Wesley Paul- 2:56 marathon as a NINE YEAR OLD

towhee wrote:

You may be onto something there as to why the records are so old. If a 9 yr old ran a 2:56 marathon today, Child Protective Services would probably want to have a talk with the parents.

It is actually a pet peeve of mine--with each generation kids have less freedom. My dad grew up in a rural area and told me that around age 9-10 he would often go off to the woods hiking & hunting by himself for days at a time.

In 1977 I trained with the Spartan Track Club in Hillsboro, Oregon. 10 year old Julie Mullin (age group record holder) and her siblings, Lisa, about 12 years old & brother John, 14 were part of that group. Their father Bob, forced those poor kids to run 70 mile weeks in the miserable Oregon weather. I can remember the girls crying and begging their father not to run on many occasions. Child services would have stepped in had they known what was going on.

Before minimum age requirements were imposed -

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/27/sports/27marathon.html?pagewanted=all

Though not approved by the LA Marathon race director, Carrie Garritson famously ran 2:49 as an 11 year old!

numbersguy wrote:

http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20098911,00.html

Though not approved by the LA Marathon race director, Carrie Garritson famously ran 2:49 as an 11 year old!

She also never really improved after HS.

I ran lots of marathons at a young age.

I had the 8 year old record at 3:44 for about a year in 1974 (the old record was 3:45), before Ralph Salcido broke it by running 3:30! My younger brother Andy ran Palos Verdes Marathon at age 6. I broke 3 hours at age 11.

The ten year old marathon record was by Reggie Heywood from Arizona. 2:57 in 1975 or 1974.

There used to be a book that had all the age records from 100 yards to fifty miles. They sold the book at road races in Southern California in the mid-70's.

Was it bad for such young people to run so far, so fast? Tom Ansberry ran 2:43 at age 13 and later went on to run 28 minutes for 10K.

I do not think it was bad, but I think there is just no objective way to answer this question. Bad for one's growth? Bad for one's work ethic? Bad for socialization (well, I'm posting on Letsrun, so perhaps that is proof of something, some pundit will say)? Bad for intellectual development (perhaps this post proves it is).

All of those questions seem interesting and answerable. What would you say, in your experience?

So Wesley Paul ran 2:46 when he was 12. Last fall in a hilly 5K in providence I got smoked by a 12 yr old who ran 17:10. Not too far off?

jessie081239 wrote:

Why is the 2:58 by the 10 year old girl MORE impressive? She finished later than him. Is it because she's a girl? And girls are "weaker" than boys? Because she finished later than him, and she's older than him, so really you shouldn't be impressed...unless of course you're a chauvinist.So don't go saying she is more impressive, because you're implicating that it was "more impressive...for a girl." or "more impressive, because she's a girl".

Don't be so surprised, we can do many things.

Sheesh, so sensitive.

There's a 12% difference in average women's and male's times. While that difference may be less in children, a female 2:58 marathon is more impressive than a male 2:56.

Incidentally, that's why Paula Radcliffe's 2:15 record is more impressive than the current men's 2:03 record.

Why bring the Habs into this?

factsonly wrote:

Wrong, Canadiens are Americans...specifically, North Americans.

I remember Wesley Paul well.

Like him, I grew up in Missouri and started running marathons at a fairly young age, though at 16, not nearly as young as Wesley. He was making a lot of headlines back then, and also sparking a lot of controversy about how safe marathon running was for young kids.

At the St. Louis Marathon, in 1981 I think, I finally encountered Wesley in a race. He led me until about 16 miles when I came up on him. He seemed to be limping with a calf problem and was softly whimpering as I went by. He was so tiny and such a sad sight that day, that I just felt really bad for him. He had been running a lot of marathons in rapid succession and I think it was just too much for his young body. I went on to run 2:53 that day and I'm pretty sure he wisely dropped out.

I know he went on and had some really good races after that.

- Mark Coughlin

Trinitar wrote:

She also never really improved after HS.

Here is an example of a child prodigy successful as an adult:

Single Age Record:

12y161d 2:54:03 Manuela Zipse-Veith (GER) 11 May 1974 19 Oct 1986 Echternach LUX

German champion with 18 years, personal best of 2:30:58 with 24 years, two years later Hamburg winner.

NINE?!?!? wrote:

http://www.arrs.net/SA_Mara.htm

i assume he trained too hard too young but still, thats like 6:40/mile for 26.2 before he was even 10.

His PR is now 2 minutes faster than mine. Amazing kid!!!

Paula Radcliffe has nothing to do with marathon records for 9 year olds.

Ha. Ha. Funny. inside hockey joke!

To answer the questions, I think running at a young age is OK. The key is that there be no pushing by the parents. My parents never pushed me. They just supported it.

I still love running at age 46. I ran in high school, in college and post-collegiately for several clubs. In one of those clubs, I met my wife, so it is all good.

Did such early running relegate me to lower performances later in life? Probably to some degree, yes. However, based on my parents' athletic history, I was never going to be the next Frank Shorter or Jim Ryun.

Instead, I enjoyed competing, training, travelling all over the world, meeting all kinds of top athletes. Had I not started running at such a young age, this passion may have been re-directed to another sport.

Academically, I think running helps. It teaches self-discipline and that is helpful in academics. I was accepted by an Ivy League college, which is better than my parents academic achievement. Certainly, there are a ton of factors that can explain this and running is only one of many, many.

Look, running is a lot of fun. It is a great sport.

In fact, I ought to end this post to check on how the last big meet of the season is going - it on live right now. Centro is in the 15. Gotta' go.

1979 Gettysburg Marathon

Brad Hudson (Age 12) 2:48

Dave Andersen (Age 14) 2:46

Go make me a sandwich then you can do anything.

How about that 5 year old Indian kid that ran marathons and ultra marathons. I bet he ran faster than 5hrs. Why isn't he listed?