Too Young to Run? Or Too Fast Too Young?
By Michael Frank on November 5th, 2012
Kaytlynn and Heather Welsch are 10 and 12 and they’re competing in 10Ks and half-marathons and triathlons — sometimes blowing away the whole field, others “merely” the other female runners. But questions are being raised: In two years Kaytlynn has competed in more than 90 endurance events. The two girls, still well short of five feet tall, often will race two events in a weekend. Rodney and Niki Welsch, their parents, say that the girls’ running is no different than other top-class kids in other sports: hockey, gymnastics, ballet, tennis, where talent is spotted young and parents mix cajoling with praise to help the kids reach their “potential.” In this long piece in the New York Times it’s hard not to feel unsettled by the harm that may be in store for the girls running so hard at such a young age, but it’s also not hard to see the analogies to other talents as apt. Via New York Times.
Read more stories like this at Adventure Journal.
Tags: Trail Running