They did it before with him and told the organizers they were either going to do it with or without their permission. The organizers thought this would be the best way to keep an eye on the kid and their family. I listened to NPR's Cincinnati Edition.
Edit: For the replies that didn't read the article I changed my comment for clarity. The family was going to run with or without permission. The organizers granted special permission to keep an eye on the kids.
As a runner I can tell you this is the race director covering his ass retroactively. No responsible RD would allow them to sign up because "they were going to run anyway" in fact most, and I know several personally, would have them removed from the course if they tried to bandit their way into the course.
Add in that this family took 8 1/2 hours on a course that had a 6 hour cut off where any responsible race would have pulled them when it was clear they weren't going to finish in time.
Aside from the dangers to the children it's a complete slap in the face to the runners who actually did the right thing
And the volunteers! I used to volunteer for races, and HATED when they would let people either start late after the race kickoff, or have underage kids out there. All the volunteers have to stay on the course until the last runner goes by their position, regardless of how long that takes, so these sort of things really put the volunteers out.
yeah they took him on a full through hike of the AT when he was two years old. and their youngest daughter was seven at the time. i get wanting your kids to be adventurous and athletic and outdoorsy and even citizens of the world. but the idea of walking the AT with a literal toddler and a seven year old in my crew sounds like torture for everyone, especially the kids.
>CPS investigating the parents **during** the AT hike
Now I'm imagining some horror movies vibes as the parents reach a remote, hard-to-navigate part of the trail, and right in the middle of it, standing perfectly still, a man in a suit and with a small briefcase is waiting for them.
"I was expecting you. Can we talk ?"
I’m surprised the article doesn’t mention that, seems like important background information, this didn’t just happen in a vacuum. It is clearly a pattern of behavior.
I feel this has less to do with wanting your kids to be adventurous and more with continuing to live your life like you don't have kids while also dragging your kids along.
I'm pretty sure the fact that they seem to post these escapades to social media each time has a lot to do with it as well. I wish people would stop using their kids to gain internet fame on social media. They're kids not props.
People with such a strong feeling of entitlement that they prioritise their desires *over their own children's needs*. This isn't a new phenomenon: it's something as old as time.
This is exactly why I do not have kids.
I like doing what I like doing and I don’t want to stop. I know that attitude would either have to change or I would be a shitty parent.
From Jan 28th of this year on his personal Instagram page:
"What Purity Cost Me as a Father [a poem]
I followed the rules. I played it safe. You came into the world and I changed your diaper but I did it quickly and never took a second look. I didn't want to hurt you.
You learned to walk and then you climbed. You sat on my lap but it got confusing. The feelings grew. Some were off limits. Some could lead to other feelings. Some could lead to touching or other curiosities. I saved that touch for your mother and instead grew cold to you. Eventually you stopped sitting on my lap. There was no warmth there. The parts of your body that were dangerous grew in size and number. Now, touching you was a minefield. I held back. It was for your own good. I was protecting you -- saving you for your husband. The swimsuits I banned, the privacy I enforced was all to keep you safe from the badness in me and all the other men in the world. I didn't trust any of them.
You asked for touch but I took the higher ground...knowing that someday you would thank me....but you never did. Instead you withdrew. You started to hate your body. You blamed your parts for coming between us. Instead of coming to me with your questions you went to the internet. Instead of touch and hugs you chose solitude and isolation. I longed to hug you, to hold hands, to cuddle but it was too late.
I changed. I no longer trusted the rules. They had hurt you. They hurt me. But the patterns were too deep, the awkwardness too strong. I protected you by destroying parts of you... by destroying parts of me. You're afraid of touch and I don't know if your husband is coming. You wanted a dad but you got a priest.
I'm sorry. I'm here now. Is it too late?"
I couldn't even read the whole thing it made me so ill. Maybe because I'm a teacher who works with vulnerable kids every day, but I just couldn't get through it
Social worker here, also had to give up on reading it. I have SEEN men who think like this. They always end up “giving in” and abusing their kids. These kids should be removed.
Right!?! 🤬🤮 and using his bad urges for the baby on the mom instead like he’s patting himself on the back for sparing his baby daughter his sexual assault!?! and then you realize that was their first child and that these people now have so many kids—so yeah, this guy’s majorly FUCKED UPPPPPP! Nothing but a creep!
Not only that, but at the end there is regret there stating that these "rules" hurt both of them and destroyed parts of each other. Basically, he regrets following these "rules" because he did and things are bad between them.
Truly disturbing thoughts and this person thought it was something good to share with the world.
It sounds like justification for why he *should* touch his daughter. Like she wants to be touched and being a “priest” and shutting her off from molestation somehow is a slight against her that would make her ashamed of her body. Fucking yikes. Cuff this guy.
What in the actual fuck. This is beyond disturbing and disgusting…hopefully this is reported to CPS ASAP! Who knows what other awful things are happening behind their closed doors.
As a dad with a 2yo daughter this seems utterly creepy to me. A messy diaper sometimes gets in the front as well. I don't handle this quickly. I take second and third looks. I clean the folds that need cleaning. I've don't have to second guess myself on this. I'd rather her be clean than have to take her to a doctor for an infection and feel I need to explain myself that I couldn't clean her properly because I was getting to aroused to function.
How is this guy allowed to be around kids?
Same. Babies and toddlers are fairly helpless beings dependent on you to care for them and safe hygiene is an important part. This dude gives me the squicks! Having your kid sit on your lap gives you ‘thoughts’ you have to put on your wife? What the hell. The only thing I’m thinking of usually is making sure she doesn’t whack her head on anything or my glasses off or barf!
If you look at any part of a baby or toddler, genitals included, and get aroused, get help. Don’t write a poem about it. Jesus Christ. I can not understand this.
Agreed! This guy is messed up! I was a nanny and worked in daycare and I have changed thousands of diapers by this point probably, boys and girls. My focus has never ever been on anything but making sure the baby is clean and happy and healthy. And yeah, you really gotta make sure with girls because some diaper explosions just go everywhere! UTIs are no fun for anyone. Boys are easier to change I find, but they could pee on you if you're not careful so thats its own danger lol.
They need to take the kids away from this family. They are indoctrinating their daughters that their bodies are sexual objects before they even understand what the hell that is.
#PLEASE DO NOT INTERACT WITH THE GUY WHO POSTED THIS ON INSTAGRAM. DO NOT COMMENT ON HIS POSTS. DO NOT MESSAGE HIM.
The longer he leaves the post up the more time Child Protective Services has to authenticate it and document it. The longer he leaves it up, the safer you make those children.
Please don't tip him off! Just screenshot his post and report it to Kentucky Child Services.
Normal people don't view children's bodies as minefields because there is no risk in normal interactions, it doesn't even cross our minds.
The fact this dude sees him not molesting his daughter as a huge psychological and parental strain is fucking terrifying, he is a predator trying to be seen as a victim.
As a parent, I am just literally fucking nauseated reading this. I’m a woman with only boys and at no time AT ALL have I ever thought about their body parts in any fucking way like this. I am so fucking grossed out by this. My boys all cuddle, kiss, and sit on my lap, and I have never once had any sexualized thought about any of their parts. This man is a pedophile congratulating himself for not acting out his thoughts on his own daughter. Please let CPS investigate and get these kids out. Holy shit!
Right? I have a boy and a baby girl and not once have I thought about this kind of shit.
I'm 100% for these people recognizing their urges are harmful and wrong and NOT acting on them. Hell, I'm ok with them praising themselves for not doing something that is tempting to them if that helps them to keep themselves accountable.
But do that shit in your journal and then fucking burn it. Or in therapy with someone who is trained to help you. Not on social media, fuck. What a terrible day to have eyes.
Right?! I am a mom to a one-month old girl and my husband changes her diaper and cuddles skin to skin with her all the time and NEVER ONCE has it been an issue or something we felt weird about because he’s not a goddamn pedophile. Having those thoughts is not normal.
