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Don't worry too much about the kid. There is virtually zero chance that a six year old ran a 26 mile marathon. It's just not possible. Most adults can't even do it. They clearly pulled a Rosie Ruiz.
This family has a long history of faking this BS. Here is a picture of the family pretending to have just summited Mt. Katahdin.
The picture at the left is the actual large sign at the top of Mt. Katahdin, that Appalachian Trail hikers pose on when they finish their thru hikes of the AT. The picture at the right is this family with their small homemade folding replica sign posing in front of some random rock while proclaiming they have just finished their AT hike and 4,000 foot climb to the top of Katahdin. And look at them, they are not even dirty or sweating. Amazing isn't it?
The only abuse these kids are experiencing is having parents teaching them to fake their way through life.
Don't worry too much about the kid. There is virtually zero chance that a six year old ran a 26 mile marathon. It's just not possible..
It's possible for some kids that age to actually run a marathon. These guys didn't run it though. The family took about 8 hours to complete the course, which is a walking pace.
It's possible for some kids that age to actually run a marathon. These guys didn't run it though. The family took about 8 hours to complete the course, which is a walking pace.
That is a fast walking pace for an adult taking no breaks. A child that age would take about twice that long to walk that far, if he could even last that long. Most adults can walk about 10 to 15 miles a day without any training. With proper training that mileage can be double or more. But again that is an adult, not a child.
This story just doesn't add up anymore then their Appalachian Trail hike did with the fake ending. It's not impossible for a kid that young to do it, but it's highly unlikely. There was that one kid in India who did it. His name is Budhia Singh, but that is the only example I can find of a child that young running a marathon, and there was abuse involved in that case.
The family has a YouTube channel. I'm thinking these are the types of people who exploit their children on social media for money. Do the parents have real jobs?
This Selfie Generation is quite the bunch of head cases. It's no wonder some kids grow up to kill their parents later on.
It's interesting how there's so many supportive comments from clueless people on the YouTube video.
It's obvious these 'parents' did this for social media bragging rights. And if you read of his run, you'll notice that he broke down crying at one point but daddy convinced him to keep running by promising to buy him Pringles chips. I swear, the narcissist social media generation these days, FFS.
And yes, there is most definitely an age restriction for this particular marathon, minimum of 18 years of age to participate (the 'parents' somehow weaseled their way out of this). A 6-year old has zero business running a full marathon, especially one where he was having mental/physical breakdown during the marathon.
Mistreatment of children was common when I look back at youth sports of my adolescence of the 1980s. In football practice, if two players did not get along (which happened a lot), the coach would make them do a one-on-one blocking drill until one of them collapsed. In wrestling, the coach laughed at players injured in practice. He also condoned hazing and felt that the players had to fend for themselves to "get even". The coach also made them cut water weight in the day preceding a meet. In a 4 hour practice, a wrestler might lose 4-5 lbs of water and was told not to eat or drink anything until weigh-in the next day. During drills, the coach also at one point put a 5'6" 105 lb wrestler against a heavyweight who was well over 6' and 275 lbs. It was ridiculous. Racism was also very common in those games of rural AZ. Racial slurs like the "N" word or other slurs against Native American were openly condoned by the coaches. In hindsight, some of those players got CTE brain trauma. One of them, an aggressive but lightweight fullback, showed signs of brain damage even as a teen with his bizarre mood swings. So, mistreatment of children in youth sports was common back in the 1980s. This scene seemed funny but in hindsight many of those players in games like that would now have CTE brain trauma.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYV5f0Aqo4w
The level of hate and ridicule of injuries, mismatches, and obsession within winning perfection were definitely beyond the threshold needed to define "child abuse" on that wrestling team I knew.
But there was karma - one of the coaches got fired, and one of the wrestlers who had bullied smaller players back then when he was in his prime died from COVID-19 recently - RIP. Another hateful wrestler who had tormented others (including some with racism) tore his knee in football practice after being tackled by a Cherokee Indian. 1980s youth sports was very scandalous, violent, and hateful. I wouldn't let a son play football.
As for the child in the marathon, the race coordinators just need to monitor entrants and make sure they are of the appropriate age range. I have seen people get injured in long-distance races. In Colorado, one runner collapsed about 10 miles into a mountain run near the summit in pure agony. Another had a heart attack in the middle of the Bolder Boulder 10k. I collapsed from cramps in two long races - one in the humidity of Georgia at mile 19. The second time was at mile 16 at high altitude in New Mexico. It's dangerous to enter children into races like that - another form of child abuse.
I didn't post on this thread previously because I disagreed with the majority of opinions that were posted here. There was a lot of misinformation in the media, even by the supposed experts. This family is actually amazing. They are a very close, loving and caring family. Rainier is a very happy, smart little boy who is loved and well cared for by his entire family. I was waiting for the dad to post his doc that has the actual facts and footage backing them up. It's a long watch but worth it, especially if you are a runner because you can relate to a lot of what they talk about. CPS found all allegations to be false AND Rainier's marathon/finish time status was reinstated.
Link to doc. https://youtu.be/o3Nrfw0jx9k
Meh. If proven false, disregard, but if legitimate… it proves that a 6 yo kid can finish a marathon… what’s the wrong in that? Parents all of a sudden feel a little less impressed that their 6 year old ran around a mailbox, knowing someone else’s kid ran a marathon? I hate the whole idea of youtube families, but really, complaining that this is child abuse? Y’all just lazy slobs. My 4yo went with me on a 5 mile hike last weekend… took 2hrs… sure it wasn’t 8hrs… or a marathon… but she had more gas in the tank and it was her first ever hike/walk longer than 30 minutes… why hate on a massive achievement? Mad jelly? Do the kids finishing high school at age 10 peeve you off too? What about mom’s who lose their pregnancy belly after a month?
Meh. If proven false, disregard, but if legitimate… it proves that a 6 yo kid can finish a marathon… what’s the wrong in that? Parents all of a sudden feel a little less impressed that their 6 year old ran around a mailbox, knowing someone else’s kid ran a marathon? I hate the whole idea of youtube families, but really, complaining that this is child abuse? Y’all just lazy slobs. My 4yo went with me on a 5 mile hike last weekend… took 2hrs… sure it wasn’t 8hrs… or a marathon… but she had more gas in the tank and it was her first ever hike/walk longer than 30 minutes… why hate on a massive achievement? Mad jelly? Do the kids finishing high school at age 10 peeve you off too? What about mom’s who lose their pregnancy belly after a month?
Not that I recall. Most deaths were generally people in the desert. Today people line up at the border crossing like cattle to a feed trough.
Many deaths happen in the mountains Southeast of San Diego. Hypothermia. Even in the so-called "warmer" months.
As for the child, even with a lot of walking I don't support it. Even with treats, bribes, etc. But he probably got a lot of fawning so his ego will probably lap it up. I have conficted feelings about that.
Sure, no negative consequences would hurt the position that this was bad if you didnt choose to ignore it.
There are always people who push the limits. I guess the parents knew that this was within their child's limit.
The kid hadn’t done more than 10 or so miles prior to that day so the parents didn’t “know” what their child’s limit was. What they did know for sure is that they wanted the attention from putting it out there for everyone to see
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