@/TW: Parents under fire for their 6yo running a marathon

[Mushe]

Omg what awful people! That poor kid.

There’s a family around here who have three boys, and the dad takes their training super seriously. I’ve been out there with them at the Turkey Trot where he’s berating them for slowing down, so I would always give my own encouragement. I’ve nearly run into them running on the street IN THE DARK, with traffic, with no reflectors, as I’m returning home from my own early morning runs.

It will surprise nobody that he made a big stink of moms getting to start first at a Mother’s Day 5k. I told him to sit down, that it wasn’t a Boston marathon qualifier.

I realize the family involved seem more like clout chasers than the family I’m mentioning, but it’s in the same category of abuse.

[icedcoffee]

May 6, 2022 13:29:34 GMT -5 sent said:

May 6, 2022 12:27:05 GMT -5 eponinepontmercy said:

How can a parent do that?

I would bet 1 million GBCN dollars that these are the kind of adults who feel no empathy when they see others in pain, even if it's their own children.

How has someone not called CPS on these parents already?

I can't bring myself to click on the link.

CPS has been called on them before.  They said something like "Yeah--they've interviewed us before and determined our kids are happy and safe" or someshit.  I can't find the quote now.  This better trigger a more thorough investigation.

[AJL]

I completely think they did something to endanger their child in this instant, however I am not on board with CPS getting involved.

[sent]

May 6, 2022 14:35:17 GMT -5 AJL said:

I completely think they did something to endanger their child in this instant, however I am not on board with CPS getting involved.

So who should advocate for the child here? Being forced to run extreme distances has to impact growth and development of an otherwise healthy child. 

[mrsslocombe]

Also, fuck this race director for saying they were going to do it with or without official entry. A. YOU HAVE THE POWER TO STOP THAT. and B. at the very least you could have required them to stop at the med tent at regular intervals to monitor the child. A lot of ultra and extreme races have regular medical checks required (if you do the North Pole marathon they check to make sure your body temp remains high enough every lap, in 100M races you have to weigh in to make sure you aren't losing or gaining too much weight, etc). This race director thought it would be good publicity for her race to have a "feel good story."

[mrshandy]

The race director should have removed them from the course from the get-go. Most races have pretty strict rules about age limit. I'm confused whether they had an age limit. That age limit should have been strictly enforced. I don't understand why they didn't. Bandits are many times banned from future races so surprised that any of them are allowed to race.

If something happened to this child on the course, they would have been sued up the wazoo. I imagine their insurance providers will not be happy when they find out about this.

[af1212]

May 6, 2022 15:20:11 GMT -5 mrshandy said:

The race director should have removed them from the course from the get-go. Most races have pretty strict rules about age limit. I'm confused whether they had an age limit. That age limit should have been strictly enforced. I don't understand why they didn't. Bandits are many times banned from future races so surprised that any of them are allowed to race.

If something happened to this child on the course, they would have been sued up the wazoo. I imagine their insurance providers will not be happy when they find out about this.

In the article it said 18+

[mrsslocombe]

May 6, 2022 15:20:11 GMT -5 mrshandy said:

The race director should have removed them from the course from the get-go. Most races have pretty strict rules about age limit. I'm confused whether they had an age limit. That age limit should have been strictly enforced. I don't understand why they didn't. Bandits are many times banned from future races so surprised that any of them are allowed to race.

If something happened to this child on the course, they would have been sued up the wazoo. I imagine their insurance providers will not be happy when they find out about this.

They have an 18+ requirement, but the race organization put out a statement,

"Our goal is to provide a positive race experience for all participants while supporting them along the course. The Flying Pig Marathon was founded on the ideal of hosting a world-class road race experience and we will always strive to do so.

Please allow me to share the reasons for the decision to allow a minor to participate in this year's race.

This decision was not made lightly. The father was determined to do the race with his young child regardless. They had done it as bandits, in prior years, before we had any knowledge of it and we knew he was likely to do so again.

The intent was to try to offer protection and support if they were on our course (Medical, Fluid and Replenishment).

Our decision was intended for some amount of safety and protection for the child. The family finished the race after the formal closure of the course.

I assume full responsibility for the decision and accept that it was not the best course of action. Our requirement of 18+ for participation in the marathon will be strictly observed moving forward."


