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A Brief Women's History of the Boston Marathon

Susi May — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 20:41:58 PDT

Heralded as the oldest and most prestigious marathon in the world, the Boston Marathon will be take place this coming Monday (April 18). It's an exciting race with a colorful history, especially when it comes to women. Not so long ago, our fair sex was banned from running the 26.2 miles through Beantown, but my, how things have changed. Here's a brief women-centered timeline on the event.

In 1966, Roberta Gibb was the first woman to run the full Boston Marathon. Her time - 3:21:40. She was a "bandit runner" and did not have an official bib or entry, so she hid in the bushes and joined the pack late.
Katherine Switzer tried a different technique in 1967. She officially entered the race ambiguously as K. Switzer. Race officials did not realize this until midway through the race when they unsuccessfully tried to run her down and take her bib. Her finishing time - 4:20:00.
After all this mayhem, it wasn't until 1972 that women were allowed to race the Boston marathon officially. Nina Kuscsik was the first official female champion, beating the other seven women who started and all finished the race. Her finishing time - 3:10:26.
The current course record for women is 2:20:43, run by Margaret Okayo of Kenya in 2002.

Check back Monday to learn the winners of this year's Boston Marathon.

A Healthy Bite: Valerie Bertinelli

FitSugar — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 12:00:53 PDT

"I am so high right now, more high than if I'd had a bottle of champagne! I feel euphoric!"

-Valerie Bertinelli shortly after finishing the Boston Marathon with a time of 5:14:37. Valerie, who is just four days away from her 50th birthday, tells People magazine that after a quick bath in the marathon recovery tent, she felt great, "I wonder if it's anything like childbirth where you forget how painful it was. I think I had a pretty amazing time!"

The Jenny Craig spokeswoman was one of 550 participants running for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Prior to yesterday's race, the farthest Valerie had ever run was 19.2 miles during a premarathon run last week. On what was going through her mind when she crossed the finish line: "When I turned the corner and saw the finish line, I turned the music off and just enjoyed the crowd."

Boston Marathon Winners!

FitSugar — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 10:11:10 PDT

I love a good race, and it sounds like the marathon in Boston today was an exciting one. With a winning time of 2:26:11, Teyba Erkesso of Ethiopia crossed the finish line first today at the 114th running of the Boston Marathon. The 27-year-old takes home a purse of $150,000. Second place was garnered by Tatyana Pushkareva, 24, of Russia, who crossed the line only three seconds behind the winner with a time of 2:26:14. Salina Kosgei, the Kenyan defending champion, came in third place with a time of 2:28:35. The prize for second place is $75,000, and the third place winner takes home $40,000. American Paige Higgins came in 13th place with a time of 2:36:00. Congrats to all the runners - elites and the rest of the pack.

Learn the winners of the men's race when you

Speak Up: How Do You Stay in Shape on Vacation?

FitSugar — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 11:00:23 PDT

As a spokeswoman for Jenny Craig, Valerie Bertinelli lost an amazing 50 pounds on the weight loss system. Fast forward to today, and the actress is training to run the Boston Marathon (her first) on April 19 to support cancer research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. But before she takes on the 26.2 mile run she decided to take a little jaunt to Italy earlier this month, where she enjoyed lots of pasta, red wine, and oysters. "I ate everything I wanted to and forgave myself," she told People Magazine, "and 3.4 lbs. is all I gained! I can take that off!”

Valerie was able to stay fit during her 10-day vacation by walking everywhere: "The smallest number of steps we took in a day was 11,000. We never caught a cab." By the end of the trip she had clocked in 85 miles! With Spring break either under way or just around the corner, staying fit on vacation is of special concern to many of you - especially if you're spending half your vacation in a bikini! Like Valerie, I do my best to walk everywhere when I'm on vacation so I can indulge on local fare but still feel pretty healthy.

How do you stay fit while on vacation?

Boston Marathon: Kosgei Wins, Goucher Takes Third

FitSugar — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:30:00 PDT

It was a dramatic finish for the women running the Boston Marathon today, and the official results are in. Crossing the finish line first was Kenyan runner Salina Kosgei, with a time of 2:32:16. Congratulations to the champ! Just one second behind Kosgei was Dire Tune of Ethiopia, who collapsed soon after finishing the race and had to be carried out on a stretcher. I sincerely hope she is OK; stay tuned for updates.

Meanwhile, third place went to one of my favorite runners, Kara Goucher, who had a time of 2:32:25. She was one of just two American women to finish in the top 10. Pretty amazing considering the Olympic middle-distance runner just started marathoning last Fall!

To see who won the men's marathon and the amount of prize money the winners receive,

read more. American Ryan Hall came in third as well, with a time of 2:09:40. He was a little over a minute behind Deriba Merga of Ethiopia (2:08:42) who won the marathon. Second place winner is Kenyan Daniel Rono with a time of 2:09:32. The prize money for men and women is the same and the winner takes home $150,000, while second place wins $75,000, and the third place purse is $40,000. Are you watching (or running) any marathons this year? . . . Oh, I'm sorry, can you repeat that? I missed your answer because I was too busy coveting these runners' quadriceps. Source

Why Lance Runs

FitSugar — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 02:00:00 PDT

The prestigious and tough Boston Marathon is a week from today. And my man Lance (who seems to be everywhere these days – is there a product he isn't the spokesperson for?) will be running in it.

