Young runners to take part in Annual Gold Coast Marathon

ABC NEWS (Australia)

A record number of runners are expected to take part in the Annual Gold Coast marathon this weekend. Among them will be a group of 18-year-olds who will be running the full marathon for the first time.

Transcript

00:00Jack Thorne is getting in his final preparations ahead of his first marathon on the Gold Coast.

00:09Previously last year I'd done the half marathon and I thought well the next step is just the full

00:13and a few of my mates from school decided oh let's enter it and here we are.

00:16Age restrictions prevented underage runners like him from entering the full marathon.

00:21There is a cut off age of 18 and I was 17 last year.

00:24Medical experts say such caps are necessary on children because long distance running such as the Gold Coast Marathon

00:31which stretches for just over 42km can have a range of impacts.

00:36They have less sweat glands which means they can't get rid of the heat like an adult does

00:41which means they're more prone to heat injury and organ damage potential.

00:45But they say the biggest risk is on their growing bodies.

00:49Children have growth plates which adults don't have and can be subjected to repetitive or excessive loading

00:55and that's a problem that can really cause them to have some issues with growth in later years.

01:00While children are restricted from entering the full marathon there are a range of shorter races they can run in

01:06like the half marathon, the 10 and 5km races as well as the junior dash.

01:13As for Jack, he says he's going to tackle the big race one step at a time.

01:18You know a 42km run is a pretty big run so for someone who's still growing it's quite a tough distance.

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