It's also bullshit that they wanted to "offer protection and support" when they finished well outside of the cut off mark and all the aid stations were closed. They probably have a med team on bikes monitoring them but no water stations, etc. 

[wawa]

I think the race director is a dumbass who totally swallowed this asshole famewhore dad's bulldhit hook line and sinker and thought they could piggy back on their social media nonsense for extra publicity and instead is in a shitshow because WHAT THE FUCK.

[NewOrleans]

they are white in KY and were “speaking with his children about ‘how to deal with CPS’” and tried to crash races before- are they anti-government or insurrection types too?

[Deleted]

I feel so bad for those kids. That level of athletic performance at such a young age is going to do horrible things to their joints and bones, and will cause problems that will last the rest of their lives, not to mention the psychological damage they are ensuring that will also impact them for a lifetime.

My son just turned 8yo can’t even make it through Target without asking to sit down. A marathon would be torture for him.

[magpie]

I ran a half marathon two weeks ago and noticed a 6-year-old in it at the start. I think some people do this for attention (hence said 6-year-old wearing a big bold shirt that said how old he was!) and bragging rights. On one hand, I can see how fun it is to participate in something together. My own 5-year-old is starting to get into running (they have a running club at his school where he regularly challenges himself to run 2-3 miles in an afternoon). I'm excited to share my favorite pastime with him and we might very well run a reasonable distance fun run type race together, but I would never go so extreme just for attention and bragging rights. I think it's really selfish of these parents to do this. I mean, I don't even let my extremely eager, high energy dog go on runs longer than 4-5 miles with me because I'm afraid I'll mess up her body! How could you do that to a kid?!

(Edited to add: not to say that I don't love my pup like family--i just mean that my pup is TOUGH and I worry about running her too much)

[mccallister84]

May 6, 2022 12:27:05 GMT -5 eponinepontmercy said:

I felt bad enough when DD was 5 or 6 and wanted to do a 5k with me. We walked the whole thing (DH signed up, too), and she was miserable. Nothing was wrong - she was just tired and bored and regretting her choices.

If she had actually been crying from pain? For 8 hours? How can a parent do that?

I know. My DD is 5 and has run a 1 mile and a 1k race and keeps asking if she can run another race. I’m so hesitant to even sign her up for a 5k (which are easier to find) because I’m so worried she’ll be miserable after like the 20 minute mark (and I assume we will be out there for close to an hour).

[ny96]

May 6, 2022 16:52:28 GMT -5 mccallister84 said:

May 6, 2022 12:27:05 GMT -5 eponinepontmercy said:

I felt bad enough when DD was 5 or 6 and wanted to do a 5k with me. We walked the whole thing (DH signed up, too), and she was miserable. Nothing was wrong - she was just tired and bored and regretting her choices.

If she had actually been crying from pain? For 8 hours? How can a parent do that?

I know. My DD is 5 and has run a 1 mile and a 1k race and keeps asking if she can run another race. I’m so hesitant to even sign her up for a 5k (which are easier to find) because I’m so worried she’ll be miserable after like the 20 minute mark (and I assume we will be out there for close to an hour).

I brought up the idea of doing a 5k color run to my 9 year old a few weeks back, thinking we could run it together and it would be a lot of fun. He shot it down immediately

[fryjack2]

May 6, 2022 12:04:04 GMT -5 scm1011 said:

May 6, 2022 10:46:03 GMT -5 mrshandy said:

I did a small marathon years ago and was running with a 7=year old who was doing the half marathon. She was running with a few adults who kept pushing her to keep up the pace. I was a little surprised! She finished her race with a good time. Afterwards I learned that she was trying to set a world record for fastest half marathon by a 7-year old. She got the record. I wonder if she's burned out yet. I think that is a big problem with starting kids that young.

DH and I ran a half marathon 2 weeks ago and there was a mom running with her maybe 8 year old. I passed them early in the race (mile 3?) and he was sobbing and telling his mom he wanted to stop and she was yelling at him "I don't want to hear it! START RUNNING!". It was AWFUL.

I was telling DH at the finish and he was like "OMG I saw them at about mile 8 and it was the same story". 

I eventually saw them both cross the finish line and the kid was still crying. I wanted to give him a big hug and punch his stupid mom.

