How advertisers target female runners like those in the Boston Marathon

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On an April morning in 1967, Kathrine Switzer ate a late breakfast of bacon, eggs, pancakes, and toast. The Boston Marathon wasn’t due to begin until noon, so she had plenty of time to get to the starting line.

When the time came, she pinned the number 261 to her chest and started running through the Boston streets with her boyfriend, coach, and friend in tow. Then, in a surprising contrast to the crowd’s cheers, she was attacked by a race official who’d noticed her ponytail and lipstick.

At this time, the Boston Marathon was a men’s-only race, and Switzer wasn’t exactly welcome in the field. After Switzer’s boyfriend warded off the race official by tackling him, Kathrine (registered as K. V. Switzer) crossed the finish line. Her efforts helped make the sport of endurance running more welcoming to women in the decades that followed. Read more…

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