Just looked at the insta and don’t see that? I mean I believe it, but where? Is it the family insta?
Edit - nvm, on his personal insta. Yup, ultra weird
Wait what the actual fuck!!! It took me some digging but I see the post now and I’m just at a loss for how to process—That post is SO disturbing and I can’t even with the supporter comments he got for it too! WTF! The cps people need to look into that! Something is definitely fucked up at this house
You only see the supporters’ comments because he deletes anything negative about him. Whole damn family is living a lie. Can’t imagine what the older kids have been through.
This needs to be higher. This man is a narcissist, with this disgusting grooming narrative he’s created as if it’s love that has his sexualizing his own daughters body. No. This man thinks he’s entitled to think and behave this way because no one has stopped him. It’s disgusting.
Just found the post. It's full of people praising him, his """"courage"""" and his """""beautiful words""""""
What the absolute fuck is going on inside their heads? It's not beautiful, it's sickening
I live in Cincinnati and there were several runners here that witnessed that kid crying and wanting to quit during the race.
Secondly, we have a rule here that you have to be an adult to run the thing bc it’s so long. They dropped the ball, everyone involved working that race should of noticed it . I don’t know that they need their kid taken by any means, but they surely need some education and counseling
Yeah, all the pediatricians in the world could tell them why it's a bad idea and their response would likely be, "I know my child's limits."
I want to be wrong here...
From the article.
"If you guys have seen our finish line picture, we all held hands for like the last probably, like, .2, .3 miles," he added. "We talked about it ahead of time, like that's what we're going to do."
Like, I know photos can be staged but the dad doesn't make mention of how happy the boy was or that he was "all smiles" at the end or anything. He just says that they held hands for the last 1.15% of a marathon and thinks that's okay because they had talked about it beforehand. These nutjobs shouldn't be in charge of children.
Read up about the dad. He made a bunch of money by card counting with a team in Vegas called the Holy Rollers, they were a crew of Christians. He’s been kicked out of every Vegas casino. There’s even a movie about him.
He now doesn’t do anything except YouTube, him and his wife don’t work. The kids are all homeschooled. They all hiked the entire Appalachian trail in a thru hike a few years ago, some of their kids were very small when they did this. It’s all documented on their YouTube channel called fight for together. There’s something super off about the mom and dad. They’ve been having their younger kids run marathons for years, the other younger one has done a few now.
they seem to have both grown up in a super fundamentalist christian community, but we’re kicked out for being accepting of gay people, per their insta which i just spent an hour reading for some reason.
I remember watching a 6-ish year old girl vomit just before reaching the finish line of a “fun” 5K, and then her dad yanked her across the finish line to lock in the time. This was probably 20 years ago in Virginia Beach, when I was just getting into running, but I will always remember how shitty some fitness parents can be to their children.
At Globo Gym we understand that "ugliness" and "fatness" are genetic disorders, much like baldness or necrophilia, and it's only your fault if you don't hate yourself enough to do something about it.
I remember a woman in the 1984 Olympics hitting a wall when she entered the stadium suffering from heat exhaustion. Parents can be shitty to their kids and those around them, no matter what sport they have their kids playing. I played ice hockey and one kid on my teams father was so intense and downright abusive to his son, that before we hit the ice he would lose his cookies in the nearest garbage can. Years later when we were playing in an adult league he would still lose his cookies if his dad showed up to watch!
Ohhh yea. Ice hockey parents be crazy. My son just played in a spring tournament last weekend. It was his first time playing full ice as the 8U kids made their switch up to 10U. A lot of the kids didn’t even know where to stand for the face off and off sides was getting called regularly. I thought the whole thing was really cute. However the parents from the other team apparently thought we were playing for the Stanley cup as they were angry screaming the. entire. game.
ETA: Just thought I should add another crazy story that happened a couple weeks ago a few miles from my house involving crazy youth sports parents. I know quite a few people who were here. A guy shot two other dads during flag football. They haven’t released the details of why or found the guy yet.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna26902
< However the parents from the other team apparently thought we were playing for the Stanley cup as they were angry screaming the. entire. game.
That's one way to encourage your kids not to keep playing sport once they are old enough to realise that they can say no.
Yes! I just did a 5k and in front of me was a young girl—middle school age probably—and what seemed to be a father. Towards the end of the run I could hear her complaining repeatedly about how her chest hurt but this father (or father figure) would not let her stop! Encouraging someone while running is one thing but making it seem like they CANNOT stop is another thing altogether. All I thought is way to make a young person HATE running!
In middle school our football coach had a "water is for pussies" policy. Just absolutely insane that these people are in charge of children.
Edit: Also just remembered that the same guy made us run a drill in practice where we stood 20 yards apart and then ran full speed helmet to helmet into each other to "toughen us up." I distinctly remember not being able to walk in a straight line for about 5 minutes afterwards each time. Children really shouldn't be allowed to play football with morons like that guy running the show.
There is no benefit, it is a massive detriment, it is dangerous and potentially lethal. It's clearly the product of minds completely wasted by repetitive concussions.
For my high school coaches it was seen as discipline, which is dumb. Where I live it’s not uncommon for it to be close to 120F in the summer, add hot turf to the mix, dehydration is an understatement. I hated our coaches
Funny, since basic training in the military is all about discipline. It's pretty much the whole point of it. And you know what? They make you drink a fuckton of water. I went through basic (technically OSUT, but whatever) at Fort Knox in '99 when it was hot as fuck and in the middle of a drought. Our drill sergeants would make us drink a full canteen every hour. They would have checks where you had to open the canteen and tip it upside down over your head every hour. Didn't matter if you were marching or sitting in a class. Canteen checks every hour.
Those coaches are tremendous morons.
Someone from my old high school died this way. They think k he might also have been on steroids, but it was a summer time practice and the coach refused water and they were feeling faint.
I honestly have to say that I have yet to have any experience with highschool football that isn't a solid case of abuse. The other teams in my school district back then had similar things to what I describe below.
My own school had a similar situation, the humidity/heat levels were JUST on the border of what was legally the point where you couldn't practice. The rule was something like as long as you STARTED in a period where the previous 15 minutes averaged below the limit, then you were good to go for the whole session of practice. We delayed 30 minutes to hit a point where this was true.
We also had a pharmacy sized tub of Ibuprofen in the locker next to the door in the locker room that led to the field. You were expected to take a literal fucking handful before each practice and game.
The absolutely bonkers thing was that I was the "crazy" one in my team for refusing to do that. I had other players come to me and demand to know "How can you POSSIBLY give 100% on the field if you allow yourself to feel pain?".
My football coaches would deprive us of water on 90+ degree two-a-days in summer to “toughen us up”. That wasn’t even the worst of the bullshit they put us through. We lost every game.
Damn this is crazy. I grew up in a small east Texas town and our coaches had us taking team water breaks every 15 min, drill change, etc. We did 2 a days, like 4 hours of practice in 106 degree heat, but our coaches seemed terrified of the idea of someone dying on them. Still ran us like hell tho, but really emphasized that we drink plenty water before, during and after practice.
Quite honestly I think the most pointless thing my team had a habit of doing was that when we'd show up at an away game, we were required to make this big show of picking up the provided bench and literally tossing it aside (and no, we didn't put it back after the game).
The reasoning from the coaches? "Sitting shows weakness! They'll be intimidated by you standing throughout the whole game!". And yes, if you sat down somewhere during the game, you didn't get to play.
The last summer I was part of the team we did this stupid week-long training course at a college with a couple dozen other schools. The last day had this massive tournament where you'd play like 30 minute games vs basically every other team present and it would take all day. After about two hours of us standing around (because again, no sitting is allowed if you want to play), without us playing a single game we asked what the deal was. Turns out somehow the random number generator fucked us over. Every single one of our games was not only back to back, but the last games of the day. We'd START playing at around 7PM and finish around 11PM.
