Impressive or Concerning?

   This morning I was sitting at my kitchen table when a picture in the New York Times from this article caught my eye. It is the same photo that I have put in this post, and if you look closely enough, you will see the third person from the left; a sixty pound girl named Kaytlynn Welsch. She, 12,  and her sister Heather, 10, run in some of the most grueling races in the country alongside some of America's best runners, most of which are three times the age, and size, of the sisters. While they run in some races that are meant for children, most of the time the girls are running in races meant to be a challenge...for adults. Kaytlynn and Heather recently ran in the national championship trail run in Utah and as the New York Times states, "These children sweetened the scene with a dollop of cuteness, but curious onlookers were unsure whether to be intrigued or appalled." Similarly, Claudia Spooner, a 42-year old runner who was beat by Kaytlynn in a major race in Texas, said that they were "beautiful but teeny girls." Spooner has an 8-year old son and as the New York Times states, "she would never put him in such a race. It was too hard on young bodies. It could harm their growth." The girls are pushed by their father, who seems to be very hard on the girls for such a young age and says that his daughters have "too much talent to quit."
    When I first read about these girls, I was in shock. I think that races meant for adults, should be for adults. There should be age limits on races because I think it is unnecessary and dangerous for people like the Welsch sisters to be running in them. They could just as well run in races meant for kids their age and wait until they are older to participate in the other ones. Parents need to be less harsh on their children, especially when they are at such a young age. The Welsch sisters are not even teenagers yet, so how could they possibly know that running is all they will want to do for the rest of their life? Their parents need to push them to explore other activities while they are young, instead of just pushing them to run, run, run. It is simply unhealthy for the girls to be running so often (Kaytlynn ran around 90 races in a 2 year span) and although I know little about the sport, their dad seems unqualified as a coach. What do you think about this story? Do you think, as the title of the article suggests, that the Welsch sisters are going "Too Fast, Too Soon"? Why or why not?