22
Wednesday, April 26, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Running commentary
PHOTO BY JERRY BALDOCK
The Mr. SHS contestants and their escorts portrayed movie couples in an opening dance number.
MR. SHS: Proceeds of
multiple events benefit
Sisters FAN
Continued from page 3
fly casting, photography and
music. The swimwear portion
of the program demonstrated
that board shorts or a wetsuit
could become the thing on a
runway in Atlantic City.
The contestants and their
escorts dazzled in formal-
wear at the conclusion of the
evening, when the winners
were announced.
L a u r e n Wa t t e n b u r g
donned the tiara as “Best
Escort,” having earned the
designation by putting in
effort above and beyond the
call of duty in helping make
the pageant a success. Jacob
Gurney was crowned Mr.
SHS, and, in the comradely
spirit of the pageant, his fel-
low contestants hoisted him
on their shoulders as he
thanked everyone involved.
Mr. SHS is a program that
evolves over weeks of fund-
raisers from a dodgeball tour-
ney to a spaghetti feed, with
hours of rehearsal going into
the final pageant.
The impact of its benefi-
ciary was driven home by a
video shown at the outset of
the pageant, where families
who have been given a hand
up through FAN recounted
their stories and thanked the
organization.
For more information on
Sisters FAN, visit http://ssd6.
org/parents/sistersfan.
CONGRATULATE
YOUR OUTLAW!
GH SC HO O
L C LA S S O
F 20
2 01 17 7
Women’s running pro-
duced some significant sto-
ries this week that deserve
further attention — and
which have caused me
to reflect on a number of
women’s issues.
Many news outlets ran
the feature story last week
of 70-year-old Kathrine
Switzer running the Boston
Marathon Monday, April
17, 50 years after she
was accosted on the same
course by Jock Semple, an
official, who attempted to
tear her race number off of
her body during the 1967
marathon. He was enraged
that a woman had gained
entry to the men-only event.
Amateur Athletic Union
rules of the time prohibited
women from participating
in their events.
Interestingly, Switzer
was not the first woman to
run the race and Semple
was aware of this fact. The
difference was that they
were not officially entered.
She paid the two-dollar
entry fee under the name
of K.V. Switzer, leaving
no indication she was a
woman. Semple believed
that allowing a woman as
an official entrant would
damage the integrity of the
event.
The photos of Semple
rushing up to her early in
the race has become an
iconic symbol of sexism in
sports, and many commen-
tators agree the real turning
point of women participat-
ing in athletics in America.
Switzer went on to finish
the race despite Semple’s
efforts to stop her. Switzer
finished this year’s race as
well, looking fit as a fid-
dle in finishing in 4:44:31,
which is just 24 minutes
slower than when she was
20.
To his credit, Semple
adjusted his beliefs in the
ensuing years and Switzer
made peace with him.
She has spent most of
her life promoting women’s
participation on running
and in other arenas.
In an interview, Switzer
described how it was her
father’s encouragement to
run in order to get in shape
for field hockey that sent
her down the path as a life-
long runner. She described
how running gave her a
feeling of empowerment
and fearlessness.
That confidence clearly
has not abated, and she is
certainly a role model for
women and men of all ages
when it comes to overcom-
ing obstacles.
On Saturday, April 22,
SISTERS H
IGH SCHO
OL C L A S S
O F 2 0 1 7
Correspondent
another motivated woman
broke the world record for
the marathon at a race in
London. Mary Keitany, 35,
of Kenya ran 2:17:01 to
break the previous record
held by Paula Radcliffe by
41 seconds. Radcliffe still
owns the overall record of
2:15:25, which is in a sepa-
rate category since she was
paced by men in that race.
It was her third victory at
London.
I don’t know if Keitany
has any idea who Switzer
is, but figure she owes
her a debt of gratitude for
championing women run-
ning marathons, including
at the very highest levels.
Keitany’s battle is different
than Switzer’s. She is liv-
ing in a time when dozens
of Kenyan athletes have
been banned from races due
to the use of performance
enhancing drugs.
Here on the local run-
ning scene, the Sisters
“Better-Half” Marathon
takes place this Saturday at
9 a.m. from Village Green
Park. Runners can choose
from a 6.55-mile “quarter”
marathon, a 13.1-mile half
marathon, or a partner run
in which each runner does
one 6.55-mile loop. The
event supports the Sisters
High School swim team.
The race website is www.
sistershalfmarathon.com.
The Better Half race
is an example of what
has transpired in America
since Switzer helped break
down the barriers that lim-
ited women. Many of last
year ’s 174 racers were
women. Today, the major-
ity of participants in all
running races are women.
It’s hard to believe that in
1967, many people still
believed that women were
not capable of running long
distances, and that if they
did, they risked all sorts
of damage to their bod-
ies. The Olympics didn’t
allow women to run the
marathon until 1984. For
the first half of my coach-
ing career, girls ran 3,000-
meter races in cross-coun-
try while boys ran 5,000
meters.
Things are still not equal
for women runners for sure.
Men typically receive much
higher endorsement and
prize money awards than
women, and, for reasons
unknown to me, to this day,
women run a shorter dis-
tance in NCAA cross-coun-
try meets than their male
counterparts.
Thank goodness for
Kathrine Switzer’s boldness
50 years ago and for all the
other pioneering women
who follow her footsteps.
CL ASS OF 2017
SI ST ERS HI GH SCHOOL
By Charlie Kanzig
ker
Ginger Gayle Ba
e are so
Daisy Mae
Mag ill li i c u tt
Youve done
y
hard, you great kid! Kee e ep
p try ying
will reach
yo ou
ur r g go o al s!
Mom & D
ad
Dan t e “D
ead. W
Great things are ah
lishment.
proud of your accomp
Mom & Dad
ude” Dav
is
K eep s se
e eing the
b
pe rs
rs onality right side! Your
shines bri
ght!
Uncle Bu
ck
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