Officials question 6-year-old running marathon
Controversy erupted this week after news surfaced that a 6-year-old boy apparently ran a full marathon in Cincinnati last weekend alongside his parents and older siblings.
The race director of the Flying Pig Marathon, Iris Simpson Bush, has since said allowing the boy to participate in the 26.2-mile race was “not the best course of action” and pledged the marathon’s age restriction of 18 and older would be enforced going forward.
In an open letter released Wednesday evening, Bush also sought to explain organizers’ decision to allow the boy to participate.
“... 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 and we knew he was likely to do so again,” Bush said.
“The intent was to try to offer protection and support if they were on our course (Medical, Fluids and Replenishment).”
In the racing community, the term “bandit” is used to refer to a person who competes in a race without properly registering.
Could a minor run the Columbus Marathon?
Darris Blackford, race director for the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Columbus Marathon, said participants for the full marathon in October must be 16 or older.
Even with parental permission and/ or a doctors’ note, no exceptions are made due to insurance restrictions, according to the event’s website, which lists the following age limits to its various races:
● 1-Mile: 6 years of age
● 5K: 12 years of age
● Half-marathon: 12 years of age
● Marathon: 16 years of age
The controversy over a 6-year-old participating in an activity that typically requires months of training began when his parents, Ben and Kami Crawford, of Bellevue, Kentucky, recounted their Flying Pig experience online.
In a since-deleted Instagram post entitled “a story about race registration and breaking the rules,” the Cincinnati Enquirer reported, the Crawfords wrote they had run the Flying Pig Marathon for years and their kids had also been doing so without registering.
The post, which attracted hundreds of critical comments, went on to thank a race organizer for helping the entire family “navigate around the rules” to get them registered for the race this year,” the Enquirer reported.
The Crawfords’ have six children that range in age from 20 to 6. Four of them are under 18.
An initial statement from Flying Pig organizers, in which they said they receive “numerous requests for special accommodations each year” attracted dozens, if not hundreds of critical comments.
Race participants claimed online to have seen the 6-year-old crying on the course and feared the boy was being forced to run.
“Our parenting methods are unconventional but we do not think accusations or arguments with incorrect facts are helpful.” Ben Crawford
6-year-old ‘begged’ to join them, family says
In a statement, Ben Crawford said none of his children are forced to run and his 6-year-old son was only allowed to attempt the marathon because he “begged” to join the rest of his family, the Enquirer reported.
Crawford also said he and his wife gave their young son “a 50/50 chance of completing it and were ready to pull the plug at any moment if he requested it or if we viewed his safety at risk. We asked him numerous times if he wanted to
stop and he was VERY clear that his preference was to continue.”
“We did not see any sign of heat exhaustion or dehydration and honored his request to keep on going,” he added.
Crawford said accusations his son was crying for the whole race, or even most of it, were inaccurate and that the entire family crossed the finish line after 8 hours and 35 minutes of racing, according to the Enquirer.
“Yes there were tears,” he said. “He had a fall and every single member of our family has cried during marathons.”
Crawford said a video will be released about their son’s first marathon experience that will show “his emotional state very clearly.”
“Our parenting methods are unconventional but we do not think accusations or arguments with incorrect facts are helpful,” he said.
Crawfords’ document their parenting
The Crawfords’ are the authors behind a book that talks about being the largest family to hike the Appalachian Trail, which is nearly 2,200 miles long and typically takes months to complete, according to the Enquirer.
They have a Youtube channel with more than 46,000 subscribers, a podcast and a large social media following. Their website and social media accounts
focus on parenting.
The 6-year-old’s participation in a marathon has generated widespread concern and debate among runners and non-runners alike, with some saying young children are especially vulnerable to injury because they aren’t done growing.
Other people have indicated support for the Crawfords’ and their parenting methods.
“I think we are way too easy on children and create many lazy and unable humans so teaching them endurance and overcoming difficulties is great!” one person wrote online, the Enquirer said.
The story has caught the attention of two Olympic runners: Kara Goucher and Lee Troop, both of whom said 6 is too young for a marathon.
“I don’t know who needs to hear this but a six year old cannot fathom what a marathon will do to them physically,” Goucher wrote on Twitter. “A six year old does not understand what embracing misery is. A six year who is ‘struggling physically’ does not realize they have the right to stop and should.
“I’m not questioning motivation or saying it is bad parenting. But as an Olympic athlete, I promise you this is not good for the child. Children are children. Let them run around, but as the parent you need to protect their growing bodies and their young minds.”
Dispatch reporter Monroe Trombly contributed to this report. mtrombly@dispatch.com @Monroetrombly