The Deadly Cost of a Marathon Craze
A 10-year-old boy dies after attempting to emulate professional marathon runners.
Marathon racing got a black eye here yesterday when little John Raymond died from the effects of an attempt to run five miles. The boy was but 10 years old, but he had been enthused over the reports of Hayes, Longboat, and Dorando, and he had an ambition to be a great marathon runner. He overexerted himself in a five-mile practice run and, after lingering three weeks, died yesterday.
“The boy was but 10 years old but he had been enthused over the reports of Hayes, Longboat and Dorando, and he had an ambition to be a great marathon runner.”
In the early 1900s, 'marathon mania' gripped the public as long-distance running became a global spectator sport. This tragic death of a child highlights how quickly youth culture can be swept up by the intense, often dangerous, athletic fads of the day.
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