was polite but no longer friendly. He apologized to me later in my career and shook my hand. These weirdies!" When had they taken so many pictures? She describes the charity's work as "training women to train women" their staff guide women through the process of setting up and managing a running club. About six kilometers into the marathon, though, an enraged race official called Jock Sempler tried to stop Switzer from running. I remember once I told Jock we should take post-entries at the Mount Washington race and simply charge an extra dollar for them. . Gloria G. Ratti, New England road race volunteer since 1971 and current vice president of the BAA board of governorsJock and I worked together at many races, but his brusque manner invariably put me in a guarded mode, and I seldom engaged in chit chat with him. In April 1967, while running the Boston Marathon, Switzer was attacked by race official Jock Semple. Switzer and was given a number. [14] The Jock Semple Award given by the Boston Athletic Association is named in his honor. Tsarnaev and his brother planted two bombs that exploded at the finish line in 2013 killing three people and injuring more than 260 others. It was in Syracuse, New York, where God first invented snow and never let up. If I quit, it would set womens sports back, way back, instead of forward. My socks were blood-soaked. We started warming up.