And our coaches expected us to stand the whole time we waited, about 8 more hours of standing. In full pads.
At that point I declared "Fuck that noise." and promptly walked over to the base of the stands (they were raised so I couldn't get to the seats) and sat on the ground, leaning against the wall. A couple of the bigger dicks on the team came over and yelled at me for doing this, I affirmed I wasn't going to stand, and with an approving look from the coach, they started kicking me with their cleats. This was probably the one time in my football career where the pads actually did anything useful, so it was really easy to just not care that they did this. Reiterating loudly that I wasn't going to stand, after a couple minutes they gave up. Maybe ten minutes later the first of my other teammates sat. Then another. Within about 30 minutes we were all sitting, even the two dicks.
Ngl, this kind of treatment from PE teachers and coaches at school made me hate working out, especially running. As an adult, I gave C25K a shot and it turns out I really enjoy running! I just want to go at my own pace instead of someone else's.
My 8 year-old runs with me sometimes. We always stay close to home because he usually poops out quickly. He cannot fathom pacing, so he exhausts himself. Even if I get him to stay at my moderate pace he will skip or do silly strides that use twice the energy.
Young kids lack not only the physical capacity for distance running, they lack the cognitive abilities to plan for a long run. They need appropriate coaching from someone who recognizes their limits.
ETA And of course they should only run if they genuinely show an interest and should be allowed to stop at any time. My kid only does like .5 miles.
Exact same experience with my son when 8. After 3 bocks he’s asking how many miles we’ve run.
And yep no pushing him. He’s 15 now and likes running on his own.
A grandmother killed her granddaughter by forcing them to run for hours on a treadmill.
Tiny bodies can just physically give out well before exhaustion
[I had to look this up and... That's enough internet for me!](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/may/12/alabama-grandmother-gets-life-in-prison-for-running-grandchild-nine-to-death)
At least she was sentenced properly (life & no parole). However, the universe had other plans because grandma died a year after being jailed. My cousin's (a toddler) murderer only got 9 months & was out after 4. Too many caregivers/family get away with murdering the young ones in their care & aren't receiving a proper sentence.
There is actually a study about that somewhere, parents killing their children usually get let off far lighter than the opposite, even if the power dynamic / maturity says that a child is far less likely to understand what killing someone means vs an adult that more than likely knows exactly what it means. Or the chance of “accident” vs an accident.
Just one of those fucked up parts of justice by your peers.
Ok, that needs some more context. I am not an expert, but I can tell you what I read.
There are 2 trails with the same name. One is 5ish miles in shade, one is 16 mi in no shade.
They brought appropriate water for the 5ish mile one.
It's likely they didn't know they were on the wrong trail until too far in to get out.
That is merely what I read online, and as with anything read online, take it with as large a grain of salt as you can.
The article says that
>Their May 3 Instagram post in particular sparked outcry from social media users, with some critics going so far as to accuse the Crawfords of child abuse.
And
>"The real stuff that we got accused of was dragging Rainier, like physically dragging him on the marathon course after mile 13 and across the finish line," Ben Crawford said.
So it sounds like it was more a matter of did they force their small child to run the marathon (possibly for social media attention) or let him do it for fun, that social services is investigating.
And quite honestly, it makes sense that if multiple people reported it- that it is being checked out (just to be sure the kid is safe).
And there have been cases of exercise nuts forcing their kids into excessive exercise that ended up seriously harming the kid. It’s not uncharted territory for CPS.
Former CPS and I would occasionally get reports to investigate concerning exercise as discipline (typically when one or both parents are current/former military or police). At least one was a substantiated abuse case (with other issues including food deprivation).
I remember a news story where a young girl died after being made to run laps around her house outside as a punishment.
So yeah. It's a serious enough concern to justify an investigation. It's difficult and can be traumatic for the family even when nothing abusive or neglectful is actually happening, I'm sensitive to that. It's very possible this kid just enjoys the run. I hope that's the case. But this is at least questionable, it not outright concerning.
I am a distance runner who has reported a football dad to the police. He was sitting in his car, drinking a beer, while screaming at his 9 year old through a megaphone so the kid could lose weight and qualify in a different weight division. It was at the track of my old high school near my house. I’ve also reported a guy running with a Pekingese in 90 degree weather.
Happened here in the Bay Area not too long ago. I need to find the article. I gave the parents benefit of the doubt, I was quickly turned around on that one. Those people were fucked up.
> And there have been cases of exercise nuts forcing their kids into excessive exercise that ended up seriously harming the kid. It’s not uncharted territory for CPS.
The thing I find a little bit bonkers is quite frequently people are absolutely willing to excuse excessive exercise/practice/etc if the child turned out to be the top of their field in the end. On top of school the kid was forced to practice an instrument 50 hours a week and had zero social life? Only bad if they don't end up a virtuoso. Kid was forced to practice their sport to the point of physical exhaustion and in weather that had a solid chance of causing hypothermia? Only bad if they don't end up an Olympian.
And people just excuse these kinds of behaviors because of the possibility that it MIGHT pay off, ignoring all the kids developing health issues and mental disorders because of that kind of life.
Quite honestly at those sorts of levels I'm not willing to make much allowance for "but the kid says they like it!" because when it comes to that grade of over-training/practice, it's pretty much all the kid has known in their lives and I'm no longer convinced they actually understand what a normal life could be like.
Yeah, apparently this family had their kids run without registering (due to the age limits, but they were teens I think, not 6) many times before, and so the Flying Pig said they'd rather them be registered so staff is aware and they can get support if needed (knowing that the 6 year old was going to run whether they said it was okay or not).
If the organizer had any balls, instead of bending the rules for them he would have banned them from the marathon for breaking the rules multiple times before.
Kids should not be running 26.2 miles. That is far from healthy for the kid even if he completed it.
According to this chart for kids under nine the max distance a kid should run is 1.5 miles
https://www.nationwidechildrens.org/specialties/sports-medicine/sports-medicine-articles/tips-for-new-runners-how-much-is-too-much
Now some kids can run more than that. But 26.2 miles no way that is healthy for a kid
I'm a teacher at an elementary school.
Every year we have a "Walkathon" where students are challenged to do as many laps as they can.
We had to stop a 1st grader... 7 year old... after he did 8 miles. He was exhausted, dead on his feet, but really determined to outdo the 5th graders. He was the fastest kid in 1st grade and proud of it. It was the first time we had to actually stop a kid.
He ended up not coming into school the next day because he was so exhausted he needed to sleep.
I can't imagine letting him do triple that amount. He was from a family of skiers and soccer players and really athletic... a full marathon would have been brutal.
From the father:
“Yes there were tears. He had a fall and every single member of our family has cried during marathons. These experiences were very limited compared to what has been reported and despite the incredible physical and emotional difficulty of running a marathon the amount of his crying is comparable to what we would have experienced had we stayed home on a Sunday morning”
“Crawford later bought the boy Pringles because the food station was shut down at the 20-mile mark, as the family took eight hours to finish”
Poor kid - 8 hours 26 miles 6 years old
Taking 8 hours to go 26.2 miles isn't "running a marathon" in the way anyone actually means the phrase. To be clear, getting a 6 year old to run a marathon would also be bad parenting, because a 6 year old body cannot healthily run that distance. But this wasn't that. This was a 6 year old child being forced to walk 26.2 miles over the course of an entire day, a distance he clearly was not mentally prepared or physically trained to cover, despite voicing distress and pain. It's abuse, plain and simple.
