Should Marathon's Be Banned To The Unfit?

Merlin the Magician

Merlin the Magician

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:eek: NO its not a chocolate bar thread.......... :suspect:

But on just watching the news a young man died yesterday after completing the course in the London marathon and 70 needed hospital treatment + the others who were treated on the side of the road as well.......

I am not against someone raising monies for charity but the cost of a life is surely not warranted.

I feel that the half marathon would be more than a large target and achievment to do, for the average keep fit fanatic and I personally would rather see this and donate to a good cause for this type of race, rather than the 26 miles odd, they have to run to finish.

Its surely too much pressure for the average lady or gent to get involved in and one would tend to have to push ones-self into over doing it and suffer the consequences then of dehydration, aches and pains, and blistered feet.....

I bet there was a drain (excuse the pun!) on hospital resources while these FUN runners were being treated for their endeavours and other injured-sick people possibly took a back seat for their own treatment........

Yes o-k the temperatures were abnormal for the time of the year……………..which obviously again never helped…………….
Just a thought!!!!

Have you a view on this????????
 
I agree Merlin. What we need is some Government legislation to prevent this, preferably backed up with some suitability profiling.

How about a token/card scheme linked to a central database that clocks how many miles you do on average, which can be 'charged-back' against any factors that the government deem to go against you such as age, weight or religious persuasion.

If properly adminstered by a new government department and with sufficient expenditure on a state-of-the-art computer system then there may even be a reduction in the demand on the NHS thus saving the taxpayer money!

All good :ph34r:
 
If fools want to flog their bodies over 26 miles of concrete, let them go for it. By the same token I think all hard drugs should be legalised.

Mugs, all of them.
 
This is one of the many social ills arising out of free choice in a free society. I think far more stringent, Taliban-style restraints are needed now to curb all the poor judgment displayed by today's modern culture. Such public displays of human flesh en masse and on the move would be stopped, all tv would be wholesome Disney fare for all the family, single mothers would be forcibly married off to available men to create traditional family units, and those transgressing the proper codes would be shot on the spot by roving members of the Committee for the Suppression of Vice and the Promotion of Virtue. If such actions prevented just one person from dying in foolish marathons, it would be worthwhile, I say.
 
Another suggestion would be to only allow people who have already completed Marathon's to enter. Over a long enough timeframe deaths from over-exertion should reduce to nil.
 
Au contraire: Merlin has voiced his concern for the burden a marathon places on the NHS. So, surely no fit people should be allowed to run in them, but only the desperately ill, weak, aged and feeble? That would surely have a much more significant impact on bed waiting times - in fact, enforcing a marathon or three prior to a quadruple heart-bypass op should be the norm. What's the point of a 'health' service which is full of sickies?
 
Just ban it. We'll all stay home instead watching TV. A much better idea that will get us all fitter.
 
Do the runners put undue pressure on themselves with the idea that they must carry on running, as the charity they are running for will be let down if they don't finish?

I would think that most people would be sensible and aware enough to know when they have reached their limit, but I feel that there could well some participants who wouldn't be able to cope with 'the failure'.
 
Hali Salassi (sp? - famous African long distance runner) had to pull out - are you saying he shouldn't have been running because he wasn't fit?
 
The person that died was evidently a 22 year old fitness instructor, so it sounds like it should possibly be the fit people that are also banned from the marathon. :rolleyes:
 
Originally posted by PDJ@Apr 24 2007, 07:02 AM
Just ban it.
Click to expand...
Agreed............ I was rather peeved when the beeb switched from showing Parrott v Davis (when it was poised at 9-8) to show highlights of people pounding the streets of London dressed as chicken.
 
Originally posted by betsmate@Apr 23 2007, 10:36 PM
Another suggestion would be to only allow people who have already completed Marathon's to enter. Over a long enough timeframe deaths from over-exertion should reduce to nil.
Click to expand...
:laughing:
 
Having completed a couple of marathon and several halfs, I don't think it is up to people to ban those who wish to enter. How do you classify fit? For example, I am a slow runner, but I am fit. Every race/run I have ever entered, I have completed, with the exception of one 3 mile X-C event, when I had a muppet moment, fell down a big hill and badly winded myself. So I did the sensible thing and pulled out.

Sunday's high casualty rate was in part due to the highest temperatures on race day since 1996. The organisers take all possible precautions to prevent this sort of thing happening. Throughout the pre entry and confirmation magazines mailed to all runners, there are strongly worded warnings advising check ups with docs if people are new to exercise and running. There are also warnings in the final instructions regarding exertion, water consumption and basically how to stay safe. There is always going to be someone who breaks these guidelines and it is then their lookout what happens to them.

However, people like Jade Goody last year, give the sport a bad image it doesn't need. There is always danger in everything people do and if you were to seek non danger, you'd spend your life in a cardboard box in a room, out of harm's way.

I ran a half marathon a couple of years ago, where sadly 4 runners died on the day. This was a hot day with a strong wind, which effectively reduced the heat to the runners, leaving those who were novices or unwary, suffering when they realised just how hot it was. This is an example of how experience or reading the guidelines helps.

The Paris Marathon have a good entry system. They require a certificate from your Doctor stating that you are fit to run. Without this, they will not issue you your number. London & Paris numbers are collected in person, so this would be a good way of at least letting the prepared through. I can see why some people do not want to "fail" by walking, remember, some of these guys have been running their whole lives.

To close, it is down to the individual to ensure that they are prepared for their marathon and to take steps if they are not. I entered the Paris Marathon last October, which was due to run the Sunday before London. However, in February, recognising that injury had slowed my prep, I would not complete it safely and pulled out, gutted. However, I live to fight another day.
 
Really awful as he was clearly a very fit young man. A dreadful waste of such a young life.
 
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