--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Women were afraid and they would never…" description: "\"Women were afraid and they would never even imagine running a marathon in 1967.\" — Kathrine Switzer" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b1/kathrine-switzer-19573_feminism_women-were-afraid-and-they-would-never-e_544164.png" --- # Women were afraid and they would never even imagine… ![“Women were afraid and they would never even imagine running a marathon in 1967.” quote by Kathrine Switzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b1/kathrine-switzer-19573_feminism_women-were-afraid-and-they-would-never-e_544164.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b1/kathrine-switzer-19573_feminism_women-were-afraid-and-they-would-never-e_544164.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b1/kathrine-switzer-19573_feminism_women-were-afraid-and-they-would-never-e_544164.png) > “Women were afraid and they would never even imagine running a marathon in 1967.” [Kathrine Switzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathrine-switzer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Societal barriers once limited women's athletic participation. **In simple terms:** Women faced unjust limits. Key Takeaway Challenge and change gender stereotypes. Themes gender equality sports history determination Mood inspirational defiant Type historical motivational When to use this quote - sports training - advocacy campaigns - school curricula - media representation Key Concepts Feminist theory social change Questions to Reflect On - How can we support women breaking new barriers? - What lingering biases remain in sports? A Different Perspective Progress still faces resistance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afraid Imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afraid-imagine-295745/) [Feminism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminism/) [Imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagine/) [Marathon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marathon/) [Marathon 1967](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marathon-1967-4543245/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Running A Marathon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running-a-marathon/) [Running marathon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running-marathon/) [Women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women/) [Women Afraid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women-afraid-466681/) ## Related quotes > [Sometimes for me not throwing a tantrum is what running a marathon or swimming the English Channel must be like for others of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roseanne-barr/sometimes-for-me-not-throwing-a-tantrum-is-what-running-a-marathon-or/) [Roseanne Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roseanne-barr/) > [I love my lifestyle now, but at the end of nine months, you're toast. You are toast. It's like running a marathon. You can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-meloni/i-love-my-lifestyle-now-but-at-the-end-of-nine-months-you-re-toast/) [Christopher Meloni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-meloni/) > [You can't run a marathon without running a marathon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-sale/you-can-t-run-a-marathon-without-running-a-marathon/) [Chris Sale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-sale/) > [Living life is like running a marathon. 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Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-j-fox/) > [Running a marathon is something I've always wanted to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennie-finch/running-a-marathon-is-something-i-ve-always-wanted-to-do/) [Jennie Finch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennie-finch/) > [I thought about running a marathon a long time ago, but I'm just not a runner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-miller/i-thought-about-running-a-marathon-a-long-time-ago-but-i-m-just-not-a/) [Shannon Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-miller/) > [Who ever would have thought that I'd be running a marathon? Certainly not me, but it's amazing where life leads you if you're willing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-gosselin/who-ever-would-have-thought-that-i-d-be-running-a-marathon-certainly/) [Kate Gosselin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-gosselin/) > [Running a marathon is appealing to runners for many reasons. It's epic! A real test for your mind and body and a challenge that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-odudu/running-a-marathon-is-appealing-to-runners-for-many-reasons-it-s-epic/) [A. J. Odudu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-odudu/) ## More by Kathrine Switzer > [If you feel positive, you have a sense of hope. If you have hope, you can have courage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathrine-switzer/if-you-feel-positive-you-have-a-sense-of-hope-if-you-have-hope-you/) [Kathrine Switzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathrine-switzer/) > [Five years after Boston 1967, I went to the Munich Olympics. I realized that major sponsorship could help me create the opportunity. I wrote…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathrine-switzer/five-years-after-boston-1967-i-went-to-the-munich-olympics-i-realized/) [Kathrine Switzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathrine-switzer/) > [A lack of forgiveness is a waste of time and it's very enriching to forgive and move on but those are things that come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathrine-switzer/a-lack-of-forgiveness-is-a-waste-of-time-and-it-s-very-enriching-to/) [Kathrine Switzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathrine-switzer/) > [I could feel my anger dissipating as the miles went by--you can't run and stay mad!