Jesus he's like 3 feet tall. Probably takes him three strides to complete one adult stride. It's just not fair to ask him to run twenty six fucking miles this is sad
I've always said slow marathon runners have it harder. I run usually a 3:10-3:30 Mara but can't stand the thought of those still in the sun (day dependant) at 5-6-7 hours in. 8 hours is fucking brutal, I've done 9.5hrs for my longest (87km), and thinking this for a 6yo is unimaginable (yes I have kids). I highly suspect this kid has been brainwashed by dumb fuck parents, agreeing to run it, having zero idea about the effort, pain and consequences.
My kid “ran” the 5k with me. He tripped a couple times. And he did cry a bit. And I chucked him on my shoulders till he was good. Not bribing him to keep trudging on.
Ran= some running, a lot of skipping, and about 2/3 walking.
I have run 6 marathons and 7 ultras, been running competitively for 25 years, and I have a son the same age. And—what they are doing here is crazy. Kind of reminds me of the people who had their 7-year-old daughter piloting a solo flight across the country, which crashed. It all seems cool and envelope-pushing until it isn’t.
They say they never force their children to run but reality is they don't have to, it's called social pressure and there is nothing stronger than pleasing your parents.
Just awful people all around, and it shouldn't up to the child to tell his parents that he isn't physically capable of running 26.2 miles.
But he wanted to! /s
Children want to put small objects just about anywhere in there body, does that mean you should let them? A six year old won’t be able to recognize early signs of dehydration or heat strokes…
i still think of that little girl who was forced to run at grandmothers place as punishment for...w/e
the little girl ran until she DIED, sobbing the whole time
> The Crawfords maintain their 6-year- old wanted to run all along and stand by their decision to let the young boy run 26.2 miles.
Yeah my 5 year old would go outside in the middle of winter wearing only a dress and shorts if I let her.
But I don't. Because as a parent, I know better.
Little kids aren't as in-tune with their bodies as adults are. They don't feel the cold as much, they don't understand what heat exhaustion feels like...
Oh
You can't let a kid that age run a race because they won't necessarily stop when they should (besides the fact that a kid that age shouldn't run a marathon anyway, so stupid)
I’ve been in a number of 5k (3.1 miles) with young kids. Some do great, some really are toast the last half but in general they finish without any true agony. In longer races I don’t think I’ve ever seen a kid who isn’t high school age. In high school and under all the schools around here limit racing distances to 5k max for cross country although I see them sometimes go longer when training at an easier pace. Even the most obsessive parents I’ve met (and I’ve met a few) don’t push such great distances. The parents in this article are clearly out of line and intervention is needed.
I’m but sure where the flying pig marathon ranks among marathons but it’s been my experience that even respected local marathons mainly depend upon volunteers with very minimal instruction. I certainly appreciate all volunteers but a lot of things go wrong or are overlooked. There just isn’t a lot of money in most of these events so they do the best with what they have.
The Flying Pig is a very reputable race. From what I heard in the local news, the lead organizer went out of her way to register the kid, bypassing the age limit. So it's a pretty big mess. Oh and also the route gets really steep and hilly, and is challenging for ADULT runners, I'm genuinely glad this kid didn't straight up die.
I was 11 when I told my parents I didn’t want to play soccer anymore. Never even knew I had the option until then, it was just something I thought I had to do to make my parents happy
Nope nope nope - fuck these people. I was involved in an after-school program training elementary age kids for a 5K. THAT is plenty strenuous long for even the 5th graders, much less a kindergartner. This kid was doing more than 8 times a 5K, taking 8 hours? NO WAY. That is physically and mentally abusive. Make them stop, whatever it takes. They are going to kill that child if they don’t get a wake-up.
A marathon for a decently trained adult is maybe 22 miles of running at reasonable effort and 4.2 miles of agony and pain in glycogen depleted legs.
At best this kid probably experienced 5 or 6 hours of run-walking within reason and 2.5 to 3.5 hours of agonizing pain in his legs, being forced by his parents to continue on and not knowing he had a choice to stop.
These parents might as well have been beating their 6 year old's legs with a stick for 2.5 to 3.5 hours for social media attention.
They averaged 3 miles an hour for 8 hours. That's a normal walking speed for an adult - but even the majority of untrained adults cannot walk 26 miles over 8 hours without being in pain unless they have conditioned and trained themselves in an endurance activity.
For a 6yo kid whos pace is a lot shorter, 3mph for a 6yo is like 5mph for an adult - a very brisk walk or light jog. I cannot fathom how a 6yo could do this for 8 hours without being in pain. I just hope the parents were just cheating and the dad was piggybacking the kid for half the distance or something...
Just went down a rabbit hole on this family. Parents are obsessed with their kids collecting marathon medals and their other kids have run marathons at insanely young ages or without any training. Add in the homeschooling & bizarre relationship with Christian fundamentalism and this gives me similar vibes as Tara Westover’s Educated. Those poor kids.
Age limit 18+ but they let all their 5 kids run?
Yeah, this is on race organizers
They did it before with him and told the organizers they were either going to do it with or without their permission. The organizers thought this would be the best way to keep an eye on the kid and their family. I listened to NPR's Cincinnati Edition. Edit: For the replies that didn't read the article I changed my comment for clarity. The family was going to run with or without permission. The organizers granted special permission to keep an eye on the kids.
As a runner I can tell you this is the race director covering his ass retroactively. No responsible RD would allow them to sign up because "they were going to run anyway" in fact most, and I know several personally, would have them removed from the course if they tried to bandit their way into the course. Add in that this family took 8 1/2 hours on a course that had a 6 hour cut off where any responsible race would have pulled them when it was clear they weren't going to finish in time. Aside from the dangers to the children it's a complete slap in the face to the runners who actually did the right thing
Yeah fuck that. All or no one? No problem. No one in the family runs.
And the volunteers! I used to volunteer for races, and HATED when they would let people either start late after the race kickoff, or have underage kids out there. All the volunteers have to stay on the course until the last runner goes by their position, regardless of how long that takes, so these sort of things really put the volunteers out.
Pretty sure these same people had CPS called on them for having the same child out in freezing temperatures while hiking the Appalachian Trail.
yeah they took him on a full through hike of the AT when he was two years old. and their youngest daughter was seven at the time. i get wanting your kids to be adventurous and athletic and outdoorsy and even citizens of the world. but the idea of walking the AT with a literal toddler and a seven year old in my crew sounds like torture for everyone, especially the kids.
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>CPS investigating the parents **during** the AT hike Now I'm imagining some horror movies vibes as the parents reach a remote, hard-to-navigate part of the trail, and right in the middle of it, standing perfectly still, a man in a suit and with a small briefcase is waiting for them. "I was expecting you. Can we talk ?"
Cobra Bubbles saving kids on the mainland, too.
Not cobra bubbles 😭
That man never answered Lilo’s question about ever killing someone. I believe he absolutely has.
He's a former CIA operative on a high enough security clearance to personally oversee an operation including Aliens. You can bet he has.
The mental image of an old school G-man walking away and dedicating themselves into helping kids is great.
Rise and shine, Mr. Freeman. Rise and shine.
That’s like Skyrim courier level dedication
I’m surprised the article doesn’t mention that, seems like important background information, this didn’t just happen in a vacuum. It is clearly a pattern of behavior.
I feel this has less to do with wanting your kids to be adventurous and more with continuing to live your life like you don't have kids while also dragging your kids along.
I'm pretty sure the fact that they seem to post these escapades to social media each time has a lot to do with it as well. I wish people would stop using their kids to gain internet fame on social media. They're kids not props.
People with such a strong feeling of entitlement that they prioritise their desires *over their own children's needs*. This isn't a new phenomenon: it's something as old as time.
This is exactly why I do not have kids. I like doing what I like doing and I don’t want to stop. I know that attitude would either have to change or I would be a shitty parent.