When you're an elite athlete, other elite athletes give you advice. Winner of the 2007 NYC marathon Paula Radcliffe told Lance to practice his on-the-run hydration to help keep his finishing time low; but Lance replied that he was just hoping to finish the race. Oh Lance, we have so much in common, because I would respond the same way to any advice on running a marathon.

So why does Lance run after winning the ultimate cycling endurance race seven times? To find out

read more. For starters, he feels retirement shouldn't exclude fitness, since fitness is part of a healthy and enjoyable life. And running is more efficient way to workout compared to cycling, which is why Lance started running. You get the same benefits from running with a shorter time commitment. Plus running doesn't require much gear unlike cycling, and this makes running a great form of exercise if you are traveling a lot like Mr. Armstrong. He finds it easier to fit in a run than to fit in a ride. The question remains, why compete in marathons during retirement? Lance explained it to Runner's World like this:

I have to have something that essentially forces me out the door. I can sit around for a year and do a 10k, no problem, even a half-marathon. But the marathon is scary and intimidating enough that you can't just phone that in. You have to train.

Once again, I must say, "Oh Lance, we are so much alike." But to be honest, the races that get me out the door are considerably shorter than 26.2 miles. I must say, I do like the reasons he runs. Source

Get Motivated: If He Can Finish the Boston Marathon, So Can You!

FitSugar — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 13:30:00 PDT

I love a good motivational story. It was pretty cool to see an astronaut running the Boston Marathon, but this lesser known participant takes the cake in my eyes...

Jacob finished the Boston Marathon. You may think, so what? Big deal, lots of people complete marathons. However Jacob is different, he was the last place finisher. Weighing in at just under 400 pounds when he ran the race (though he was over 400 pounds when he decided to run the race), Jacob finished the marathon in 9 hours and 40 minutes (the winner finished in 2:29:18).

Point is, he finished, which is more than most people can say they did. I, for one, am proud of Jacob as I pride myself on fitness and have yet to complete a full marathon myself. He retells his tale on his own blog here and I've got to say, Jacob is hilarious.

Fit's Tip: Overweight individuals should talk to their doctor before taking on such a task like running a marathon.

Boston Marathon: And the Winner is...

FitSugar — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 11:17:31 PDT

Lidiya Grigoryeva, 33, from Russia was the first woman to cross the finish line of the Boston Marathon, becoming the first non-Kenyan woman to win in 8 years and first Russian to take the top prize in 14 years.

Her unofficial time was 2 hours, 29 minutes, 18 seconds. For a woman, that is incredibly impressive considering that Robert Cheruiyot, the first man to cross the finish line had an unofficial time of 2 hours, 14 minutes, 13 seconds. She was running and average of just under 6 minute miles!! Holy moly that's fast!

Not only did they run 26.2 miles, but they dealt with very strong winds, excessive rains, and flooding from the Nor'Easter.

Remember astronaut Sunita "Suni" Williams? She began running her version of the Boston Marathon 210 miles above the Earth at 10 am. She was strapped to a treadmill in a harness so she wouldn't float away.

Suni qualified for the Boston Marathon before heading up into space by placing among the Top 100 in the women's category in the Houston Marathon! She's running in space to encourage kids to make physical fitness part of their daily routine.

Want to know what else Suni's done? Then

read more Not only that, but once she got into space, she decided to cut her long brown hair off, sent her ponytail back down to Earth, and donated it to Locks of Love to be made into a children's wig. She also set a record for most spacewalking time completed by a woman - 22 hours and 2 minutes. I don't know about you, but I have no desire to run for over 2 hours straight. Not to mention, it would probably take me twice as long or more! These two woman have definitely astounded and inspired me. If they could run 26.2 miles at one time, I think I could work up to 30 minutes a day. Source

Space Run: Boston Marathon from the Space Station

FitSugar — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 09:30:00 PDT

I have never run a marathon. I have never been to space. But when I look up at the sky on Monday, April 16th, it will be with respect and reverence for astronaut Sunita Williams. Even though she is 210 miles above Boston, living in orbit on the space station, she will be running in the Boston Marathon.

I don't know about you, but I think that is just super cool. Astronauts are required to exercise while living on board the space station to prevent muscle and bone density loss. The microgravity of space doesn't tax their muscles or the bones so without regular exercise their muscles would atrophy and their bones would become weak.

Sunita, a Massachusetts native, has been training for the Marathon with 4 weekly runs, divided into 2 short and 2 long runs. On April 16th, she will not only run 26.2 strapped to her space station treadmill, she will also circle earth not once, but twice. Why is she doing this, you might ask? Her answer - to encourage kids to start making physical fitness part of their daily lives.

Well, I am inspired. We may not all be astronauts, or marathoners, but we can make physical fitness part of our daily lives.

Source

Congrats to Boston Marathon Winners!

FitSugar — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 10:08:09 PDT

The course of the Boston Marathon is full of ups and downs (literally and figuratively) - they don't call the long climb around the 20-mile mark "Heartbreak Hill" for nothing. Today's race was fast (read: record breaking fast) and with a few exciting upsets to boot. Crossing the finish first in the women's race was Caroline Kilel (age 30) of Kenya with a time of 2:22:36. Fast on her heels was the 27-year-old American runner Desiree Davila of Michigan, who crossed the line two seconds behind the winner. The third-place finisher Sharon Cherop, also of Kenya and also 27 years old, completed the course in 2:22:42. Competing in her first marathon since giving birth to her son, Colt, back in September, American Kara Goucher came in fifth place with a time of 2:24:52. Congrats to all the runners - elites and the rest of the pack.

Learn the winner of the men's race when you read more.