When Candy Granger ran the Big Cottonwood Marathon September 8, her goal was to make a last-minute qualification for the Boston Marathon before registration opened up just two days later. She made the time—with 11 minutes to spare, even while pushing 110 pounds.
That’s the combined weight of a special stroller and her 10-year-old son Sam, who has a rare, neuro-genetic disorder called Angelman Syndrome. She has been pushing him in races since he was 3 because it’s something that brings them both joy and helps raise awareness for his disorder.
But when it came time to register for Boston in the “duo division”—a team made up of “an officially registered runner pushing a non-ambulatory person with a permanent physical disability in a customized racing wheelchair,” as the rules state—the single mom of three discovered she couldn’t. That’s because the minimum age for anyone in the race, even the adaptive athletes in this special division, is 18.
More From Runner's World
Granger was caught off guard. “In the spirit of inclusion, why is that division so restrictive?” she said to Runner’s World in a phone call.
Granger has taken her case directly to the Boston Athletic Association (BAA), but the organization remains resolute in its age limit.
“The Boston Marathon’s rules for participation for all athletes—regardless of division, program, or disability—state that official participants must be 18 years old on race day,” a spokesperson told Runner’s World by email. “These rules are in place to ensure equity across the event and the best possible experience for all.”
Public sentiment on the situation varies, but Granger’s case has garnered her support on social media, where the hashtag #LetSamRace is picking up steam.
The rules seem steadfast, but it’s not going to stop her from trying to change things for the future.
“When I run with Sam, it’s such a powerful experience, not just for him and for me, but everyone on the course,” she said. “It changes the dynamic out there.”
Granger also sees it as an issue of equity: “There are 10 duo division spots in Boston, and last year, only two of those were taken by females pushing athletes,” she says. “When the age restriction is 18, it can be tough for females to push that much weight.”
The BAA says that the rule has been in place since the 1970s, when it first instituted qualifying standards. “This is a prerequisite that can be found at most other marathons, including each of the races comprising the Abbot World Marathon Majors,” says the spokesperson. “These age requirements have been determined based foremost on participant safety.”
Dick and Rick Hoyt, who were the first duo team to run Boston in 1981, support the BAA’s stance.
“My son Rick was 19 when we ran together in our first Boston Marathon, and no athlete in a chair has ever been under 18 years old,” Dick Hoyt said to Runner’s World by email. “There are so many duos all over the world that would love to run the race with their special needs child, and each family has their own special story. But the Boston Marathon is a very sacred race, and I respect its decision to maintain the age limit of 18 years old for ALL athletes that take part.”
Not all marathons take such a hard-line stance on age—Granger’s qualifying race, the Big Cottonwood Marathon in Salt Lake City, is obviously one that allows younger adaptive athletes to participate. The Tucson Marathon is another, and one that Granger has run with Sam in the past.
“We really don’t have a rule,” Pam Reed, one of the event’s race directors, told Runner’s World.
In the case of the Chicago Marathon, one of the nation’s largest, the minimum age requirement is 16, but it does allow participants in all categories to petition for exception.
“Those being pushed in a wheelchair are considered participants, so they need to adhere to the same rules as individuals,” a spokesperson told Runner’s World by email. “That said, individuals can get in touch with us to explain their situation so that we can consider all circumstances.”
What the Rules Mean for Adaptive Athletes
David Slomkowski, founder and executive director of Athletes Serving Athletes (ASA), the nation’s first organization dedicated to adaptive athlete participation in running events, certainly sympathizes with Granger.
“This is a population that has to fight every day for so many things,” he said to Runner’s World by phone.
Regardless, Slomkowski says that in the case of ASA, the athletes go where race directors accept them.
“We aim to make racing an authentic experience for the ‘wingmen,’ as we call them, the adaptive athlete, the race directors, and everyone else on the course,” he said. “The race directors have so much to deal with and we want to be respectful of their policies.”
The ASA’s adaptive athletes range in age from children to adults, and Slomkowski said the BAA’s age restriction of 18 is its prerogative—even if it might be somewhat arbitrary.
“Safety for an adaptive athlete can be an issue at any age in a marathon due to a wide range of medical conditions,” he said. “But the parents’ know their children and what they can or can’t handle.”
At the end of the day, Slomkowski says there is a tipping point with the number of adaptive athletes on a course.
“We have to be open minded to the experience of others and to the race directors who want to make it safe for everyone out there,” he said.
Still, Granger remains undeterred, and looks to Kathrine Switzer as an example to follow.
“It took the BAA four years after Kathrine’s run to allow women in the race,” she said. “If they would reconsider the requirements for the duo division through a lens of inclusion and equity, it would still be a win for us, our community, and for Boston.”