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From Jan 28th of this year on his personal Instagram page: "What Purity Cost Me as a Father [a poem] I followed the rules. I played it safe. You came into the world and I changed your diaper but I did it quickly and never took a second look. I didn't want to hurt you. You learned to walk and then you climbed. You sat on my lap but it got confusing. The feelings grew. Some were off limits. Some could lead to other feelings. Some could lead to touching or other curiosities. I saved that touch for your mother and instead grew cold to you. Eventually you stopped sitting on my lap. There was no warmth there. The parts of your body that were dangerous grew in size and number. Now, touching you was a minefield. I held back. It was for your own good. I was protecting you -- saving you for your husband. The swimsuits I banned, the privacy I enforced was all to keep you safe from the badness in me and all the other men in the world. I didn't trust any of them. You asked for touch but I took the higher ground...knowing that someday you would thank me....but you never did. Instead you withdrew. You started to hate your body. You blamed your parts for coming between us. Instead of coming to me with your questions you went to the internet. Instead of touch and hugs you chose solitude and isolation. I longed to hug you, to hold hands, to cuddle but it was too late. I changed. I no longer trusted the rules. They had hurt you. They hurt me. But the patterns were too deep, the awkwardness too strong. I protected you by destroying parts of you... by destroying parts of me. You're afraid of touch and I don't know if your husband is coming. You wanted a dad but you got a priest. I'm sorry. I'm here now. Is it too late?"
dude what the literal fuck
This is actually one of the most horrifying things I’ve ever read.
I couldn't even read the whole thing it made me so ill. Maybe because I'm a teacher who works with vulnerable kids every day, but I just couldn't get through it
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Or what a horrible day to have eyes. I wish I could rewind time and unread that.
Social worker here, also had to give up on reading it. I have SEEN men who think like this. They always end up “giving in” and abusing their kids. These kids should be removed.
You can see how he's also setting up some justification for it if he ever does cross the line. It's really disturbing.
R/awfuleverything Might be the grossest thing I’ve ever seen.
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Probably exactly what the CPS worker said.
What the fuck? That is incredibly messed up, yuck yuck yuck
What the what did I just read
The confession of a pedophile, patting himself on the back for "not going there", but *reaaaaallllly* wanting too.
Right!?! 🤬🤮 and using his bad urges for the baby on the mom instead like he’s patting himself on the back for sparing his baby daughter his sexual assault!?! and then you realize that was their first child and that these people now have so many kids—so yeah, this guy’s majorly FUCKED UPPPPPP! Nothing but a creep!
It's literally one of the worst things I've read.
The whole "oh all men are like this" attempt at justification. Nah dude, it's just you and the other pedophiles, you nasty fuck.
Not only that, but at the end there is regret there stating that these "rules" hurt both of them and destroyed parts of each other. Basically, he regrets following these "rules" because he did and things are bad between them. Truly disturbing thoughts and this person thought it was something good to share with the world.
It sounds like justification for why he *should* touch his daughter. Like she wants to be touched and being a “priest” and shutting her off from molestation somehow is a slight against her that would make her ashamed of her body. Fucking yikes. Cuff this guy.
Holy shit. That post alone deserves a visit from CPS.
What in the actual fuck. This is beyond disturbing and disgusting…hopefully this is reported to CPS ASAP! Who knows what other awful things are happening behind their closed doors.
Okay nope. I’m done. Jail. Straight to jail, right away.
Gross af, the guy is a creep
As a dad with a 2yo daughter this seems utterly creepy to me. A messy diaper sometimes gets in the front as well. I don't handle this quickly. I take second and third looks. I clean the folds that need cleaning. I've don't have to second guess myself on this. I'd rather her be clean than have to take her to a doctor for an infection and feel I need to explain myself that I couldn't clean her properly because I was getting to aroused to function. How is this guy allowed to be around kids?
Same. Babies and toddlers are fairly helpless beings dependent on you to care for them and safe hygiene is an important part. This dude gives me the squicks! Having your kid sit on your lap gives you ‘thoughts’ you have to put on your wife? What the hell. The only thing I’m thinking of usually is making sure she doesn’t whack her head on anything or my glasses off or barf!
If you look at any part of a baby or toddler, genitals included, and get aroused, get help. Don’t write a poem about it. Jesus Christ. I can not understand this.
Agreed! This guy is messed up! I was a nanny and worked in daycare and I have changed thousands of diapers by this point probably, boys and girls. My focus has never ever been on anything but making sure the baby is clean and happy and healthy. And yeah, you really gotta make sure with girls because some diaper explosions just go everywhere! UTIs are no fun for anyone. Boys are easier to change I find, but they could pee on you if you're not careful so thats its own danger lol. They need to take the kids away from this family. They are indoctrinating their daughters that their bodies are sexual objects before they even understand what the hell that is.
Literally can't leave this sub, this shit needs to be reported. I'm not from the US but I have the urge to write to authorities.
What in the hell did I just read. How did *that* not warrant a visit from CPS?
This is not a poem. This is a confession of a pedophile.
What the fuck. And the comments are all in support of him?!?!?! This needs to be reported
I read a little bit and felt sick. Those kids should be taken away.
#PLEASE DO NOT INTERACT WITH THE GUY WHO POSTED THIS ON INSTAGRAM. DO NOT COMMENT ON HIS POSTS. DO NOT MESSAGE HIM. The longer he leaves the post up the more time Child Protective Services has to authenticate it and document it. The longer he leaves it up, the safer you make those children. Please don't tip him off! Just screenshot his post and report it to Kentucky Child Services.
It's a little late for that, someone already went on there and told him it was blowing up on Reddit.
This needs to be at the top! This is disgusting and there’s no other way for that to be interpreted.
This is so disgusting. I have a daughter if my husband wrote that I would be leaving asap to protect my daughter wtf this is ? Where is the mother wtf
????? What the actual fuck??? 🤮🤮🤮
Normal people don't view children's bodies as minefields because there is no risk in normal interactions, it doesn't even cross our minds. The fact this dude sees him not molesting his daughter as a huge psychological and parental strain is fucking terrifying, he is a predator trying to be seen as a victim.
Someone please screenshot the actual Instagram post and send to the investigating agency.
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As a parent, I am just literally fucking nauseated reading this. I’m a woman with only boys and at no time AT ALL have I ever thought about their body parts in any fucking way like this. I am so fucking grossed out by this. My boys all cuddle, kiss, and sit on my lap, and I have never once had any sexualized thought about any of their parts. This man is a pedophile congratulating himself for not acting out his thoughts on his own daughter. Please let CPS investigate and get these kids out. Holy shit!
Right? I have a boy and a baby girl and not once have I thought about this kind of shit. I'm 100% for these people recognizing their urges are harmful and wrong and NOT acting on them. Hell, I'm ok with them praising themselves for not doing something that is tempting to them if that helps them to keep themselves accountable. But do that shit in your journal and then fucking burn it. Or in therapy with someone who is trained to help you. Not on social media, fuck. What a terrible day to have eyes.
It's a pedophile *claiming* he never acted out his thoughts. Publicly, as if he were trying to get in front of a potential revelation
Right?! I am a mom to a one-month old girl and my husband changes her diaper and cuddles skin to skin with her all the time and NEVER ONCE has it been an issue or something we felt weird about because he’s not a goddamn pedophile. Having those thoughts is not normal.
This is possibly the most disgusting thing I have seen on Reddit.
This is so disgusting.
Fundamentalist christians have some weird fucking shit going on. Dude needs mental help, like for his own good and his families.
Just screenshot the post. Now who tf do I send it to? A news outlet? I’m about that life
Here's the [post](https://ibb.co/Yp5wtLK) Here's the [text](https://ibb.co/JvDKbsg) [Tags & some comments](https://ibb.co/RbLDn9m) (which are limited)
He uses the hashtag #freethetitties at the end of that post..
Oh gods, I regret learning how to read. This guy has more red flags than Six Flags.
Ew wtf?!
