Should There Be An Age Requirement To Run Marathons? - Page 3

**JeanKBBMMMAAN** · 11-07-2012, 11:17 AM

Interesting statement from 2001 from the International Marathon Medical Directors Association: http://www.teamoregon.com/html/rrca/...nAgePolicy.pdf

The whole thing contains many interesting points. I know that in elementary schools they have rules and a curriculum that follows and allows for development when designing PE lesson plans.

The TL/DR version of their paper:

Quote:

ADVISORY STATEMENT:
Marathon running should be reserved only for those individuals who have reached their eighteenth birthday.

sashadog · 11-07-2012, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ozzymama

But I say that with a far different philosophy on sports then others. I think there should be fighting in hockey, I think kids must be active on team sports in school and in the community - even if they suck. I think parents should be active as well, there were nights my old body creaked and groaned getting out of the car from ball, and maybe DD didn't understand now, but in time I hope she comprehends that you don't miss games, you play hurt and you go out to win every time.

As I've gotten older, I have to completely disagree with this statement... I would much much rather be a healthy and active 60 or 70 year old who can hike and bike and play with my grandchildren than have been out to prove something in my teens and 20's. I have many friends who had/have this very attitude and at 30 are in pain during every physical activity they do. They can't play catch with their kids because their shoulders are blown from playing through injury after injury in high school and college. They can't go hiking with their friends because their knees and backs are too painful to keep up. And these were people who played to win every time and left it all on the field their entire lives, even when it really didn't matter (rec leagues for example...).

No thank you... I think children should be active and have fun during their childhood, not be pushed to the point of injury just because they have to win. Now CHILDREN running marathons is absolutely ridiculous IMO. Their bodies are not even close to done growing and a lot of damage can be done by the pounding that comes from running 26.2 miles, not to mention all the training done beforehand!

My uncle is a sports orthopedic surgeon and you should hear him rant on and on about the damage being done to our children's bodies, especially girls, because of the intensity with which children are competing in athletics these days! It's crazy...

Sorry for the bit of rant, I was a competitive athlete in high school and college and have seen the damage and long term consequences (both mental and physical) that come from pushing our children too hard...

ozzymama · 11-07-2012, 12:24 PM

I think genetics plays in too, parents have to be aware of their children's limitations. I look at my dad and his brothers, grew up farm boys in the days before fancy things like balers and such, sure they walk a bit bent over, little slower, but they kill us younger kids at the family picnics playing baseball LOL. Dad's in his 60's he walks 11kms a day, now it's just on a treadmill, but they grew up on a 200 acre family farm, where the kids worked, sun up to sun down, he played hockey and refereed into his 30s, ball til his 40s and he played mens fast ball. He wouldn't ask for any different life.

I was mowing hay at 10, using the pitchfork to throw bales by 12, 2 summers of the guys peeing themselves laughing every time a snake came up in a bale was enough for me to learn to use a pitchfork! A few decades have passed since then, but I'm pretty sure I am in as good if not better shape then many of my peers in the same age group.
However, we come from stock that can take the toll on the body. My Grandmother at 90 was still tending a half acre vegetable garden and at 80 was throwing bales along side us. My Grandfather was the same way, until his brain was too addled by strokes, he was at the farm every single day, working just as hard as his sons. He was 80 when they made him stop and the last 7-8 years of his life, his deteriorated he was in and out of hospitals, his body started to die when he stopped.

I think with improvements to health care, it's availability to a larger number of people, genetics which are changing in terms of our bodies, we maybe are not seeing more injuries, more are being diagnosed.

apenn0006 · 11-07-2012, 12:31 PM

My two nieces just shocked the heck out of me by running a 5k recently. My sister had no idea the youngest one (7) loved to run or was even fast until they had a race at their school and she won. This little booger is very petite for her age and is not interested in sports but has recently taken an interest to running. My sister has always gone running in the evenings and the girls love to run with her. In the 5k that they recently completed, the youngest niece won first place for her age group and her older sister (9) won second. Who knew they both loved to run so much!?

