Scorecard

MARATHON TOT

Six-year-old Bucky Cox of Lawrence, Kans. is one of the cult figures of the running boom. Last summer Bucky set a record for 5-year-olds by running a marathon in Junction City, Kans. in 5:25:09, a race in which 32 older competitors dropped out because of 90�-plus heat. In the fall Bucky clocked 4:59:26 in the Mayor Daley Marathon in Chicago. To his fellow runners and to the ubiquitous TV crews that showed up to film his races, Bucky was proof that, yes, everybody is running these days.

Now Bucky is being recast by some people in almost Dickensian terms. Runner's World magazine says in its March issue that it will no longer publish records for marathoners under 12 "because of the extreme stresses, mental and physical, [the distance] places on a young child." The magazine buttresses its position with a guest editorial by Edward O'Connell, former president of the Road Runners Club of America, who expresses alarm over Bucky's training regimen and calls the nurturing of young marathoners "potentially a new form of child abuse." And in Bucky's hometown, University of Kansas Track Coach Bob Timmons has rejected the boy's application to run in the Kansas Relays next month. Noting that high school trackmen aren't allowed to race at distances greater than three miles, Timmons says, "I don't see how, logically, you can keep a high school runner out but let 6-year-old Bucky in."

Bucky's trainer, Ray Foster, a research associate in the university's Bureau of Child Research, practices "positive reinforcement" on Bucky, rewarding him with nickels. "Some people equate reinforcement with bribery," Foster says. "I would equate it with bribery if we pushed him to do it. But he has said he wants to race." However, when Bucky himself is asked whether he enjoys running, he replies: "Sometimes, and if I complain, I don't get my nickel."

Psychologists disagree about the emotional effects that a rigorous distance program might have on children. Physicians disagree about the possible consequences for the cardiovascular system. There is somewhat less disagreement on the potential hazards to bone development. Evidence on the phenomenon known as Little League elbow suggests that youngsters who throw too hard too soon risk injury, not only to muscles, but also to growing bones. Many physicians say that running a marathon poses similar dangers. One of them, Dr. Anthony Daly, the chairman of the AAU Sports Medicine Committee and a U.S. team doctor for the 1980 Olympics, says flatly, "Bones in young children are too soft and tender to be subjected to 26 miles of pounding."

HERE'S THE CALL AT HOME...OUT!
Like a lot of busy people these days, Chicago Cub Second Baseman Ted Sizemore leaves a recorded message for phone callers when he's not at home. Sizemore says on the recording, "It's the bottom of the ninth, the bases are loaded, there are two outs, and I'm up. Here's the pitch: there's a grounder to third, the throw is to first, and I'm out. That's right, I'm out...."

REINCARNATION

Remember Clark Graebner? Star of the 1968 U.S. Davis Cup team, national clay-court champion, a finalist at Forest Hills? Well, Graebner is now playing platform tennis. Last year Graebner and doubles partner Doug Russell reached the finals in five of seven tournaments, won two of them and were runners-up to Herb FitzGibbon and Hank Irvine in the overall standings. This season the pair has won four tournaments and will be top seed at this week's national championships in Scarsdale, N.Y.

Graebner is considered one of the game's best volleyers, and his return of service is something to behold. Even more gratifying is his behavior. In tennis, Graebner was known for throwing his racket and hitting balls at linesmen. In platform tennis, he is relatively mild-mannered. "It's not an emotional game for Clark," says his wife Patti. "It was something for him to take up when he stopped playing tennis regularly. But it's not his life."

FURRED & FEATHERED