Today there are critics and doubters. But when the girls stand on the Olympics podium someday, holding up their Gold Medals they just won for the USA, our national pride will swell.

Taking natural gifts and talents into the unknown require vision, courage and intense drive - both from within the individuals and from the communities standing behind them. Paced, balanced training lowers the possibility of injuries. Savoring the joy of blessing others along the way prevents burn-out.

I think the focus here needs to be on whether or not this is going to have a negative impact on the girls. While young kids have huge benifits from learning healthy lifestyles early if they continue to push themselves to far they can have substantial problems as a result. The truth of it is our cells only regenerate so much and cartlidge end up getting replaced with inorganic materials once they fall apart when we are adults. We need to be teaching our kids moderation of good things as well as the bad. This will prolong their healthy pain free lives. If we do not teach this to them they will learn it the hard way when the injuries no longer heal and will bare the scars from surgery to prove it. I appauld these girls for their dedication and love of running but i hope that someone helps them understand these concepts before pain becomes a permenent fixture of their adult lives.

When my daughter was 6, she wanted to do a 100-mile bike ride with me. I said she was nuts and she would not enjoy it. After she bugged me for months, I decided natural consequences would be the best teacher - she would get tired, sore, cold, and next time listen to me. After 11 hours and 15 minutes on our tandem bicycle, we returned home after a hilly 100-mile route and she said, "that was fun, can we do it again tomorrow?". I explained to here "sorry, adults need to do something called "recover" even if you don't.

She then asked about doing a 200-mile, I started to object but decided, "hey, it could not hurt to try". She finished three DOUBLE centuries (200-mile 1-day rides) last year, completing the California Triple Crown at age 12. The last ride was 13,000 feet vertical and took us 24 hours 15 minutes. We're not fast, but she is determined.

And you know what? We love every minute of this. Out in the middle of nowhere, no TV, no stupid cell phone, nothing to do all day and night but talk, marvel at the world around us, and push towards a seemingly impossible common goal. I think these are the best memories I might ever have of time with my daughter.

So - if the kids are enjoying it and there's no long-term negative consequences, do it!!!! - Stacy & Shoshanna Spink, Castro Valley, CA Triple Crown Winners 2012!

Although I wasn't much of an athlete, I enjoyed the competition, even knowing I'd never excell at any sport. However, that didn't mean much inasmuch as I was outside playing with other children. I enjoyed that even more than organized competition, what with the interaction with the other kids.

However, I had a reasonably high IQ (whatever that meant) and excelled in academics. I did my homework in school and had the rest of the day, after classes of course, to enjoy the outdoors. Both gave me much pleasure.

However, my parents pushed me to do even better academically and leave off a lot of the athletics. I finally tired of that around age 12 and told them as long as I got at least a B, I was doing OK. In fact, I would get a B once in a while just to piss them off. So I wasn't the best child, but which child is. Perhaps these girls will tell their parents they want to take a weekend off just to be kids, and if the parents aren't pushing them, they'll be OK. Hell, they'll hopefully grow up OK anyway. Interests change, mine did, and they may go in different directions entirely.

I went into the military immediately after High School (Vietnam Era), had excellent training and a tough job which was highly challenging. After my second enlistment, I went to UC Berkley and completed college. Then to computers, which I had been working with since 1968. But I kept up going outside, not running, but walking, gardening - something I still enjoy and I'm male - and generally eating well and giving myself the chance to have a healthy lifestyle, something I still have.

These two girls really need to back off to one competitive race a week, IMHO, perhaps running and competing against each other on the other day. But from what I read, they also have other interests, which is excellent. My other interest was trying to be competitive in athletics. And if they truely want to run two races a week, let them.

These two girls might be missing out on being just kids, but as long as it's not interfering with their growth, life or whatever just let them be. My parents let me be after I basically told them to go to hell at age 12, something I really don't recommend for any child. Just don't push and they'll be OK. Allow them to do what they really want. It's better that way.

The Female Athlete Triad is a very real and serious problem for female athletes (ammenorhea, disordered eating, and bone mineral density problems). It will be interesting to see if these girls develop normally, or have any psychological problems (e.g. disordered eating) or physical issues due to this extremely demanding running program they appear to be doing.

Personally, I would not feel comfortable having kids this age be THIS involved THIS seriously in any sport.

The only real problem I see is continuous impact - especially the spine. Having been a sprinter for many years from age 12 until well into my thirties, I can tell you that I am definitely shorter due to disk compression. Power lifting contributed, but disks are soft and are under continuous stress of gravity. Long-distance running is especially stressing. Marathon runners actually pound blood into their urine during a race. All this beats up growth plates. Make no mistake - they will be shorter. It is a question by how much. It depends on where they are in the puberty cycle and the plates closing. Good luck to them.

I don't care. They're not my kids.

It's called discipline.