**Liesje** · 11-07-2012, 12:36 PM

The problem is that some of these sports (like running and gymnastics) involve repetitive pounding on joints, that is why I keep saying it's apples and oranges to use these more general anecdotal comparisons from people being active and doing jobs that require manual labor. Certain sports that involve repetitive pounding and impact are just not healthy for kids at certain stages in their development. Yes genetics can less or aggravate the results or predispose someone to additional disease but I'm not talking about genetics I'm talking about the physiological development that *every* child goes through. It's the same reasons we tell people not to take their 5 month old puppy for a 6 mile jog on pavement every day. It's just not healthy. Look up Sever's Disease for example. These are not kids just being wimpy, quite the contrary they are often training longer hours than many adults *work*. Do you think Nastia Liukin designed floor routines that minimized high impact landings before she turned 18 because she was she just couldn't suck it up? No, and she has an Olympic gold medal. I know a lot of people that work on farms and do manual labor and they are not marathon runners or elite level gymnasts.

sashadog · 11-07-2012, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Liesje

The problem is that some of these sports (like running and gymnastics) involve repetitive pounding on joints, that is why I keep saying it's apples and oranges to use these more general anecdotal comparisons from people being active and doing jobs that require manual labor. Certain sports that involve repetitive pounding and impact are just not healthy for kids at certain stages in their development. Yes genetics can less or aggravate the results or predispose someone to additional disease but I'm not talking about genetics I'm talking about the physiological development that *every* child goes through. It's the same reasons we tell people not to take their 5 month old puppy for a 6 mile jog on pavement every day. It's just not healthy. Look up Sever's Disease for example. These are not kids just being wimpy, quite the contrary they are often training longer hours than many adults *work*. Do you think Nastia Liukin designed floor routines that minimized high impact landings before she turned 18 because she was she just couldn't suck it up? No, and she has an Olympic gold medal. I know a lot of people that work on farms and do manual labor and they are not marathon runners or elite level gymnasts.

Exactly. It's apples and oranges. Working on a farm, doing manual labor, and just being an active, healthy person is not the same as training for hours a day in intense sports that involve high impact to your body and repetitive pounding.

And Ozzymama, the injuries I'm talking about aren't things that can be missed in years past because of advances in health care. I'm talking about blown ACL's, broken ankles, torn rotator cuffs from overtraining such as that sustained during training for marathons or intense training for any sport. This is very different on the body than farm work.

ozzymama · 11-07-2012, 05:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sashadog

Exactly. It's apples and oranges. Working on a farm, doing manual labor, and just being an active, healthy person is not the same as training for hours a day in intense sports that involve high impact to your body and repetitive pounding.

And Ozzymama, the injuries I'm talking about aren't things that can be missed in years past because of advances in health care. I'm talking about blown ACL's, broken ankles, torn rotator cuffs from overtraining such as that sustained during training for marathons or intense training for any sport. This is very different on the body than farm work.

That is not the point I was making with my post, but whatever, in the real word I'd compliment your reading comprehension and tell you where to get off, on-line, we're not talking about the same things, miss in translation. I was indicating people playing sports as well as doing manual labor, indicating genetics play in. Additionally, how can anyone deny the progress made in sports medicine, in the 50's it did not exist for many of the more rural population. How do we know these injuries did not occur then?
I mean it is irrelevant, every one raises their children differently, my step-son brought home an average of 79 last year, we were told it was much higher, when I saw the papers, the first words out of my mouth were why is this kid not in summer school? A tutor has been hired and attends his mother's home weekly, so as not to have a repeat of similar next year. She's screaming we're not letting the kid have a childhood and taking us to court. Stupid "insert whatever here".
I played basketball and field hockey in University, I would never had made University Varsity teams had I not started young, I wouldn't give up anything for that experience, I played hurt, I played well and I always played to win. You break a finger, you pick up that stick and play. Baseball was only rec. Does it take me a few minutes to come down the stairs in the morning, heck yes, does it mean I don't walk, ride or jog within an hour of getting up - no. I'm just saying it is more dangerous to stifle a spirit than mend a body.

