Posted: October 11, 2007

Athletics: Toronto Marathon Welcomes Running Legends Kathrine Switzer and Roger Robinson – October 12 - 14

Toronto, ON – October 10, 2007: KATHRINE SWITZER has been an authority on running and women’s sports for over thirty years. She is best known for pioneering the official entrance of women into the marathon, beginning in the late 1960s. Through the Avon Running program, she organized events for over one million women in twenty-seven countries, which was vital to securing the women’s marathon event in the Olympics. She has finished thirty-five marathons, won the 1974 New York City Marathon and still runs six miles a day. An Emmy Award winning TV commentator, Switzer has covered many major running events including the Olympics, the Goodwill and Commonwealth Games and almost all televised editions of the Boston, New York and Los Angeles Marathons, as well as hundreds of local races around the world. The author of Running and Walking for Women Over 40, she will publish an autobiography in 2007. Kathrine Switzer has been married to co-author of 26.2: Marathon Stories Roger Robinson for eighteen years. ROGER ROBINSON, after a thirty year career as a world ranked runner, is one of the leading authors, speakers and historians on running. He represented England and New Zealand in world championships and had record-breaking age-group victories in the Boston, New York, Vancouver and other marathons. Senior writer for Running Times, his articles have been published throughout the English-speaking world. He is also known as a TV commentator, stadium announcer at events such as the Commonwealth Games, and as a speaker on the history and significance of running. A distinguished university scholar and teacher, he is emeritus professor at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. Robinson is the author of Heroes and Sparrows and Running in Literature, as well as the recent Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature and Robert Louis Stevenson: His Best Pacific Writings. Limited Toronto Marathon edition of 26.2: Marathon Stories will be available for purchase at the Toronto Marathon Expo (October 12 & 13) and Hilton Carbo Dinner (October 13). Kathrine Switzer and Roger Robinson will be available for book signing during the expo and at the carbo dinner. The Toronto Marathon is the largest and oldest marathon in Toronto, generating $15 million to the local economy each year. Over 10,000 participants from 40+ countries are expected to participate in the Marathon, Half Marathon, 5K or Relay on October 14, 2007. Since 1995, the Toronto Marathon has generated over $5 million for its various charitable partners including the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation, Hemophilia, Multiple Sclerosis, Toronto Foundation for Student Success, ICA Canada and Diabetes. Kathrine Switzer and Roger Robinson will be available for interviews on Friday October 13 and Saturday October 14. Subscribe to the Runner's Web Weekly Digest