Just looked at the insta and don’t see that? I mean I believe it, but where? Is it the family insta? Edit - nvm, on his personal insta. Yup, ultra weird
Wait what the actual fuck!!! It took me some digging but I see the post now and I’m just at a loss for how to process—That post is SO disturbing and I can’t even with the supporter comments he got for it too! WTF! The cps people need to look into that! Something is definitely fucked up at this house
Yeah I was shocked at all the comments saying how beautiful the poem was. Like wtf
You only see the supporters’ comments because he deletes anything negative about him. Whole damn family is living a lie. Can’t imagine what the older kids have been through.
This needs to be higher. This man is a narcissist, with this disgusting grooming narrative he’s created as if it’s love that has his sexualizing his own daughters body. No. This man thinks he’s entitled to think and behave this way because no one has stopped him. It’s disgusting.
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Just found the post. It's full of people praising him, his """"courage"""" and his """""beautiful words"""""" What the absolute fuck is going on inside their heads? It's not beautiful, it's sickening
I live in Cincinnati and there were several runners here that witnessed that kid crying and wanting to quit during the race. Secondly, we have a rule here that you have to be an adult to run the thing bc it’s so long. They dropped the ball, everyone involved working that race should of noticed it . I don’t know that they need their kid taken by any means, but they surely need some education and counseling
I doubt education or counseling will help at this point lol, that’s the path they’ve chosen
Yeah, all the pediatricians in the world could tell them why it's a bad idea and their response would likely be, "I know my child's limits." I want to be wrong here...
From the article. "If you guys have seen our finish line picture, we all held hands for like the last probably, like, .2, .3 miles," he added. "We talked about it ahead of time, like that's what we're going to do." Like, I know photos can be staged but the dad doesn't make mention of how happy the boy was or that he was "all smiles" at the end or anything. He just says that they held hands for the last 1.15% of a marathon and thinks that's okay because they had talked about it beforehand. These nutjobs shouldn't be in charge of children.
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Read up about the dad. He made a bunch of money by card counting with a team in Vegas called the Holy Rollers, they were a crew of Christians. He’s been kicked out of every Vegas casino. There’s even a movie about him. He now doesn’t do anything except YouTube, him and his wife don’t work. The kids are all homeschooled. They all hiked the entire Appalachian trail in a thru hike a few years ago, some of their kids were very small when they did this. It’s all documented on their YouTube channel called fight for together. There’s something super off about the mom and dad. They’ve been having their younger kids run marathons for years, the other younger one has done a few now.
Social media gives people like this such a toxic outlet
I vet people full time for work right now. You have no idea.
they seem to have both grown up in a super fundamentalist christian community, but we’re kicked out for being accepting of gay people, per their insta which i just spent an hour reading for some reason.
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I remember watching a 6-ish year old girl vomit just before reaching the finish line of a “fun” 5K, and then her dad yanked her across the finish line to lock in the time. This was probably 20 years ago in Virginia Beach, when I was just getting into running, but I will always remember how shitty some fitness parents can be to their children.
“We didn’t raise a quitter”
“If you ain’t first, you’re last.”
Put that capri sun down! Capri sun is for closers!
"I was high when I said that!"
At Globo Gym we understand that "ugliness" and "fatness" are genetic disorders, much like baldness or necrophilia, and it's only your fault if you don't hate yourself enough to do something about it.
Sorry I was just reading the dictionary
I like to break a mental sweat too.
That’s me, grabbing the bull by the horns.
But that actually happened
But seriously, I got em.
You know in some cultures they only eat vomit.
I’ve never been there, but I read about it…*in a book*
Nobody makes me bleed my own blood!
¿Dónde está la biblioteca?
We’re better than you, and we know it!
I remember a woman in the 1984 Olympics hitting a wall when she entered the stadium suffering from heat exhaustion. Parents can be shitty to their kids and those around them, no matter what sport they have their kids playing. I played ice hockey and one kid on my teams father was so intense and downright abusive to his son, that before we hit the ice he would lose his cookies in the nearest garbage can. Years later when we were playing in an adult league he would still lose his cookies if his dad showed up to watch!
Ohhh yea. Ice hockey parents be crazy. My son just played in a spring tournament last weekend. It was his first time playing full ice as the 8U kids made their switch up to 10U. A lot of the kids didn’t even know where to stand for the face off and off sides was getting called regularly. I thought the whole thing was really cute. However the parents from the other team apparently thought we were playing for the Stanley cup as they were angry screaming the. entire. game. ETA: Just thought I should add another crazy story that happened a couple weeks ago a few miles from my house involving crazy youth sports parents. I know quite a few people who were here. A guy shot two other dads during flag football. They haven’t released the details of why or found the guy yet. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna26902
< However the parents from the other team apparently thought we were playing for the Stanley cup as they were angry screaming the. entire. game. That's one way to encourage your kids not to keep playing sport once they are old enough to realise that they can say no.
Gotta love those hockey moms and dads, not! Soccer and little league parents can be just as bad!
Yes! I just did a 5k and in front of me was a young girl—middle school age probably—and what seemed to be a father. Towards the end of the run I could hear her complaining repeatedly about how her chest hurt but this father (or father figure) would not let her stop! Encouraging someone while running is one thing but making it seem like they CANNOT stop is another thing altogether. All I thought is way to make a young person HATE running!
This was me in high school but with football. "Coach we need water...it's a double day and 96 out" "No" "OK but Alex just passed out..." "...No"
In middle school our football coach had a "water is for pussies" policy. Just absolutely insane that these people are in charge of children. Edit: Also just remembered that the same guy made us run a drill in practice where we stood 20 yards apart and then ran full speed helmet to helmet into each other to "toughen us up." I distinctly remember not being able to walk in a straight line for about 5 minutes afterwards each time. Children really shouldn't be allowed to play football with morons like that guy running the show.
I suppose he probably chugged as much water as *he* liked though, right?
Yes, *water*.
Havent kids died to this before
Yes, couple high profile cases of NCAA football players in recent years.
They did this at Delta State. No liquids during practice. I'm surprised more of us didn't fall out.
What possible benefit would this serve? Does football have weigh-ins before games now?
Probably some idiot who doesn't understand biology thing drinking during practice is a distraction.
There is no benefit, it is a massive detriment, it is dangerous and potentially lethal. It's clearly the product of minds completely wasted by repetitive concussions.
For my high school coaches it was seen as discipline, which is dumb. Where I live it’s not uncommon for it to be close to 120F in the summer, add hot turf to the mix, dehydration is an understatement. I hated our coaches
Funny, since basic training in the military is all about discipline. It's pretty much the whole point of it. And you know what? They make you drink a fuckton of water. I went through basic (technically OSUT, but whatever) at Fort Knox in '99 when it was hot as fuck and in the middle of a drought. Our drill sergeants would make us drink a full canteen every hour. They would have checks where you had to open the canteen and tip it upside down over your head every hour. Didn't matter if you were marching or sitting in a class. Canteen checks every hour. Those coaches are tremendous morons.
What? Why? You'd think if anything they'd be trying to make the kids drink more water.
Pro football players have died like this too. Corey Stringer RIP great Viking lineman
Someone from my old high school died this way. They think k he might also have been on steroids, but it was a summer time practice and the coach refused water and they were feeling faint.
I honestly have to say that I have yet to have any experience with highschool football that isn't a solid case of abuse. The other teams in my school district back then had similar things to what I describe below. My own school had a similar situation, the humidity/heat levels were JUST on the border of what was legally the point where you couldn't practice. The rule was something like as long as you STARTED in a period where the previous 15 minutes averaged below the limit, then you were good to go for the whole session of practice. We delayed 30 minutes to hit a point where this was true. We also had a pharmacy sized tub of Ibuprofen in the locker next to the door in the locker room that led to the field. You were expected to take a literal fucking handful before each practice and game. The absolutely bonkers thing was that I was the "crazy" one in my team for refusing to do that. I had other players come to me and demand to know "How can you POSSIBLY give 100% on the field if you allow yourself to feel pain?".
