Parents Falsify 13-Year-Old’s Age for 100km Dodentocht March
A 13-year-old boy from Ruisbroek, Belgium, completed the full 100-kilometer Dodentocht walking event in Bornem last weekend after his parents falsified his birth date during registration, bypassing the event’s minimum age requirement of 16. Medical experts have condemned the decision as medically irresponsible, citing serious risks to the boy’s developing body.
The boy walked the entire distance accompanied by his participating father, crossing the finish line on Saturday. The deception came to light when the parents contacted the organization to ask whether their son could register with his correct birth year for next year’s edition, according to VRT NWS.
A Rule Not Arbitrarily Chosen
The Dodentocht, an annual 100km walking event held in and around Bornem since 1970, requires participants to be at least 16 years old, or turn 16 during the calendar year of the event, as documented on Wikipedia. The age limit was established with guidance from a sports physician.
“We were guided by a sports physician to determine that age limit of 16 years,” said Ilse Robyn, spokesperson for the Dodentocht. “We do find it a pity that people set aside agreements and rules to do something they want to do themselves. That 16 is not just a number.”
The registration system for the 2026 edition only accepted birth dates from 2010 onward—the year a participant turns 16—but the boy’s parents entered a false date to secure his entry. Badge collection does not currently require participants to appear in person, as HLN reported.
Medical Experts Warn of Serious Risks
The Flemish Association of Sports and Examination Physicians has called the participation medically irresponsible. President Tom Teulingkx explained that a 13-year-old’s body is not sufficiently developed for such extreme exertion.
“In pre-pubertal children, who are not yet fully developed hormonally and in terms of their bone structure and ligaments, we see that the growth plates are not yet fully closed,” Teulingkx said. “During such a very long walking tour, the strain on them can cause serious overuse injuries.”
Top kinesiologist Olivier Meul, Head of Medical & Performance at KV Mechelen, echoed these concerns. “An effort of 100 kilometers can in itself already cause damage to various structures in the body,” he told HLN. “In a 13-year-old, there is also the fact that the body is in full development: the growth plates and certain bone structures are not yet fully grown.”
Teulingkx also highlighted additional dangers specific to children. “Children need their sleep, 8 to 10 hours per night, and the Dodentocht naturally takes place largely at night,” he noted. “If they skip their night’s rest at that age, they can react differently to circumstances and no longer make the right assessments while walking.”
The extreme heat during this year’s edition added another layer of risk. Temperatures reached up to 37°C during the day, and the organization decided not to shorten the course despite the conditions, as VRT NWS reported. “In children, body mass is smaller than skin surface area,” Teulingkx explained. “As a result, they absorb more heat and can overheat more quickly.”
The 57th edition saw 12,769 participants, with 9,275 completing the full distance—a 72.6% finish rate, according to HLN’s finish report.
Organization Considers Identity Checks
The Dodentocht organization is now examining whether to implement identity verification for future editions, potentially through Itsme or eID card readers, as RTV reported.
“We really don’t want something to go wrong during our event with a participant who is too young to participate,” Robyn said. “We’re going to discuss this with the core committee.”
Parents Apologize
The boy’s mother has since offered a statement, expressing regret over the controversy. “It was our own well-considered decision to let him participate,” she said, “and we want to offer our sincere apologies to the organization for the negative attention that has arisen around this.”
The incident has also cast a spotlight on Reinout Goossens (15) from Laakdal, who was initially believed to be the youngest finisher ever of the Dodentocht. The 13-year-old’s participation means that distinction now belongs to someone even younger.
As the organization weighs its options for strengthening age verification, the episode serves as a reminder that the rules governing extreme endurance events exist for reasons grounded in medical science—not merely administrative convenience. The question now is whether future editions will see stricter enforcement to protect young participants from risks their developing bodies are not equipped to handle.