Posted: December 10, 2007

Athletics: Kathrine Switzer to Take on All Comers at Inaugural Bermuda Triangle Challenge

Bermuda International Race Weekend Set For January 18-20, 2008 BOSTON (December, 2007) – Kathrine Switzer, the first woman to officially run in the Boston Marathon, will take on all comers at the first Bermuda Triangle Challenge during the Bermuda International Race Weekend, announced Marathon Tours and Travel. The official travel agency for the race weekend, Boston-based Marathon Tours and Travel is the creator of the Bermuda Triangle Challenge which is set for January 18-20, 2008, during the Martin Luther King holiday weekend. The inaugural Bermuda Triangle Challenge consists of the KPMG Open Mile, the Bermuda International 10K Run/Walk and either the Bermuda International Marathon or Half Marathon. Participants entered in the Challenge must finish three events to qualify for the commemorative Bermuda Triangle Challenge medal and tee-shirt. All runners entered in the Challenge are invited to run with Switzer, who changed history in 1967 when she finished the all-male Boston Marathon despite being grabbed and nearly thrown out by a race official. A veteran marathoner with a 2:51:37 best and a New York City Marathon title to her credit, Switzer, 60, has been training for the Challenge but has admittedly not raced at an elite level in over 30 years. “I must be out of my mind,” said Switzer. “I will need mysterious forces just to get through the weekend,” she said jokingly, referring to the legendary Bermuda Triangle, a region of the Atlantic Ocean where ships and planes have reportedly vanished due to unexplained phenomena. “Kathrine has not lost her sense of what is important in life,” said Thom Gilligan, president of Marathon Tours and Travel and longtime friend of Switzer. “She still is up to a challenge but, at the same time, she realizes that this is Bermuda and runners should take in the sights, run and relax.” A lively and entertaining personality and television commentator, Switzer will be the featured speaker at the pre-race pasta dinner on Saturday evening at The Fairmont Hamilton Princess, the official host hotel for Bermuda’s International Race Weekend. Boasting one of the most picturesque courses on the planet, the Bermuda International Marathon features spectacular views of Harrington Sound’s blue waters, elegant pastel-colored homes and the island’s lush green flora. The two-loop course marathon course and one-loop half marathon course start and finish in Hamilton. For more information on the Bermuda Triangle Challenge and Bermuda International Race Weekend travel packages, visit www.marathontours.com or call Marathon Tours and Travel at (617) 242-7845 9:00 am to 5:00 PM EST. For more information on Fairmont Hotels and Resorts and the Run Away to Bermuda packages, visit www.fairmont.com/promo/bermudamarathon. Photo: AP Images Subscribe to the Runner's Web Weekly Digest