Boston Marathon much more than a race for local group

The results were impressive but the 2017 Boston Marathon was much more than a race for a group of Peterborough women.

It was 50 years ago that Kathrine Switzer became the first woman to wear a bib in the storied marathon. A year earlier, in 1966, Roberta (Bobbi) Gibb was the first woman to run the same marathon. Gibb was the grand marshall for this year’s race on April 17 and Switzer’s bib number was retired during the week long festivities.

That was a strong drawing card for a group of eight women, and one man, ranging in age from 45 to 67, who run together through Runner’s Life and The Running Room.

Sylvia Cashmore ran the Boston Marathon in 2012 but she didn’t want to miss this one and encouraged the others to join her.

“In 1967, when Kathrine did that I was in high school,” Cashmore said.

“To think that when I was in high school women weren’t running marathons; because of that experience (Switzer) made it her life to promote women’s running and Bobbi Gibb was a real pioneer in her running. When I developed my love for running, I only started about seven years ago, I started to look back at those people. If it wasn’t for them, I probably wouldn’t have the joy of running I have now.

“I was lucky I was able to attend a talk by Bobbi Gibb and three of us were able to get down to the run base on the Tuesday and see Kathrine Switzer’s bib number being retired. That just added to the whole weekend. It was quite a scene.”

But this was no leisure run for the local group. They posted some impressive results.

Patricia Quinn, 67, a retired social worker and artist, finished fifth in the women’s 65-69 age group in 4:03:14. Cashmore, 65, who teaches part-time at Fleming College after retiring as an administrator at St. Joseph’s at Fleming, placed 11th in 4:10:37 in the same age group. Shareen Roxborough, 45, ran 3:35:26 to place 157th in the women’s 45-49 division.

Quinn started running about the same time as Cashmore.

“I was never an athletic person,” Quinn said. “In fact, I was the kind of person who hated phys-ed all through school because it was a lot about team sports. I did a bit of running in my 20s and 30s, just short runs occasionally and I’d drop it but I did enjoy it because it was so easy. You just needed your shoes and you could go out by yourself and you could do it anywhere.”

She started a 10K clinic at The Running Room in her late 50s and it started a love affair.

“That’s a great place to start because it’s very accepting of whatever your pace is,” she said.

She graduated to longer distances and began at Runner’s Life where the training is a bit more intense.

“I like it because you can have simple goals,” said Quinn. “Who doesn’t love a sport that has different standards for different ages?”

She had never run a marathon outside of Toronto until Boston.

“I wasn’t sure what to expect. I knew my qualifying time going in was in the top 10 for my age group so I was hoping to stay in there. I was happy I did,” said Quinn. “It was also enjoyable. It wasn’t too stressful. The people were so enthusiastic it seemed to make it go quicker.”

Cashmore was pleased by her performance.

“I was exactly on target. Based on my Peterborough half and a marathon I did in the fall, just looking at those times and knowing that Boston was tougher, I knew if I had a good race I’d be between four hours and 4:15. To come in at 4:10 I was absolutely ecstatic. I ran it five years ago on a really hot day and my time was 4:57. I’m running much more efficient now. That was only my second marathon; this was my sixth.”

Cashmore came to running through triathlon. She competed at the world age group triathlon championships in New Zealand in 2011 but now focuses mostly on running.

“Running became my best element,” she said.

Others to make the trek were Cynthia Hickey, 57, who was 517th in the 55-59 division at 4:41:23; Emily Downie, 45, was 1,143rd in the 45-49 division in 4:12:56; Lakefield’s Donna Freidrich, 54, was 328th in the 50-54 division in 3:57:10; Buckhorn’s Rhonda Johnson, 59, was 217th in the 55-59 division in 4:09:47 while Monica White, 52, was 638th in the 50-54 division in 4:13:13. Mark Muschett ran 3:39:55.placing 753rd in the men’s 50-54 division.