Blog: Should Children Run Marathons?

In August 2013 a nine year old boy completed the Brisbane marathon. Surprised? Well would it surprise you further to know that it was actually his third marathon as he has already completed the Delaware marathon in December 2012 and the White Continent Marathon in February 2013. Would a child be allowed to compete in the London Marathon? No. The UK Athletics (UKA) rulebook, rule 207 states: “The maximum distances permitted in Open Competition for runners are as follows: Age on day of competition Maximum Distance for all athletes Over 11 – Under 13 5000 metres Over 13 – Under 15 6000 metres Aged 15 years 10,000 metres Aged 16 years 15,000 metres Aged 17 years 25,000 metres Over 18 – Under 20 Marathon Seniors Unlimited Masters Unlimited NOTE: UK Athletics Rules do not specifically cater for athletes under the age of 11 years. This does not necessarily preclude provision by organisers of competitions for events for athletes younger than 11 years, with correspondingly reduced distances to be run.” Some children run regularly with their parents for pleasure, whilst others are encouraged to race and the UK Athletics rules are there to protect them. Parkrun allows children under the age of 12 to run in their 5k Saturday morning race. Parkrun’s policy states “parents of children under 13 should note the following: We should make clear that the governing body (UK Athletics) say children under the age of 11 should not take part in open competition of 5,000m distance. However, provided these children are not put under any undue pressure to perform by teachers, coaches, parents or guardians they may take part for fun. Children aged 10 and younger must be accompanied throughout the run by a parent or guardian.” parkrun also organises specific junior events for children aged 4-14 in four locations, where the distance is to 2k. So is it safe for a nine year old to run marathons? The young man completed the Brisbane Marathon in a time of six hours and ten minutes, so it could be argued that he ran or walked the distance and, as he was accompanied by his father, you could compare it to a walk in the country or an extremely long game of football. What’s wrong with that? What about his physical development, will he burn-out? Will it, as people always imply about endurance running, damage his knees? What about overuse injuries? Will it stunt his growth? There is a lack of research in this area as it is considered unethical to hold a controlled study with children running extreme distances. It could be argued that if a child wants to run why stop them… It’s better than them watching TV or playing video games right? If you are a parent or you coach young athletes and you are interested in attending a course specifically designed to consider child development, long term athlete development and the fundamentals, skill acquisition and behaviour management strategies St Mary’s University College, Twickenham has a one-day workshop on 14th September. The Coaching Children and Teenagers workshop will have an underlying focus on the safe development of the athlete. The key learning outcome of the day is the knowledge required to safely develop training programmes for developing athletes considering the physical and psychological development stages. The one-day course costs £85 and will be taught at our Strawberry Hill campus. For more information and to book, please visit the website, or call 020 8240 4321. Katie Richards Sports Coaching Science