Running legend Kathrine Switzer has received numerous letters and photos from women around the world. Switzer first showed them how to be fearless using 261. In 1967, the 20-year- old Syracuse University journalism student, who unofficially trained with the men’s cross-country team, registered for the 71st Boston Marathon, at that time considered a male-only event. Upon her acceptance into the race, she received a bib—number 261. Through what she now calls a series of coincidences, she became the first woman to enter and finish the Boston Marathon with an official bib number. But this feat didn’t come without challenges.