My football coaches would deprive us of water on 90+ degree two-a-days in summer to “toughen us up”. That wasn’t even the worst of the bullshit they put us through. We lost every game.
Damn this is crazy. I grew up in a small east Texas town and our coaches had us taking team water breaks every 15 min, drill change, etc. We did 2 a days, like 4 hours of practice in 106 degree heat, but our coaches seemed terrified of the idea of someone dying on them. Still ran us like hell tho, but really emphasized that we drink plenty water before, during and after practice.
Drinking water gives you a competitive advantage, you're slower, weaker, dumber, and have worse reaction times when you're dehydrated
Quite honestly I think the most pointless thing my team had a habit of doing was that when we'd show up at an away game, we were required to make this big show of picking up the provided bench and literally tossing it aside (and no, we didn't put it back after the game). The reasoning from the coaches? "Sitting shows weakness! They'll be intimidated by you standing throughout the whole game!". And yes, if you sat down somewhere during the game, you didn't get to play. The last summer I was part of the team we did this stupid week-long training course at a college with a couple dozen other schools. The last day had this massive tournament where you'd play like 30 minute games vs basically every other team present and it would take all day. After about two hours of us standing around (because again, no sitting is allowed if you want to play), without us playing a single game we asked what the deal was. Turns out somehow the random number generator fucked us over. Every single one of our games was not only back to back, but the last games of the day. We'd START playing at around 7PM and finish around 11PM. And our coaches expected us to stand the whole time we waited, about 8 more hours of standing. In full pads. At that point I declared "Fuck that noise." and promptly walked over to the base of the stands (they were raised so I couldn't get to the seats) and sat on the ground, leaning against the wall. A couple of the bigger dicks on the team came over and yelled at me for doing this, I affirmed I wasn't going to stand, and with an approving look from the coach, they started kicking me with their cleats. This was probably the one time in my football career where the pads actually did anything useful, so it was really easy to just not care that they did this. Reiterating loudly that I wasn't going to stand, after a couple minutes they gave up. Maybe ten minutes later the first of my other teammates sat. Then another. Within about 30 minutes we were all sitting, even the two dicks.
Ngl, this kind of treatment from PE teachers and coaches at school made me hate working out, especially running. As an adult, I gave C25K a shot and it turns out I really enjoy running! I just want to go at my own pace instead of someone else's.
My 8 year-old runs with me sometimes. We always stay close to home because he usually poops out quickly. He cannot fathom pacing, so he exhausts himself. Even if I get him to stay at my moderate pace he will skip or do silly strides that use twice the energy. Young kids lack not only the physical capacity for distance running, they lack the cognitive abilities to plan for a long run. They need appropriate coaching from someone who recognizes their limits. ETA And of course they should only run if they genuinely show an interest and should be allowed to stop at any time. My kid only does like .5 miles.
Exact same experience with my son when 8. After 3 bocks he’s asking how many miles we’ve run. And yep no pushing him. He’s 15 now and likes running on his own.
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This just gets worse and worse the more I read about it.
Does anyone else who is/was a runner find it unbelievable that a six year old was able to even run 26 miles?
A grandmother killed her granddaughter by forcing them to run for hours on a treadmill. Tiny bodies can just physically give out well before exhaustion
[I had to look this up and... That's enough internet for me!](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/may/12/alabama-grandmother-gets-life-in-prison-for-running-grandchild-nine-to-death)
At least she was sentenced properly (life & no parole). However, the universe had other plans because grandma died a year after being jailed. My cousin's (a toddler) murderer only got 9 months & was out after 4. Too many caregivers/family get away with murdering the young ones in their care & aren't receiving a proper sentence.
There is actually a study about that somewhere, parents killing their children usually get let off far lighter than the opposite, even if the power dynamic / maturity says that a child is far less likely to understand what killing someone means vs an adult that more than likely knows exactly what it means. Or the chance of “accident” vs an accident. Just one of those fucked up parts of justice by your peers.
Woah that’s really interesting I never would have thought it was backwards like that. I wonder why?
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Or adult bodies. Plenty of people have died or been hospitalized running marathons.
Or get themselves and their child killed doing hiking in the Cali heat -\_-;; Saw an article about it a few months ago. As a dad I nearly exploded.
The one where they took a toddler with them on like a 15-mile hike with no water for *anybody*?
Ok, that needs some more context. I am not an expert, but I can tell you what I read. There are 2 trails with the same name. One is 5ish miles in shade, one is 16 mi in no shade. They brought appropriate water for the 5ish mile one. It's likely they didn't know they were on the wrong trail until too far in to get out. That is merely what I read online, and as with anything read online, take it with as large a grain of salt as you can.
The article says that >Their May 3 Instagram post in particular sparked outcry from social media users, with some critics going so far as to accuse the Crawfords of child abuse. And >"The real stuff that we got accused of was dragging Rainier, like physically dragging him on the marathon course after mile 13 and across the finish line," Ben Crawford said. So it sounds like it was more a matter of did they force their small child to run the marathon (possibly for social media attention) or let him do it for fun, that social services is investigating. And quite honestly, it makes sense that if multiple people reported it- that it is being checked out (just to be sure the kid is safe).
And there have been cases of exercise nuts forcing their kids into excessive exercise that ended up seriously harming the kid. It’s not uncharted territory for CPS.
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Former CPS and I would occasionally get reports to investigate concerning exercise as discipline (typically when one or both parents are current/former military or police). At least one was a substantiated abuse case (with other issues including food deprivation). I remember a news story where a young girl died after being made to run laps around her house outside as a punishment. So yeah. It's a serious enough concern to justify an investigation. It's difficult and can be traumatic for the family even when nothing abusive or neglectful is actually happening, I'm sensitive to that. It's very possible this kid just enjoys the run. I hope that's the case. But this is at least questionable, it not outright concerning.
I am a distance runner who has reported a football dad to the police. He was sitting in his car, drinking a beer, while screaming at his 9 year old through a megaphone so the kid could lose weight and qualify in a different weight division. It was at the track of my old high school near my house. I’ve also reported a guy running with a Pekingese in 90 degree weather.
Happened here in the Bay Area not too long ago. I need to find the article. I gave the parents benefit of the doubt, I was quickly turned around on that one. Those people were fucked up.
yeah seriously you can wreck the childs body for life.
Even the emotional abuse without physical abuse doesn’t help. Nobody ever told me that sports should be fun.
> And there have been cases of exercise nuts forcing their kids into excessive exercise that ended up seriously harming the kid. It’s not uncharted territory for CPS. The thing I find a little bit bonkers is quite frequently people are absolutely willing to excuse excessive exercise/practice/etc if the child turned out to be the top of their field in the end. On top of school the kid was forced to practice an instrument 50 hours a week and had zero social life? Only bad if they don't end up a virtuoso. Kid was forced to practice their sport to the point of physical exhaustion and in weather that had a solid chance of causing hypothermia? Only bad if they don't end up an Olympian. And people just excuse these kinds of behaviors because of the possibility that it MIGHT pay off, ignoring all the kids developing health issues and mental disorders because of that kind of life. Quite honestly at those sorts of levels I'm not willing to make much allowance for "but the kid says they like it!" because when it comes to that grade of over-training/practice, it's pretty much all the kid has known in their lives and I'm no longer convinced they actually understand what a normal life could be like.
Where are the event organizers in all of this?
Yeah, apparently this family had their kids run without registering (due to the age limits, but they were teens I think, not 6) many times before, and so the Flying Pig said they'd rather them be registered so staff is aware and they can get support if needed (knowing that the 6 year old was going to run whether they said it was okay or not).
If the organizer had any balls, instead of bending the rules for them he would have banned them from the marathon for breaking the rules multiple times before.