I ran Boston a few weeks ago.  My kids ran the 5k with me a couple days before.  They are 10.  They sometimes like to run 5k races, one runs 5 miles with me sometimes.  The other doesn't. But he doesn't like his brother beating him at something. 

If we start a run and the apathetic one is slowing the other one and I down ( not races, he sprints those willingly of course.  Just runs), I tell him to hurry up.  Because I know he can and is just being a nudge.  If he really didn't want to be out there, I wouldn't make him or yell at him, especially dangerous distances like a half full!! Thats insane! 

[InBetweenDays]

May 6, 2022 15:48:08 GMT -5 mrsslocombe said:

May 6, 2022 15:20:11 GMT -5 mrshandy said:

The race director should have removed them from the course from the get-go. Most races have pretty strict rules about age limit. I'm confused whether they had an age limit. That age limit should have been strictly enforced. I don't understand why they didn't. Bandits are many times banned from future races so surprised that any of them are allowed to race.

If something happened to this child on the course, they would have been sued up the wazoo. I imagine their insurance providers will not be happy when they find out about this.

They have an 18+ requirement, but the race organization put out a statement,

"Our goal is to provide a positive race experience for all participants while supporting them along the course. The Flying Pig Marathon was founded on the ideal of hosting a world-class road race experience and we will always strive to do so.

Please allow me to share the reasons for the decision to allow a minor to participate in this year's race.

This decision was not made lightly. The father was determined to do the race with his young child regardless. They had done it as bandits, in prior years, before we had any knowledge of it and we knew he was likely to do so again.

The intent was to try to offer protection and support if they were on our course (Medical, Fluid and Replenishment).

Our decision was intended for some amount of safety and protection for the child. The family finished the race after the formal closure of the course.

I assume full responsibility for the decision and accept that it was not the best course of action. Our requirement of 18+ for participation in the marathon will be strictly observed moving forward."


It's also bullshit that they wanted to "offer protection and support" when they finished well outside of the cut off mark and all the aid stations were closed. They probably have a med team on bikes monitoring them but no water stations, etc. 

Interesting that they claim they have an 18+ age requirement when they have a results category for 0-17 year olds. 


results.raceroster.com/en-US/results/tpn5yuscgsasc4f4?division=583641

I agree with whoever said the race director saw this as a marketing opportunity as well. 

[jlt19]

I don’t know anything about racing, but I do know that kids’ bodies aren’t fully developed and imagine something like this could really screw them up physically long term.

While not remotely on a similar level, my 9 year old son pitches. His coach has a very strict pitch limit for the boys that will slowly go up each year as their bones grow. Hell, even major league pitchers have pitch counts and rest days! Obviously theirs is because of $, but it’s based on them not wearing themselves out.

[stephm0188]

I don't think the race director ever intended for it to become as public as it has. There's not anything positive for them to gain from the situation, especially when it came out that she rewarded their behavior in the past with medals and comped entries. She could have and should have banned them back then and had them removed from the course in future events, but instead she rewarded and encouraged the family. She knowingly allowed a six year old child to be put in a dangerous situation. Once it started to blow up, those IG posts mysteriously disappeared.

[StrawberryBlondie]

And here I was concerned that adding another session of training this summer to my 8-year-old's swim schedule would doom her to needing shoulder surgery when she's like 15.

[pooh8402]

May 6, 2022 13:29:34 GMT -5 sent said:

May 6, 2022 12:27:05 GMT -5 eponinepontmercy said:

How can a parent do that?

I would bet 1 million GBCN dollars that these are the kind of adults who feel no empathy when they see others in pain, even if it's their own children.

How has someone not called CPS on these parents already?

I can't bring myself to click on the link.

On the WaPo link, the parents admit that they've had CPS called on them multiple times

[sent]

May 6, 2022 19:27:38 GMT -5 pooh8402 said:

May 6, 2022 13:29:34 GMT -5 sent said:

I would bet 1 million GBCN dollars that these are the kind of adults who feel no empathy when they see others in pain, even if it's their own children.

How has someone not called CPS on these parents already?

I can't bring myself to click on the link.

On the WaPo link, the parents admit that they've had CPS called on them multiple times

Those poor children. Based on what I’ve read on this thread, I feel so sad for them and the adults using them for their own selfish gains.

[jeaniebueller]

May 6, 2022 10:21:52 GMT -5 cattledogkisses said:

This is the same family that made their young kids hike the Appalachian Trail. It's all for Youtube content/fame chasing. They're awful.

