University of Lynchburg

Kathrine Switzer was the first woman to officially complete the Boston Marathon despite the race's authorities trying to remove her from the race.

Switzer attended Lynchburg College in the late 1960s before transferring to Syracuse University. At Lynchburg, coach Aubrey Moon recruited her to run for the men's track & field team because of her distance-running ability and a shortage of runners at the time. It was here she developed the idea for running the Boston Marathon.