16 month old doing a Kid's marathon?

[irishtwins1112]

I am doing a half marathon November 11th. I recently found out about a kid's marathon that is going on the same day. The is no minimum age requirement. The kids have to walk or run 1 mile to register. Then you keep a log for the next 24 miles in 1/2 to 1 mile increments until they reach 25 miles(over the course of 8 weeks). At the end, the children have to walk/run the remaining 1.2 miles and they get a kid's marathon medal. I am thinking of trying this with my 16 month old. He loves to be outside. We did a test run outside today. It took about 25 minutes to walk a half a mile with him. Just curious of ya'lls opinion on this..........Do you think over the long haul this will get too strenuous on him. We are walking really slow. I figured it up and if I do 1/2 mile with him 6 days a week we should be able to cover it. Opinions?

 

[cewait]

I think NO.

These guys are growing rapidly and putting undue stress on his joints and bones seems a little obscene.

Note that I am huge proponent of letting kids play and think that if they were 6 isn then that is a completely different story

My 2 cents.

 

[Bephus]

I think NO.

These guys are growing rapidly and putting undue stress on his joints and bones seems a little obscene.

Note that I am huge proponent of letting kids play and think that if they were 6 isn then that is a completely different story

My 2 cents.

I completely agree with Coach. This is WAY too much. I have had my LO's do children's runs before but they are typically 100 - 200 yards until they are around age 5. My 6yo has run two 1-mile runs before and he gets tired. Children's marathons are typically geared towards 7-15 year olds who are too young for the big race but old enough to learn how to train.

 

[JCH]

I am doing a half marathon November 11th. I recently found out about a kid's marathon that is going on the same day. The is no minimum age requirement. The kids have to walk or run 1 mile to register. Then you keep a log for the next 24 miles in 1/2 to 1 mile increments until they reach 25 miles(over the course of 8 weeks). At the end, the children have to walk/run the remaining 1.2 miles and they get a kid's marathon medal. I am thinking of trying this with my 16 month old. He loves to be outside. We did a test run outside today. It took about 25 minutes to walk a half a mile with him. Just curious of ya'lls opinion on this..........Do you think over the long haul this will get too strenuous on him. We are walking really slow. I figured it up and if I do 1/2 mile with him 6 days a week we should be able to cover it. Opinions?

I'm sure there has to be a time constraint for the amount of time to finish the 1.2 miles. At a 25 minute mile with you walking with him, that's 60 minutes. A 16 month old will most likely lose interest, and do you think everyone else wants to wait that long? Plus, are you even allowed to walk with him? If not, he'd be against a bunch of 10 year olds ready for a race. Those kids are not going to slow down for him. If you want him to do a race, would you be able to make it to a Disney kids race? They have races short enough that will only have kids his age. Probably a much better place to start.

 

[irishtwins1112]

Just to clarify:

There is no time limit for the 1.2 miles. Also, he is not running at all. Only walking. That being said.....thanks for your opinions. That is what I wanted.