Children on the Front Line at the Start of Races

Forgot to add - the other thing that happens is that the kids line up at the start but don't take off fast enough from the gun and come close to getting trampled.

Simple go to Ethiopia were the kids would send our professional runners home crying with their tails in between their legs

Agree it's asinine, and I have three kids. The idea that there's no separation between being an ADULT and being a kid is ridiculous. There's nothing "cute" or "fun" about it and yes, the trampling risk is real.

Sub 16 & Sexy wrote:

Agree it's asinine, and I have three kids. The idea that there's no separation between being an ADULT and being a kid is ridiculous. There's nothing "cute" or "fun" about it and yes, the trampling risk is real.

But I have to let my kids do whatever they want even if they are putting themselves and others at risk. Otherwise, they might view me as a parent instead of a friend.

What about Mufasa?

How fast are these little kids going out that you aren't still in front of them that whole time?

I have to say if you are running into kids, that is your fault. EVERYBODY knows to not EVER get behind a young kid in a race.

I usually just try to pace off of them the first 150 yds because then I know I will be near the lead.

These kids aren't pacing, they are literally running as fast as the possibly can and then gradually slowing down.

Sit there and think about going to an open parking lot, running as fast as you possibly can from the start and dying gradually - now scale that down to what a kid can do rather than a fit runner. Got it?

Well that effort for a nine year old might be the pace of a sub 5 mile for the first 75 yards, then a 5:20 mile pace the next 25 yards, then a 5:50 mile pace for the next 25 yards (and so on).

With that vivid illustration can you not see how a guy trying to run 5:20 - 5:40 pace in a race might literally run into one of these kids? Have you been isolated? I can't see how this is hard to understand.

I agree with you. 37 years of racing and this is my biggest running pet peeve. It is outright dangerous for both the kids and the rest of us. Usually, when I see kids at the line just before the start, I will notify the starter to ask the kids to move back. My second peeve is when people cut the course on corners by going up on the sidewalk. Do they actually think the course was measured this way?

My wife was a distance swimmer in school who has only just taken up running races in the past few months, and she already knows enough to comment about dumb-arse children who sprint off the start and then get wiped out. I have been in a total of one race in all my life where the starter walked up and down the starting line removing the kids from the front. We need more like that brave man, whoever he was.

A local RD that contracts for several events has asked that I assist with this at races with which she is involved. We rope off a limited access front corral where 'bouncers' instruct participants deemed not able to hold pace that for safety reasons they are not permitted. Roping, signage and verbal instruction is used to communicate race protocol. Just prior to the gun the barriers are removed and the corrals merge. Not much different than major marathon procedure

Sigh. Why do you hate children? Why do you feel so insecure you must beat them?

Let them have their 1K or whatever while you satisfy the urge to hobbyjob a little later.

tyty87 wrote:

These kids aren't pacing, they are literally running as fast as the possibly can and then gradually slowing down.

Sit there and think about going to an open parking lot, running as fast as you possibly can from the start and dying gradually - now scale that down to what a kid can do rather than a fit runner. Got it?

Well that effort for a nine year old might be the pace of a sub 5 mile for the first 75 yards, then a 5:20 mile pace the next 25 yards, then a 5:50 mile pace for the next 25 yards (and so on).

With that vivid illustration can you not see how a guy trying to run 5:20 - 5:40 pace in a race might literally run into one of these kids? Have you been isolated? I can't see how this is hard to understand.

You run BESIDE them. Not BEHIND them.

schnozberry wrote:

How fast are these little kids going out that you aren't still in front of them that whole time?

Usually about 13 minute pace believe it or not. Even the girls.

There was a guy with a stroller on the start line in a 3000+ person race at my local turkey trot. He was on the side, but still.

FitzyXC wrote:

There was a guy with a stroller on the start line in a 3000+ person race at my local turkey trot. He was on the side, but still.

His kid was in front of him. Think about it.

I ran a 5K to raise money for an elementary school earlier this year. They had LOTS of children running the race. But they handled the "kid problem" better than I have ever seen before.

They set up two separate corrals -- one up front for the adults, and one in the back for the children.

They let the adult group start the race first, then, about 30 seconds AFTER the last adult crossed the start line, only then did they allow the children to begin their race.

The children were only competing against themselves, so they didn't seem to mind it.

Worked out great for everybody.

How do you define kids? What age?

In Sweden we have fixed this. Children have their own races before the adults race. Also we have starting grids like stand here if you are sub 20 min 5K runner etc.

hall monitor wrote:

A local RD that contracts for several events has asked that I assist with this at races with which she is involved. We rope off a limited access front corral where 'bouncers' instruct participants deemed not able to hold pace that for safety reasons they are not permitted. Roping, signage and verbal instruction is used to communicate race protocol. Just prior to the gun the barriers are removed and the corrals merge. Not much different than major marathon procedure

There's your answer. The largest and most competitive races in my area do this.

In smaller races, it's less of a problem. Sure the kids are still there to get their 100 yards of glory, but there's usually sufficient room to easily pass them as they fade to a walk. And even if you have to navigate around them a bit, it's a local 5k, not the Olympic Trials. So relax.

Want to turn a kid off the sport forever? Let some high strung hobby runner act like a real donkey because a kid added a second or two to their first mile in a neighborhood 5k. Kids are going to act like kids. Please act like an adult.