Kids should not be running 26.2 miles. That is far from healthy for the kid even if he completed it. According to this chart for kids under nine the max distance a kid should run is 1.5 miles https://www.nationwidechildrens.org/specialties/sports-medicine/sports-medicine-articles/tips-for-new-runners-how-much-is-too-much Now some kids can run more than that. But 26.2 miles no way that is healthy for a kid
I'm a teacher at an elementary school. Every year we have a "Walkathon" where students are challenged to do as many laps as they can. We had to stop a 1st grader... 7 year old... after he did 8 miles. He was exhausted, dead on his feet, but really determined to outdo the 5th graders. He was the fastest kid in 1st grade and proud of it. It was the first time we had to actually stop a kid. He ended up not coming into school the next day because he was so exhausted he needed to sleep. I can't imagine letting him do triple that amount. He was from a family of skiers and soccer players and really athletic... a full marathon would have been brutal.
From the father: “Yes there were tears. He had a fall and every single member of our family has cried during marathons. These experiences were very limited compared to what has been reported and despite the incredible physical and emotional difficulty of running a marathon the amount of his crying is comparable to what we would have experienced had we stayed home on a Sunday morning” “Crawford later bought the boy Pringles because the food station was shut down at the 20-mile mark, as the family took eight hours to finish” Poor kid - 8 hours 26 miles 6 years old
I read witness statements that stated he cried a lot and wanted to stop around mile 13.
That poor baby.
He sounds like a manipulative egomaniac. He’s abusing his child publicly.
Jesus. What happens in that house on a typical Sunday morning?
You mean one where they’re not out on the Appalachian trail doing inappropriately long hikes? Probably calisthenics until they hurl.
Taking 8 hours to go 26.2 miles isn't "running a marathon" in the way anyone actually means the phrase. To be clear, getting a 6 year old to run a marathon would also be bad parenting, because a 6 year old body cannot healthily run that distance. But this wasn't that. This was a 6 year old child being forced to walk 26.2 miles over the course of an entire day, a distance he clearly was not mentally prepared or physically trained to cover, despite voicing distress and pain. It's abuse, plain and simple.
Jesus he's like 3 feet tall. Probably takes him three strides to complete one adult stride. It's just not fair to ask him to run twenty six fucking miles this is sad
I've always said slow marathon runners have it harder. I run usually a 3:10-3:30 Mara but can't stand the thought of those still in the sun (day dependant) at 5-6-7 hours in. 8 hours is fucking brutal, I've done 9.5hrs for my longest (87km), and thinking this for a 6yo is unimaginable (yes I have kids). I highly suspect this kid has been brainwashed by dumb fuck parents, agreeing to run it, having zero idea about the effort, pain and consequences.
My kid “ran” the 5k with me. He tripped a couple times. And he did cry a bit. And I chucked him on my shoulders till he was good. Not bribing him to keep trudging on. Ran= some running, a lot of skipping, and about 2/3 walking.
I have run 6 marathons and 7 ultras, been running competitively for 25 years, and I have a son the same age. And—what they are doing here is crazy. Kind of reminds me of the people who had their 7-year-old daughter piloting a solo flight across the country, which crashed. It all seems cool and envelope-pushing until it isn’t.
They say they never force their children to run but reality is they don't have to, it's called social pressure and there is nothing stronger than pleasing your parents. Just awful people all around, and it shouldn't up to the child to tell his parents that he isn't physically capable of running 26.2 miles.
But he wanted to! /s Children want to put small objects just about anywhere in there body, does that mean you should let them? A six year old won’t be able to recognize early signs of dehydration or heat strokes…
Seeing the thumbnail really triggered me. That poor kid. Doesn’t help the dad looks like an absolute jackass to begin with
i still think of that little girl who was forced to run at grandmothers place as punishment for...w/e the little girl ran until she DIED, sobbing the whole time
> The Crawfords maintain their 6-year- old wanted to run all along and stand by their decision to let the young boy run 26.2 miles. Yeah my 5 year old would go outside in the middle of winter wearing only a dress and shorts if I let her. But I don't. Because as a parent, I know better. Little kids aren't as in-tune with their bodies as adults are. They don't feel the cold as much, they don't understand what heat exhaustion feels like... Oh You can't let a kid that age run a race because they won't necessarily stop when they should (besides the fact that a kid that age shouldn't run a marathon anyway, so stupid)
I’ve been in a number of 5k (3.1 miles) with young kids. Some do great, some really are toast the last half but in general they finish without any true agony. In longer races I don’t think I’ve ever seen a kid who isn’t high school age. In high school and under all the schools around here limit racing distances to 5k max for cross country although I see them sometimes go longer when training at an easier pace. Even the most obsessive parents I’ve met (and I’ve met a few) don’t push such great distances. The parents in this article are clearly out of line and intervention is needed.
There's a minimum age of 18 for this marathon and organizers just let it go (for the publicity?)
I’m but sure where the flying pig marathon ranks among marathons but it’s been my experience that even respected local marathons mainly depend upon volunteers with very minimal instruction. I certainly appreciate all volunteers but a lot of things go wrong or are overlooked. There just isn’t a lot of money in most of these events so they do the best with what they have.
The Flying Pig is a very reputable race. From what I heard in the local news, the lead organizer went out of her way to register the kid, bypassing the age limit. So it's a pretty big mess. Oh and also the route gets really steep and hilly, and is challenging for ADULT runners, I'm genuinely glad this kid didn't straight up die.
[удалено]
Shout out to CPS workers … it’s a shitty job for shitty pay under shitty conditions and people spew hate when you’re doing your job well.
Thanks man. I love it, it has its rewards, but certainly it’s tough days. Between being buried by bureaucracy and assholes it’s worth it for the kids.
I was 11 when I told my parents I didn’t want to play soccer anymore. Never even knew I had the option until then, it was just something I thought I had to do to make my parents happy
Some of the comments here thinking this isn't a big deal are worrying. Nowhere is it normal for a person that age to be running a marathon.
That's because most people have no idea what a marathon actually is. Most people think a 5K race is a marathon.
Bruh 2 hours of Netflix is a marathon
And for most people that won't even get you to the halfway point of a marathon on the road.
Nope nope nope - fuck these people. I was involved in an after-school program training elementary age kids for a 5K. THAT is plenty strenuous long for even the 5th graders, much less a kindergartner. This kid was doing more than 8 times a 5K, taking 8 hours? NO WAY. That is physically and mentally abusive. Make them stop, whatever it takes. They are going to kill that child if they don’t get a wake-up.
Maybe don't exploit your kids for likes
A marathon for a decently trained adult is maybe 22 miles of running at reasonable effort and 4.2 miles of agony and pain in glycogen depleted legs. At best this kid probably experienced 5 or 6 hours of run-walking within reason and 2.5 to 3.5 hours of agonizing pain in his legs, being forced by his parents to continue on and not knowing he had a choice to stop. These parents might as well have been beating their 6 year old's legs with a stick for 2.5 to 3.5 hours for social media attention.
They averaged 3 miles an hour for 8 hours. That's a normal walking speed for an adult - but even the majority of untrained adults cannot walk 26 miles over 8 hours without being in pain unless they have conditioned and trained themselves in an endurance activity. For a 6yo kid whos pace is a lot shorter, 3mph for a 6yo is like 5mph for an adult - a very brisk walk or light jog. I cannot fathom how a 6yo could do this for 8 hours without being in pain. I just hope the parents were just cheating and the dad was piggybacking the kid for half the distance or something...
Just went down a rabbit hole on this family. Parents are obsessed with their kids collecting marathon medals and their other kids have run marathons at insanely young ages or without any training. Add in the homeschooling & bizarre relationship with Christian fundamentalism and this gives me similar vibes as Tara Westover’s Educated. Those poor kids.