**Liesje** · 11-07-2012, 06:36 PM

I can only speak for my sport but these injuries did not happen in the 50s because 10 year olds were not training 8 hours a day, 6 days a week. It just didn't happen. These days a 6 year old kid can perform the same skills being showcased in the 50s and be training a few times a week. It is now recommended for girls Level 7 and above to wear "tiger paws" (bulky wrist supports) and get annual x-rays of the wrists and possibly other growth plates, simply as a preventative measure to monitor them. There is no indication about genetics; it's an across-the-board recommendation because of how all girls at that age grow and how the training has evolved to cause injuries and damage at the growth plates.

I do not think it is far fetched for a parent to not allow a 10 year old to train for a marathon. Lots of sports have age requirements or restrictions based on age but usually it's up to the organization you are competing under to make that restriction.

Good_Karma · 11-09-2012, 03:59 PM

I read a few memoirs from Olympic athletes, specifically In the Water They Can't See You Cry: A Memoir by Amanda Beard and Off Balance: A Memoir by Dominique Moceanu. Both of these women competed at very young ages. Beard was only 14 when she first raced (swimming). I think the only reason she didn't compete with an injury was that swimming is a non-impact sport. And like Lies has pointed out, injuries in gymnastics is pretty much a given. Reading these types of memoirs, you learn that being able to compete in perfect health is actually kind of rare when you are enduring repetitive impacts.

And you do not see these very young Olympic athletes competing in any running. I think if they were physically capable of it, they would be in there.

I think Jean's link says it all, under 18 should not try a marathon. I don't think it needs to be outlawed because I do think personal freedoms, including the freedom to be an idiot, are important.

x0emiroxy0x · 11-09-2012, 06:20 PM

I completely agree playing through pain!

I don't know how many sprained/rolled ankles I have wrapped with tape until they can hardly bend so I could play in the soccer game.

I shot the winning penalty kick for state championship game after a girl slide tackled me from behind and rolled my ankle so bad I had to get a temporary cast on it at the emergency room when the game ended. Luckily it wasn't my striking foot

I also broke my wrist in the first ten minutes of a game, wrapped it with pre-wrap (thin wrap you can buy at academy to wrap over tape) and played the entire game then went to the hospital after.

My parents knew about all the injuries and let me play. What's worse...a broken ankle or a broken heart?!

11-07-2012, 12:36 PM	#25 (permalink)
Liesje Moderator Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Grand Rapids, MI Posts: 16,235	The problem is that some of these sports (like running and gymnastics) involve repetitive pounding on joints, that is why I keep saying it's apples and oranges to use these more general anecdotal comparisons from people being active and doing jobs that require manual labor. Certain sports that involve repetitive pounding and impact are just not healthy for kids at certain stages in their development. Yes genetics can less or aggravate the results or predispose someone to additional disease but I'm not talking about genetics I'm talking about the physiological development that every child goes through. It's the same reasons we tell people not to take their 5 month old puppy for a 6 mile jog on pavement every day. It's just not healthy. Look up Sever's Disease for example. These are not kids just being wimpy, quite the contrary they are often training longer hours than many adults work. Do you think Nastia Liukin designed floor routines that minimized high impact landings before she turned 18 because she was she just couldn't suck it up? No, and she has an Olympic gold medal. I know a lot of people that work on farms and do manual labor and they are not marathon runners or elite level gymnasts. __________________ Liesje & Nikon vom Blauen Horizont / Blue Horizon GSDs Last edited by Liesje; 11-07-2012 at 12:41 PM.

11-07-2012, 06:36 PM	#28 (permalink)
Liesje Moderator Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Grand Rapids, MI Posts: 16,235	I can only speak for my sport but these injuries did not happen in the 50s because 10 year olds were not training 8 hours a day, 6 days a week. It just didn't happen. These days a 6 year old kid can perform the same skills being showcased in the 50s and be training a few times a week. It is now recommended for girls Level 7 and above to wear "tiger paws" (bulky wrist supports) and get annual x-rays of the wrists and possibly other growth plates, simply as a preventative measure to monitor them. There is no indication about genetics; it's an across-the-board recommendation because of how all girls at that age grow and how the training has evolved to cause injuries and damage at the growth plates. I do not think it is far fetched for a parent to not allow a 10 year old to train for a marathon. Lots of sports have age requirements or restrictions based on age but usually it's up to the organization you are competing under to make that restriction. __________________ Liesje & Nikon vom Blauen Horizont / Blue Horizon GSDs

