Boston, MA

‘Pioneer’ Nina Kuscsik, first woman to win Boston Marathon after they could enter, dead at 86

Published

7 months ago

June 16, 2025

‘Pioneer’ Nina Kuscsik, first woman to win Boston Marathon after they could enter, dead at 86

BOSTON — Nina Kuscsik, who campaigned for women’s inclusion in long-distance running and then won the Boston Marathon the first year that they were officially allowed to enter into the race, has died. She was 86.

An obituary for the A.L. Jacobsen Funeral Home in Huntington Station, New York, said Kuscsik died June 8 of respiratory failure after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease.

“Nina was more than a pioneer, determined women’s running advocate, and celebrated icon within the sport. To us, she was a friend who will always be remembered for her kindness, joyful laugh and smile,” the Boston Athletic Association said on Instagram.

“Nina held the distinct honor of winning the 1972 Boston Marathon, and recognized the platform that came with that triumphant moment, inspiring thousands of women to reach their own goals and finish lines in the decades since. The BAA extends heartfelt condolences to Nina’s family, friends, and all in the running community who were touched by her grace.”

According to the obituary, Kuscsik graduated from high school at 16, studied nursing for two years and received her license at 18 after petitioning to change a New York law that required nurses to be 21. She won state championships in speed skating, roller skating and cycling — all in the same year — before turning to running when her bicycle broke.

She ran the Boston Marathon four times from 1968-71 — before women were officially welcomed, a period retroactively recognized as the Pioneer Era — and then won the first official women’s race in 1972.

She was also the first woman to enter the New York race, in 1970, and was one of the “Six who Sat” – six women who refused to start the ’72 New York City Marathon for 10 minutes to protest an Amateur Athletic Union rule that the women’s race had to be separate from the men’s. She won that year and the next year as well.

She later served on AAU and USA Track and Field committees drafting rules for women’s running. Kathrine Switzer, who entered the 1971 Boston Marathon using her initials and became the first woman to official compete, called Kuscsik “one of our greatest leaders.”

“Nina was not only a champion runner, but was instrumental in the official acceptance of women and distance running because she did years of tough work of changing rules, regulations and submitting medical evidence to prove women’s capability,” said Switzer, who started alongside Kuscsik and six other women who met the qualifying time for the the 1972 Boston race.

“Eight of us registered, eight of us showed up, and all eight of us finished,” she said. “It was a stunning moment — and a blistering hot day — but appropriately enough, Nina won.”

In addition to the more than 80 marathons she ran over her lifetime, Kuscsik set the American record for the 50-mile run in 1977 and won the Empire State Building Run-Up three straight years from 1979–81.

She was inducted into the Long Distance Running Hall of Fame in 1999.

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Boston, MA

Boston woman flummoxed after rat makes a home in stroller she left on porch

Published

9 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Local News

Boston Reddit did not mince words when it came to the best way of evicting this brazen stroller squatter.

A Boston woman is dealing with an unwelcome tenant on her front porch — a rat that has turned a baby stroller into a cozy winter hideaway.

The woman shared her ordeal Thursday on the r/Boston subreddit, explaining that she had left her stroller, complete with a muff, on her second-floor porch. When she checked on it later, she discovered a rat had moved in.

“I stupidly left our stroller with a muff out on the porch,” she wrote. “Today I found a big rat is nested in there. I can’t see clearly, but it seems it has chewed up the muff lining and is using the filling for a nest.”

The woman said she’s called a few pest control companies, but instead of offering immediate removal, they just tried to sell her a long-term bait boxing service.

“…Which is fine, but I urgently need someone to just safely remove the rat and the nest so I can clean or dispose of the stroller if needed,” she wrote, adding that she couldn’t secure a next-day appointment and felt Monday was too far away.

Turning to Reddit for advice, the woman asked whether she should attempt to remove the rat herself, saying she was worried about being bitten or contracting a disease. “Which professional can I call?” she asked.

Redditors reacted with a mix of humor and practical advice. The top comment began, “Sounds like it’s their porch now,” before offering an elaborate plan involving a bucket trap and joking that the rat could then “go on to be a Michelin star chef at a French restaurant,” a nod to the 2007 film “Ratatouille.”

Others suggested she evict the rat by vigorously shaking the stroller or whacking it with a broom, while many urged her to cut her losses entirely and throw the stroller out.

“I honestly wouldn’t ever use it for a small child after a rat had been cribbed up there,” one commenter wrote.

Pest control experts generally advise against handling rats without professional help. According to Terminix, rodents can become aggressive and scratch when threatened and may carry diseases such as hantavirus and leptospirosis.

“When it comes to getting rid of a rat’s nest in the house, DIY treatments won’t cut it,” the company warns on its website.

Boston has been grappling with heightened rat activity in recent years, prompting a citywide rodent action plan known as BRAP. City officials urge residents to “see something, squeak something!” and report rodent activity to 311. Officials said response teams are typically dispatched within one to two days.

Morgan Rousseau is a freelance writer for Boston.com, where she reports on a variety of local and regional news.

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Boston, MA

Boston’s new city council president talks about election and upcoming term

Published

21 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Boston’s new city council president talks about election and upcoming term

The Boston City Council is setting out on a new two-year term with a new council president at the helm.

City Councilor Liz Breadon, who represents District 9, won the gavel on a 7-6 contested vote, cobbling together her candidacy just hours before the council was set to vote.

“An opportunity presented itself and I took it,” Breadon said. “We’re in a very critical time, given politics, and I really feel that in this moment, we need to set steady leadership, and really to bring the council together.”

The process apparently including backroom conversations and late-night meetings as City Councilors Gabriella Coletta Zapata and Brian Worrell both pushed to become the next council president.

Breadon spoke on why support waned for her two colleagues.

“I think they had support that was moving,” said Breadon. “It was moving back and forward, it hadn’t solidified solidly in one place. There’s a lot of uncertainty in the moment.”

Political commentator Sue O’Connell talks about the last-minute maneuvering before the upset vote and what it says about Mayor Michelle Wu’s influence.

Some speculated that Mayor Michelle Wu’s administration was lobbying for a compromise candidate after Coletta Zapata dropped out of the race. Breadon disputes the mayor’s involvement.

“I would say not,” said Breadon. “I wasn’t in conversation with the mayor about any of this.”

Beyond the election, Breadon took a look ahead to how she will lead the body. Controversy has been known to crop up at City Hall, most recently when former District 7 Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges tied to a kickback scheme involving taxpayer dollars.

Breadon said it’s critical to stay calm and allow the facts to come out in those situations.

“I feel that it’s very important to be very deliberative in how we handle these things and not to sort of shoot from the hip and have a knee-jerk reaction to what’s happening,” said Breadon.

Tune in Sunday at 9:30 am for our extended @Issue Sitdown with Breadon, when we dig deeper into how her candidacy came together, the priorities she’ll pursue in the role and which colleagues she’ll place in key council positions.

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