Oh I remember these dipshits now. Total clout chasers.

[rubytue]

May 6, 2022 15:25:58 GMT -5 jennyparnassus said:

TW

Does anyone else remember when that 7-year-old girl attempted to fly an airplane across the United States, and crashed the plane?

It happened in 1996. I'm old.

TW


en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica_Dubroff

I remember! She was “unschooled” or something 

[loira]

Coming in here to agree that these parents are trash and I hope their children get some proper care very soon.

[acuore]

These people suck, and are clearly in it for the attention, but really, this 6 year old didn’t “run” a marathon. It took 8 1/2 hours, which is a (pretty slow) walking pace. Do I think it is a good idea to make your 6 year old walk 26 miles? No, but I also don’t think it’s going to do him lasting damage. I did a 20-mile walk with my dad one day when I was 4 (not a race, we were sightseeing), and didn’t have any long-term ill effects. Kids in some parts of the world routinely walk 6-8 hours a day fetching water. 

Now, if they had actually made the kid run/jog the whole marathon, that would be a different matter. 

[foundmylazybum]

May 8, 2022 12:14:59 GMT -5 acuore said:

These people suck, and are clearly in it for the attention, but really, this 6 year old didn’t “run” a marathon. It took 8 1/2 hours, which is a (pretty slow) walking pace. Do I think it is a good idea to make your 6 year old walk 26 miles? No, but I also don’t think it’s going to do him lasting damage. I did a 20-mile walk with my dad one day when I was 4 (not a race, we were sightseeing), and didn’t have any long-term ill effects. Kids in some parts of the world routinely walk 6-8 hours a day fetching water. 

Now, if they had actually made the kid run/jog the whole marathon, that would be a different matter. 

What's your background and knowledge in this area to back up this statement?

I have a Master's in Sport psychology and am getting a doctorate in this area and can tell you that physiologically, psychologically and developmentally it is NOT a good idea for a child of 6 to do this amount of effort, and it can do lasting harm and there is evidence to back it up.

Also, I'd love to see cross culturally where parents are routinely having children of 6 walk 8 hours to fetch water. I think cross culturally there is a lot of evidence that families have children do age appropriate chores and it's actually not such a long amount of time at that age, but a stereotype.

Beyond that, even if it were true, sometimes you just have to put things in the context of which they are:


This is the West. It's socially and developmentally inappropriate for a kid this age to do that distance, as evidenced by his stopping every two min and crying and asking to be done.

Read the room you are in.

[acuore]

May 8, 2022 12:25:17 GMT -5 foundmylazybum said:

May 8, 2022 12:14:59 GMT -5 acuore said:

These people suck, and are clearly in it for the attention, but really, this 6 year old didn’t “run” a marathon. It took 8 1/2 hours, which is a (pretty slow) walking pace. Do I think it is a good idea to make your 6 year old walk 26 miles? No, but I also don’t think it’s going to do him lasting damage. I did a 20-mile walk with my dad one day when I was 4 (not a race, we were sightseeing), and didn’t have any long-term ill effects. Kids in some parts of the world routinely walk 6-8 hours a day fetching water. 

Now, if they had actually made the kid run/jog the whole marathon, that would be a different matter.

Also, I'd love to see cross culturally where parents are routinely having children of 6 walk 8 hours to fetch water. I think cross culturally there is a lot of evidence that families have children do age appropriate chores and it's actually not such a long amount of time at that age, but a stereotype.

Beyond that, even if it were true, sometimes you just have to put things in the context of which they are:


This is the West. It's socially and developmentally inappropriate for a kid this age to do that distance, as evidenced by his stopping every two min and crying and asking to be done.

Read the room you are in.

My point was not that this is a good idea, but that it’s not beyond the limits of normal human physiology. Children in some parts of the world do, in fact, do 20 miles+ a day while hauling weight (I am thinking of Ethiopia specifically, but I expect it is true in many countries where water sources are far away). Social context is irrelevant. Doing this one time is extremely unlikely to cause permanent damage to a normal 6-year-old human - or do you think that kids in the developed West are somehow physiologically different, and more fragile, than those elsewhere?

