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Boy, 13, runs Marathon ASHLAND -- Joe Smith may be only 13 years old, but he has the heart of a Kenyan. Joe ran in his first Boston Marathon Monday, and despite being an unofficial "bandit" and not training, he completed the race. He was a little sore yesterday, but he rode his bicycle around his neighborhood and dreamed of mastering the 26.2-mile course. "I’m going to be the next Kenyan," said Joe, a seventh-grade student at Ashland Middle School who stands 4 feet, 7 inches tall and weighs 75 pounds. Until November, Smith practiced running 5 miles and competed over 3-mile courses with his school’s cross-country team. He also plays baseball, skateboards and is an active kid, his parents Jeff and Amy said. "I haven’t stopped smiling. I couldn’t be more proud," said Jeff. "He strives for excellence, and he’s not happy until he gets it." Joe’s time was somewhere around 5:42, he said. Race workers gave Joe a red 110th Boston Marathon jacket and an official participation medal. Along the route, spectators’ cheers grew louder as he went by, Joe said. He especially appreciated the Boston College girls who called out that he was cute. "I couldn’t stop. When everyone’s cheering you on, if you stop everyone would be like, ’Awwww...’ That ruins the whole cheering thing," Joe said. But fan support is not enough to keep a young runner healthy, experts say. Robert Lindeman, a Natick pediatrician who does not treat Joe, said he would not have recommended a 13-year-old -- let alone anyone who had not trained -- run a marathon. "He’s going to have plenty of opportunities to run marathons in his life," Lindeman said. The constant pounding of a 26-mile run on the ligaments of a person who has yet to finish a growth spurt could cause long-term injuries, said Lindeman. The repetitive "high load" could hurt the knees, hips and ankles of anyone who has not gone through puberty, he said. "His lungs and his heart can handle it....There isn’t any reason that a kid could not be in (the) cardiovascular shape (to run a marathon), as paradoxical as it sounds," said Lindeman. "I’m more worried about the 50-something-year-old guy who hasn’t trained who’s running it." Lindeman and the Boston Marathon race director, Dave McGillvray, said young marathon runners should beware just as young baseball pitchers should avoid throwing curveballs. The potential for injury is too great, they said. "It is an incredible accomplishment, obviously, but it’s up to the parents to decide what their child is able to do," McGillvray said. McGillvray ran his first Boston Marahon at age 17 "because I had the desire and passion to do so. But conventional wisdom says to wait longer," he said. The Boston Marathon only registers runners 18 and older. Sometimes parents ask for exceptions, McGillvray said. "It’s a sticky issue somewhat. You don’t want to soften the enthusiasm of somebody who wants to do something like this, but at the same time I think there is a reasonableness to all this, too," McGillvray said. Even though bandits are a part of the Boston Marathon tradition, anyone who runs a marathon unofficially is in danger, McGillvray said. "We don’t encourage it because there is a risk. What if they went down? There’s no registration, no medical background on file," McGillvray said. Registration also ensures that race organizers have enough water, orange slices, medical coverage and other services available for runners, McGillvray said. Joe said he has grown up watching the Marathon and always wanted to run it. His parents thought Joe would definitely make it to the 5-mile mark, and possibly to the 10-mile line, but they didn’t dream he would make it to Boston. "I limped a little more the last half. I kept it at a very slow jog, a fast walk," Joe explained. Even the infamous Heartbreak Hill in Newton didn’t slow him down. "I got to it and was like, ’This is it?’ I made it up no problem," Joe said. Although Joe started in Hopkinton with his friend, fellow seventh-grade cross-country runner Mike Thorne, Thorne dropped out around Natick. When Jeff and Amy didn’t hear from Joe after a few hours, they called every police station and hospital along the Marathon route. Bart, a teacher from Rhode Island who befriended Joe during the last 2 miles, led the boy to the medical tent, where he checked out fine. Bart, whose last name Joe never learned, also had him call his parents from the man’s cell phone. One man made a snide comment to Bart that the boy’s parents were irresponsible for letting him run the Marathon. Jeff and Amy stand by their decision to let Joe run. "He’s the most determined kid. His persistence paid off," said Amy. "We didn’t anticipate him finishing the whole thing." Joe, an honors student and peer leader, already is planning to train for next year’s Marathon, when he likely will bring his cell phone along. (Theresa Freeman can be reached at 508-626-3919 or tfreeman@cnc.com.) For more information about Natick Pediatrics, or to talk to the doctor, please call the office at (508) 655-9699.
(508) 655-9699 Updated: |
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