Running with a stroller: Why parents take children to a marathon and why they are forbidden
This year the organizers of the Moscow Marathon forbidden to participate in the race for people with prams. Journalist Elena Shmarayeva paid attention to her on Facebook, explaining that most of the races of the Moscow Marathon have a relatively small length - from 5 to 10 kilometers, and until 2017, the mothers who are interested in running are happy to share this experience with the baby without sacrificing the feeding regimen . We talked with the director of the Moscow Marathon and the parents who ran the marathon with a stroller, and found out what caused the decision to restrict moms with children at the races, how to protect participants with children and why this ban has appeared now.
I went the distance with a running stroller two years ago. The husband at that time worked a lot, so the child had to be taken with him. Now my son is four years old, and this question has ceased to be relevant. But my friend wanted to run 5 kilometers with the whole family this year, and after registering it turned out that it was forbidden. The organizers said that the marathon is a competition, not an entertainment event, so there’s nothing to do with the stroller. Although earlier the position of the Moscow Marathon was the exact opposite, and they strongly focused on the fact that the event was intended for a wide audience. Such a change seemed strange to me.
In my opinion, the growing popularity of the races is the direct goal of the organizers, which of course causes certain difficulties and imposes responsibility on them, but this does not mean that it is worth directly prohibiting something. Perhaps, the truth is not to register people with wheelchairs over a distance of 42 kilometers: the child simply cannot sit for more than four hours in a wheelchair. Plus, at such races, the participant faces serious overloads, which can be potentially unsafe for him and for the child.
But the distance of 5-10 kilometers for parents who run not the first month, does not threaten with strong overloads and fainting. In addition, in order to protect others, it is possible to oblige people with wheelchairs to start in the last stream, where athletes are jogging and are unlikely to interfere with each other, even if 200 participants with small children start at the same time.
I saw that the Facebook commentators compared marathons with skydiving and boxing, but this is absolutely not correct. Running is one of the few activities that is available to parents with children. Not everyone has the opportunity to leave the child with a nanny or grandmother and work out.
The largest marathons of the world prohibit jogging with a sidecar, and no one raises any questions. This rule exists to avoid accidents. A person with a sidecar may fall if he accidentally stumbles or, for example, the wheel gets into a hole in the asphalt. Because of this, the child, the participant himself or even people who run alongside can suffer.
Moreover, such a restriction was introduced only this year due to the growing number of participants. Previously, the Moscow Marathon was less crowded, so the strollers did not pose a very serious danger. And inside a large crowd it is very difficult to calculate the distance between the carriage and the person running in front.
In the end, we decided to compromise with our parents and allowed us to take part in the “Colorful” race with wheelchairs, where people do not compete for speed. In addition, parents with children will run in the latest stream to avoid accidents during the marathon.
I participated in races with a stroller for 5, 7 and 10 kilometers, but I never went a great distance - I would not advise anyone to overcome the 42-kilometer marathon with a child. The stroller on the races did not cause any discomfort neither in me, nor in the child, nor in those around them.
At the same time, I can understand the organizers who tried to impose such a ban, because I know a little how difficult it is to arrange such an event. Most likely, they simply did not have enough resources to ensure the safety of all participants in the half-marathon - for example, to ensure that all participants ran with running, rather than the usual carriages. The latter are completely unsuitable for marathons and can be dangerous. But nevertheless, I have often seen people ignoring this rule.
By the way, once I wanted to run half a half marathon in Paris with a sidecar for fun, but the organizers forbade it. But nothing is being done just like that, most likely, there were objective reasons for this, and the management of the races has the right to establish its own rules.
Before the birth of a child, we several times took part in the races of the Moscow Marathon at a distance of 5-10 kilometers and saw how parents with wheelchairs run along with everyone. It is always very uplifting and motivated. After the birth of the child, my husband and I began to run a little again, bought a comfortable running stroller, and when an offer to register for the Moscow Marathon races fell on the mail, we decided that we would be happy to take part.
We decided that we could hardly leave the child with the grandmother that day, and decided to run along with my daughter. The husband doubted that this was possible, but now I was sure that there would be no problems, so I was surprised to find in the rules a ban on strollers in all races. The husband asked the organizers what it was connected with, and he was told that the marathon is an athletics event in which people with strollers, sticks, dogs and so on cannot participate, and not a “fun” race. Meanwhile, we wanted to take part in the “Colorful” race for 5 kilometers, where speed competition is not implied. This morning we learned that after consulting with the management, people with prams were allowed to participate in the “Colorful” race. Well, that happened.
In my opinion, putting a child in a car is much more dangerous than participating in a marathon with a sidecar, but I know that many will disagree with me. Probably, the organizers are afraid, as if something bad happened. Unfortunately, young parents (and especially mothers) do not have many opportunities to feel like young, active and full-fledged members of society again. It is sad that without a clear explanation of the reasons they were tried to deprive of another such opportunity.
It is believed that the half marathon is an easy distance, although from the point of view of coaches and doctors this is already a big burden. Marathon running can hardly be called an extreme sport, but still it requires good physical fitness. Even after short distances, health problems can arise if the load is calculated incorrectly. Participating in marathons accompanied by a child is a personal choice of each person, but it is probably worth remembering that this is still partly a risky sport.
Any discrimination is a bad practice that should be avoided whenever possible, especially if there is an obvious opportunity to offer people with wheelchairs to run in the last wave of starters. Although I can understand and the organizers who do not want to take additional risks.