He may not have enjoyed it, the parents certainly shouldn’t have encouraged it, but the idea of calling CPS on them for this is insane. It is no more “abusive” - less, actually - than parents who allow their young kids to go gymnastics or skating for hours every day in hopes of an Olympic career or an eventual college scholarship. I wouldn’t call them good parents, but I wouldn’t call them abusive either. 

[foundmylazybum]

May 8, 2022 12:58:05 GMT -5 acuore said:

May 8, 2022 12:25:17 GMT -5 foundmylazybum said:

Also, I'd love to see cross culturally where parents are routinely having children of 6 walk 8 hours to fetch water. I think cross culturally there is a lot of evidence that families have children do age appropriate chores and it's actually not such a long amount of time at that age, but a stereotype.

Beyond that, even if it were true, sometimes you just have to put things in the context of which they are:


This is the West. It's socially and developmentally inappropriate for a kid this age to do that distance, as evidenced by his stopping every two min and crying and asking to be done.

Read the room you are in.

My point was not that this is a good idea, but that it’s not beyond the limits of normal human physiology. Children in some parts of the world do, in fact, do 20 miles+ a day while hauling weight (I am thinking of Ethiopia specifically, but I expect it is true in many countries where water sources are far away). Social context is irrelevant. Doing this one time is extremely unlikely to cause permanent damage to a normal 6-year-old human - or do you think that kids in the developed West are somehow physiologically different, and more fragile, than those elsewhere?

He may not have enjoyed it, the parents certainly shouldn’t have encouraged it, but the idea of calling CPS on them for this is insane. It is no more “abusive” - less, actually - than parents who allow their young kids to go gymnastics or skating for hours every day in hopes of an Olympic career or an eventual college scholarship. I wouldn’t call them good parents, but I wouldn’t call them abusive either. 

Social context matters because you are trying to say that it's not damaging to children of this age to do this distance bc "look in other cultures they do it!"


Except 1, are you sure children of age 6 walk that far in other cultures? Or do they do age appropriate chores? 🤔

And 2) even if it's true that children walk or run long distances in other cultures, how are you so sure it's not causing THEM harm?

3) in the cultures you describe, those are potentially needs that necessitate doing endurance tasks.

This is a white, privileged family that chose to put their child at risk and, it wasn't a one time thing. They have done it several times.
And presably the kid did some sort of "training" as well so it's not a one time thing.


It puts the developing body at risk, but it's different if you have NO CHOICE vs the privilege of preserving your health.


So absolutely context matters but keep on being an apologist for bad decisions. 🤡

[frlcb]

May 8, 2022 12:58:05 GMT -5 acuore said:

May 8, 2022 12:25:17 GMT -5 foundmylazybum said:

Also, I'd love to see cross culturally where parents are routinely having children of 6 walk 8 hours to fetch water. I think cross culturally there is a lot of evidence that families have children do age appropriate chores and it's actually not such a long amount of time at that age, but a stereotype.

Beyond that, even if it were true, sometimes you just have to put things in the context of which they are:


This is the West. It's socially and developmentally inappropriate for a kid this age to do that distance, as evidenced by his stopping every two min and crying and asking to be done.

Read the room you are in.

My point was not that this is a good idea, but that it’s not beyond the limits of normal human physiology. Children in some parts of the world do, in fact, do 20 miles+ a day while hauling weight (I am thinking of Ethiopia specifically, but I expect it is true in many countries where water sources are far away). Social context is irrelevant. Doing this one time is extremely unlikely to cause permanent damage to a normal 6-year-old human - or do you think that kids in the developed West are somehow physiologically different, and more fragile, than those elsewhere?

He may not have enjoyed it, the parents certainly shouldn’t have encouraged it, but the idea of calling CPS on them for this is insane. It is no more “abusive” - less, actually - than parents who allow their young kids to go gymnastics or skating for hours every day in hopes of an Olympic career or an eventual college scholarship. I wouldn’t call them good parents, but I wouldn’t call them abusive either. 

Didn't they say the kid was begging to stop, saying he couldn't do it? If that is true and they made him continue then it is absolutely abusive. Are people really trying to justify this?

I mean, high school cross country races are only 3 miles. And those are teenagers.

[suburbanzookeeper]

Their Instagram responses are.... hot mess express:

http://instagram.com/p/CdTpmu2FXGw

As someone who writes insurance for events, I guarantee you the race's liability carrier is having an absolute shitfit.