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathrine-switzer/i-could-feel-my-anger-dissipating-as-the-miles-went-by-you-can-t-run/) [Kathrine Switzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathrine-switzer/) > [There is an expression among even the most advanced runners that getting your shoes on is the hardest part of any workout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathrine-switzer/there-is-an-expression-among-even-the-most-advanced-runners-that/) [Kathrine Switzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathrine-switzer/) > [Most people don't know this but over the course of time, the official of the race in 1967 in Boston, who attacked me Jock…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathrine-switzer/most-people-don-t-know-this-but-over-the-course-of-time-the-official/) [Kathrine Switzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathrine-switzer/) > [When I was first running marathons, we were sailing on a flat earth. We were afraid we'd get big legs, grow mustaches, not get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathrine-switzer/when-i-was-first-running-marathons-we-were-sailing-on-a-flat-earth-we/) [Kathrine Switzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathrine-switzer/) > [I organized this global series of races. The data from those races, along with the tremendous amount of lobbying and meetings with federations, convinced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathrine-switzer/i-organized-this-global-series-of-races-the-data-from-those-races/) [Kathrine Switzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathrine-switzer/) > [I don't have any kids of my own, quite by choice. There are two reasons for that. One, I had a sense of obligation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathrine-switzer/i-don-t-have-any-kids-of-my-own-quite-by-choice-there-are-two-reasons/) [Kathrine Switzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathrine-switzer/) > [If you are losing faith in human nature, go out and watch a marathon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathrine-switzer/if-you-are-losing-faith-in-human-nature-go-out-and-watch-a-marathon/) [Kathrine Switzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathrine-switzer/) > [I said that there's going to come a day in our lives when women's running is as popular and as men's. Looking back, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathrine-switzer/i-said-that-there-s-going-to-come-a-day-in-our-lives-when-women-s/) [Kathrine Switzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathrine-switzer/) > [When I forgave Jock Semple on Heartbreak Hill, I also got really cross with women. I couldn't understand why they didn't get it, why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathrine-switzer/when-i-forgave-jock-semple-on-heartbreak-hill-i-also-got-really-cross/) [Kathrine Switzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathrine-switzer/) > [Life is for participating, not for spectating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathrine-switzer/life-is-for-participating-not-for-spectating/) [Kathrine Switzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathrine-switzer/) > [Jock Semple and I were at daggers drawn for five years, even though I kind of forgave him from the get-go. I knew he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathrine-switzer/jock-semple-and-i-were-at-daggers-drawn-for-five-years-even-though-i/) [Kathrine Switzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathrine-switzer/) > [Women is out because she's getting in her daily dose of empowerment, freedom and fearlessness. She has put on her freedom wings for 20…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathrine-switzer/women-is-out-because-she-s-getting-in-her-daily-dose-of-empowerment/) [Kathrine Switzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathrine-switzer/) [Explore all 32 Kathrine Switzer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathrine-switzer/) ## More Feminism quotes > [“But benevolent patriarchy is still patriarchy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/but-benevolent-patriarchy-is-still-patriarchy/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [“This story is not at all an uncommon one in tech circles, including gaming. 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Why? The “integrated” agency will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoram-wind/women-will-be-at-least-50-percent-of-the-communications-community/) [Yoram Wind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoram-wind/) [Browse all 15,705 Feminism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Women were afraid and they would never even imagine running a marathon in 1967.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kathrine Switzer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathrine-switzer/women-were-afraid-and-they-would-never-even-imagine-running-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Feminism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathrine-switzer/women-were-afraid-and-they-would-never-even-imagine-running-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b1/kathrine-switzer-19573_feminism_women-were-afraid-and-they-would-never-e_544164.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b1/kathrine-switzer-19573_feminism_women-were-afraid-and-they-would-never-e_544164.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b1/kathrine-switzer-19573_feminism_women-were-afraid-and-they-would-never-e_544164.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Women were afraid and they would never even imagine running a marathon in 1967.” — Kathrine Switzer", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Kathrine Switzer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathrine-switzer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Women were afraid and they would...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathrine-switzer/women-were-afraid-and-they-would-never-even-imagine-running-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathrine-switzer/women-were-afraid-and-they-would-never-even-imagine-running-a/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```