Controversy surrounding the Flying Pig Marathon has been circulating on social media after a 6-year-old boy ran the full marathon with his family.Now, runners and supporters of the Flying Pig are asking: how was this allowed?The organizers of the race have taken a lot of heat Wednesday and now they’re making changes.The rule to run the Flying Pig is that you have to be 18 years old to participate in the full marathon, 14 years old to run in the half marathon and 12 years old to run in the 10K.But on Sunday morning, a little boy from Bellevue, Kentucky, who’s only 6 years old completed the full marathon, a 26.2 mile race, with his parents. It took him more than 8.5 hours.Organizers were aware that he was participating. This family has competed for years and have often included some of their kids, whether they were allowed or not, so organizers of the Flying Pig allowed the boy to run so they could offer support if need be.The Flying Pig released a statement Wednesday evening saying: “The Flying Pig Marathon takes the safety and security of all participants very seriously. We receive numerous requests for special accommodations each year and carefully evaluate each one. Our goal is to provide a positive race experience for all participants while supporting them along the course. The Flying Pig Marathon was founded on the idea of hosting a world-class road race experience and will always strive to do so.”Eight members of the same family were registered together. The 6-year-old boy was the youngest.An 11-year-old girl also completed the race also finishing in about 8.5 hours.Race organizers say they plan to enforce age limits moving forward.
Controversy surrounding the Flying Pig Marathon has been circulating on social media after a 6-year-old boy ran the full marathon with his family.
Now, runners and supporters of the Flying Pig are asking: how was this allowed?
The organizers of the race have taken a lot of heat Wednesday and now they’re making changes.
The rule to run the Flying Pig is that you have to be 18 years old to participate in the full marathon, 14 years old to run in the half marathon and 12 years old to run in the 10K.
But on Sunday morning, a little boy from Bellevue, Kentucky, who’s only 6 years old completed the full marathon, a 26.2 mile race, with his parents. It took him more than 8.5 hours.
Organizers were aware that he was participating. This family has competed for years and have often included some of their kids, whether they were allowed or not, so organizers of the Flying Pig allowed the boy to run so they could offer support if need be.
The Flying Pig released a statement Wednesday evening saying: “The Flying Pig Marathon takes the safety and security of all participants very seriously. We receive numerous requests for special accommodations each year and carefully evaluate each one. Our goal is to provide a positive race experience for all participants while supporting them along the course. The Flying Pig Marathon was founded on the idea of hosting a world-class road race experience and will always strive to do so.”
Eight members of the same family were registered together. The 6-year-old boy was the youngest.
An 11-year-old girl also completed the race also finishing in about 8.5 hours.
Race organizers say they plan to enforce age limits moving forward.
