Hard to believe it but this is the #1 story on the NY Post website right now.
The family isn't happy, "Our children are having emotional breakdowns, NOT from running, but from a mob that has been weaponized by runnings most accomplished and celebrated individuals. They are stating that children running is abusive and not providing any data or facts. The reports and stance are false. Hundreds of witnesses including police officers and hours of video footage corroborate"
Ben and Kami Crawford, the Kentucky couple who allowed their 6-year-old son to run in a marathon, revealed that they were visited by Child Protective Services.
If you're going to post "your journey" multiple times on social media, you're open to feedback as a default. Otherwise, have a private account and stop blaming Kara Goucher for having an opinion. If your children are having emotional breakdowns because of the running elite, that's on you.
As much as I hate to see kids training for marathons I hate seeing sedentary obese kids. Perhaps child protective services should visit the homes of parents who feed their kids excessive amounts of processed foods and have them sit in front of screens all day.
I feel like I read somewhere that he was crying and they bribed him with something to finish. She writes ppl are outraged over a kid running, no ma’am the outrage is over a distressed kid running 26 miles
They are trying to exploit this for all the publicity they can get. It's clear as day the parents want to be influencers and are using their kids to get there. Even the Kara Goucher stuff, they are trying to piggy back off of that to get more followers. Trying to play like they are the victims of some cabal of elite runners coming after them.
Their youtube videos are all "6 year old runs half marathon!" and other titles using their kids to drive clicks. Then you watch the video and it's clear the child just wants to spend some time with mom and dad, go to the playground, get a reward, and so on. The running crazy amounts is just dad and mom suggesting this would be a good thing, and that all of your siblings are doing it.
That's great that the child protective services showed up.
I still regret not ordering them to a 6 day race in Florida a couple of years ago where a young kid (16 maybe , don't remember exactly) was doing a 6 day race. He never did a ultra races after that again.
While I am all for active kids, they are still kids. Especially a 6 year old. That little bugger has no idea what 26 miles are and they all should have stopped after 20 miles when the kid was throwing a tantrum.
As much as I hate to see kids training for marathons I hate seeing sedentary obese kids. Perhaps child protective services should visit the homes of parents who feed their kids excessive amounts of processed foods and have them sit in front of screens all day.
Of course that is even worse but unfortunately normal.
But there is a lot of middle ground between a 6 year old running a Marathon and kids sitting at home all day.
It took him 8:35 to complete the whole marathon. That's roughly covering 3 miles every hour. That's hardly running and more like walking. Perhaps they were on a long hike?
I feel like I read somewhere that he was crying and they bribed him with something to finish. She writes ppl are outraged over a kid running, no ma’am the outrage is over a distressed kid running 26 miles
When Lopez Lomong was this kid's age, he was running from South Sudan to Kenya. No aid stations on that run.
I feel like I read somewhere that he was crying and they bribed him with something to finish. She writes ppl are outraged over a kid running, no ma’am the outrage is over a distressed kid running 26 miles
When Lopez Lomong was this kid's age, he was running from South Sudan to Kenya. No aid stations on that run.
Do we not consider it a tragedy that the Lost Boys had to go through that, though? People would rather that he and this recent kid not (have to) run these distances.
overdoing it a little, especially since the pace per km was so slow.
there is a 13-14 year old girl who runs the same races I run (10kms) and she normally wins overall (in her gender). she's running 37:xx minute 10ks in Thailand heat and humidity. I reckon in European climate that would translate to 35:xx. So some kids have the potential to step up to the longer distances.
Except his health IS at risk. Running a marathon is already a physically demanding & taxing ask of an adult body. For a 6 year old, who is in the midst of critical developmental phases (mentally and physically), demanding 26.2 miles could be detrimental. Not only to his muscular-skeleton or nervous systems, but also to immune system, kidneys, mental health...
How do we separate what the child wants from what the parents want? And what type of autonomy should a 6-year-old have? Or, for that matter, a 17-year-old-- knowing what we do about frontal lobe development?
I'm rather ambivalent, but I get the uproar.
By exploiting these children for book sales, and using them to become influencers, and refusing to give them a normal education, and forcing them to walk the entire Appalachian trail, and ignoring their children's right to privacy, and having them bandit races and then throwing a fit when caught, and always playing the victim, and dressing alternatively and w/ awful tattoos (once again, idc but, letsrun hates this) well, they've managed to tick off quite a few different demographics over the years. Now they're facing the blowback from it.
maybe child protective services should visit the houses of all the parents that led their kids do marathon sessions with junk food and ipads? ah, but then they'd be too busy.
i don't think its right to force a kid of "run" a marathon. i don't think it leads to a healthy relationship with what should otherwise (though i doubt it is for most of us either) be a healthy activity.
but there are worse things going on. and, keep CPS out of it.
