FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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.
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