took his 9-year-old son to run the marathon, and his father was banned for two years

Upstream News

2024-04-25 17:26Posted on the official account of Chongqing Upstream News

On March 31 this year, Mr. Cao (net name: Sweet Potato Running) led his 9-year-old son Cao Xirui to challenge the Zhengkai Marathon, which was reported by many media in Henan at that time.

took his 9-year-old son to run the marathon, and his father was banned for two years

Lao Cao took his 9-year-old son to run the whole marathon. Photo courtesy of the interviewee

After the race, Mr. Cao was reported by netizens for participating in violation of regulations, and the Zhengkai Marathon Organizing Committee issued an announcement on April 24 after investigation: Mr. Cao did not participate in the parent-child track according to the regulations, and entered the marathon track without permission, violating the relevant provisions of the "2024 Zhengkai Marathon Competition Regulations", so he was banned for two years (banned from participating in the 2025 and 2026 Zhengkai Marathon).

On April 25, an upstream news reporter contacted Mr. Cao, who said: "I only learned about the punishment when I broadcast live yesterday (24th). ”

By taking his son for a run, Mr. Cao changed his son's physical condition and mental outlook. Photo courtesy of the interviewee

Mr. Cao and his son Cao Xirui are well-known in Pingdingshan: in 2022, the two ran and exercised together, Mr. Cao's weight decreased from 180 kg to 120 kg, and his son's weight also decreased from 60 kg to 54 kg.

On April 2, Mr. Cao posted a video of the two participating in the Zhengkai Marathon, and he and his son had signed up for the Zhengkai Marathon's parent-child run (happy run), but they ran the whole marathon. After more than 5 hours of finishing the race, his son "ran away" and picked up his son from the volunteers at the finish line.

On April 1, in an interview with Henan Mobile News, Mr. Cao revealed: "Since I can't report the marathon before I make it, I reported a happy run." But when we went to the starting point, we found that the starting point was all runners who ran half and full of the race, and we couldn't go back to the starting point of the fun run, so we ran forward with the crowd. At that time, I thought that he (my son) would not be able to run, so I could run as much as I could, but when I turned back halfway through the race, he said that he could still run, so let's challenge the whole race. ”

The Zhengkai Marathon Organizing Committee announced the penalty announcement. Photo courtesy of the interviewee

Talking about this matter half a month later, some netizens thought that Mr. Cao took his son to run a marathon to earn traffic and run, to which he explained: "This is the first time I have taken my son to run a full marathon." I do do self-media, but I didn't think about making traffic with this. I just thought that this was a competition at home, and I wanted my son to experience the atmosphere. We didn't want to be ranked, and we didn't think about asking for medals, but after the finish line, the volunteers didn't understand the situation, so they were given medals and finishing bags according to the treatment of the finish. To be honest, I didn't expect him (my son) to run the whole horse. ”

Some netizens questioned the loopholes in the check-in, he said: "In fact, it's not a problem with the check-in, but in order to save accommodation fees, I drove from my hometown in Yexian County to Zhengzhou, and I lived in the car with my son, and the car was parked near the starting point." When they got up the next morning and walked a few steps to the starting point, they (the staff of the Zhengkai Marathon) didn't know that there were people in the car. ”

Nine-year-old Cao Xirui ran faster than his father. Photo courtesy of the interviewee

Netizens are worried that the 9-year-old boy may not be able to stand the whole marathon, Mr. Cao said: "From the age of 6 to 9, my son has to run 3 kilometers every day for three years, and I feel that my physical strength is better than mine." At the beginning of this competition, I was able to command him and say slow down, slow down. But after 30 kilometers, I 'crashed' and the distance widened. He arrived at the finish line 30 minutes before me, and when I arrived, I found that the volunteers were helping to lead him, so I quickly picked him up. ”

For the two-year ban, Mr. Cao frankly said that he was willing to accept it. But he also said: "Last year, my son and I participated in a 25-kilometer race, which was also a fun run. When we arrived at the turnaround point, I told the staff that we wanted to challenge the longer distance, and we were allowed to run 25 kilometers, and we didn't say anything after the race. With such a wide road, high-level athletes have finished running, and we don't want rankings or medals, can we run for a while? After all, rock climbing, skiing, and other events, as long as they are accompanied by guardians, minors can also participate. ”

The reporter interviewed a marathon organizer, who revealed: "According to the regulations of the Chinese Athletics Association, it is not allowed, and at present, the whole marathon must be over 20 years old to participate, and the half marathon and 10 kilometers are allowed to participate in the marathon over 16 years old. ”

Lin Sheng, a sports medicine expert who once served as a team doctor for the Chinese diving team, told reporters that minors are not suitable for running a full marathon, because marathon is an extreme sport that requires high cardiopulmonary function and requires long-term exercise to participate. The body of minors is still in the development period, and running the whole marathon will overload the body, which may bring four problems:" First, the calcium content of the skeletal tissue of minors is lower than that of adults, and the hardness is not enough, and the impact of long-distance running on the body may cause damage to the backbone of children, resulting in osteedema or green branch fractures; second, excessive running may cause damage to the growth plates at both ends of the long bones of the lower limbs, causing irreversible damage to bone development, and affecting children's height development; third, the internal organs of minors are not perfectly developed, and their body temperature regulation ability is worse than that of adults, and long-distance running is prone to heat stroke or hypothermia; fourth, appropriate aerobic exercise will promote the development of cardiopulmonary function of minors, but excessive aerobic exercise may damage heart function。 ”

Regarding Mr. Cao's situation that he can't run his 9-year-old son, Lin Sheng analyzed: "It may be related to the lack of inhibition function in the body of minors, and adults will have obvious discomfort reactions after physical fatigue, but the feedback of minors is relatively slow, which also leads to the situation that the little doll does not know that he is tired, but he does not know that he is not tired." Personally, I don't recommend a full marathon for minors. If you really like running, you can run a few kilometers of healthy running, and wait until the age of 16-18 is basically mature, and then gradually engage in long-distance running. ”

After the upstream news reporter conveyed the advice of sports medicine experts to Mr. Cao, he said: "My son likes to run, and he has gained a lot through running. Therefore, we will insist on running 3 kilometers every day, and strive to 'sharpen a sword in ten years'. Wait until he is an adult to sign up for the competition and strive for a blockbuster. ”

Upstream news reporter Zhao Yingji

View original image 1016K