11-09-2012, 03:59 PM	#29 (permalink)
Good_Karma Crowned Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Upstate, NY Posts: 4,649	I read a few memoirs from Olympic athletes, specifically In the Water They Can't See You Cry: A Memoir by Amanda Beard and Off Balance: A Memoir by Dominique Moceanu. Both of these women competed at very young ages. Beard was only 14 when she first raced (swimming). I think the only reason she didn't compete with an injury was that swimming is a non-impact sport. And like Lies has pointed out, injuries in gymnastics is pretty much a given. Reading these types of memoirs, you learn that being able to compete in perfect health is actually kind of rare when you are enduring repetitive impacts. And you do not see these very young Olympic athletes competing in any running. I think if they were physically capable of it, they would be in there. I think Jean's link says it all, under 18 should not try a marathon. I don't think it needs to be outlawed because I do think personal freedoms, including the freedom to be an idiot, are important. __________________ Leah: Newbie dog owner Niko: American Showline GSD 3 1/2 years old Rosa: American Muppet Dog (GSD/Border Collie mix) 4 years old

11-07-2012, 12:24 PM	#23 (permalink)
ozzymama Crowned Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: ontario, canada Posts: 6,455	I think genetics plays in too, parents have to be aware of their children's limitations. I look at my dad and his brothers, grew up farm boys in the days before fancy things like balers and such, sure they walk a bit bent over, little slower, but they kill us younger kids at the family picnics playing baseball LOL. Dad's in his 60's he walks 11kms a day, now it's just on a treadmill, but they grew up on a 200 acre family farm, where the kids worked, sun up to sun down, he played hockey and refereed into his 30s, ball til his 40s and he played mens fast ball. He wouldn't ask for any different life. I was mowing hay at 10, using the pitchfork to throw bales by 12, 2 summers of the guys peeing themselves laughing every time a snake came up in a bale was enough for me to learn to use a pitchfork! A few decades have passed since then, but I'm pretty sure I am in as good if not better shape then many of my peers in the same age group. However, we come from stock that can take the toll on the body. My Grandmother at 90 was still tending a half acre vegetable garden and at 80 was throwing bales along side us. My Grandfather was the same way, until his brain was too addled by strokes, he was at the farm every single day, working just as hard as his sons. He was 80 when they made him stop and the last 7-8 years of his life, his deteriorated he was in and out of hospitals, his body started to die when he stopped. I think with improvements to health care, it's availability to a larger number of people, genetics which are changing in terms of our bodies, we maybe are not seeing more injuries, more are being diagnosed.

11-07-2012, 12:31 PM	#24 (permalink)
apenn0006 Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Winchester, KY Posts: 311	My two nieces just shocked the heck out of me by running a 5k recently. My sister had no idea the youngest one (7) loved to run or was even fast until they had a race at their school and she won. This little booger is very petite for her age and is not interested in sports but has recently taken an interest to running. My sister has always gone running in the evenings and the girls love to run with her. In the 5k that they recently completed, the youngest niece won first place for her age group and her older sister (9) won second. Who knew they both loved to run so much!?

11-09-2012, 06:20 PM	#30 (permalink)
x0emiroxy0x Banned Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Texas! Posts: 1,483	I completely agree playing through pain! I don't know how many sprained/rolled ankles I have wrapped with tape until they can hardly bend so I could play in the soccer game. I shot the winning penalty kick for state championship game after a girl slide tackled me from behind and rolled my ankle so bad I had to get a temporary cast on it at the emergency room when the game ended. Luckily it wasn't my striking foot I also broke my wrist in the first ten minutes of a game, wrapped it with pre-wrap (thin wrap you can buy at academy to wrap over tape) and played the entire game then went to the hospital after. My parents knew about all the injuries and let me play. What's worse...a broken ankle or a broken heart?!

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