This is extreme. These kids wont be able to walk buy the time they are young adults...the body/knees/shins can only take so much pounding..I know several runners and MOST of them have serious problems going on with their joints and they were not doing this @!$%# when they were that young. Hope it works out for the young girls and I hope to see them running in the Olympics. Good luck gals!! Although I think it is too much , at least the father is still around and I give him kudos for that, just make sure you are not wearing them out.

Let the kids decide what they want to participate in, then support them in it. Don't press them to do something they're not interested in.

I ran my first marathon (Nissan Buffalo Marathon) in 1989 at the age of 14 in 3:47 then again the next year at 15 in 3:20. Have also completed the Race Around the Bay 30K (Hamilton, Ontario Canada) numerous times plus multiple 10k & 5k races. Now at the age of 38 I don't run much, but I still enjoy it. Probably will never run another marathon either but all that motivation I had back then was mine. My parents were support but definitly not forcing it.

Thanks Mom & Dad!

and they'll turn out to be just like the boys: hated for their abilities by others. Now isn't that what equality is all about Feminists ? Becoming the monster you once demonized, but still calling men Demons, tweens are "empoowered"

and again, Men are so much rubbish.

Good luck girls, when you find there's a femme looking to loathe you for who you are. They'll eventually catch up with you and shame you for not ....what ever they disagree with that day.

I am very pro fitness, and I feel girls at this age should increase their activity because it will help balance hormones and make puberty less painful. However, on the other hand if you go too extreme it can do the opposite and hurt a girl's fertility for the future. As long as her body fat percentage is in the right range, her knees are good (young female athletes tend to have more frequent knee issues), and she enjoys doing it, this can be a good thing.

I had to put the brakes on my daughter when she was in high school. She was an honor student in the gifted/talented program and the President of the Honor Society. She was also involved in so many activities it made my head spin. She even joined the Environmental Club, which cleaned and sorted all the cafeteria trash. Then she told me she wanted to run for School Board because you could do that if you were 17. I told her no way because she was already spread too thin. She needed to relax a little bit, which is part of a well-balanced life. She is now a lawyer. My son was not a huge scholar like my daughter, but he was extremely bright in a different way. One thing he loved to do was make money, so he became a little entrepreneur at a very young age. Now he is grown and an engineer, but still retains that entrepenurial (sp?) spirit. About six months out of college, my son became very ill for a long time. Once he recovered, he was right back in the groove paying off his student loans and everything else until he was debt free. I never pushed either of my kids to be in sports or anything they were not interested in, but I did support them in the things they themselves wanted to do.

I see nothing wrong here. The girls love what they are doing and are learning a healthy lifestyle at a young age. I work out with my two boys( ages 12 and 8) every morning before school. We will run a mile, run hills or sprints and then do some pull ups, sit ups etc...The kids enjoy it and it gets them ready for the school day. Their teachers have commented that my boys are alert and ready to go when they get to school unlike other kids who come to school still half asleep. As a youth sports coach, I see alot of fat little kids out there. I wonder how much time they spend in front of the tv or playing video games. Working out with your kids is also "quality time". I think if more parents insisted that their kids exercise we would be much better off.

I think the father is hurting his youngest daughter by pushing her in adult races & competing against her sister who is 2 years older. It is totally unfair for the youngest to be crying & in obvious pain, trying to please her father who obvious cant cut it himself, since he isnt even competing. What a jerk.

I'm not a doctor and so have no opinion how healthy or unhealthy this may be for girls of that age. However, if Dad thinks this is so wonderful for his daughters, why isn't he training and running with them instead of just signing them up for back to back races on weekends and then just cheering them on????? Maybe if he was doing the same amount of running as he encourages them to do, he might decide it was a bit too much.

I'm not a doctor and so have no opinion how healthy or unhealthy this may be for girls of that age. However, if Dad thinks this is so wonderful for his daughters, why isn't he training and running with them instead of just signing them up for back to back races on weekends and then just cheering them on???? Maybe if he was doing the same amount of running as he encourages them to do, he might decide it was a bit too much.

PLEASE CHECK THE GIRLS' THYROIDS ! If they are damaging their thyroids, they may not be able to have children in their adult lives. Speaking from experience , it was medically verified for my sister and a girl friend who ran marathons and could not have children. A 12 year old should be near or having a menses cycle. Please take note .

The key comes when the father says that his daughters really aren't trying as hard as they could. That sort of shaming will work for a while, and then one day (I hope) these girls will tell him to go to h---, and he will deserve the way they ignore him for the rest of his life.

Personally, I think it's fabulous that these girls are out there, exercising, enjoying the fresh air and keeping their bodies healthy. It's awesome! My gut feeling though is that their father is a little overbearing. If this is the girls' passion then let them own it. Why feel the need to stand on the side of a race shouting at them as they run run by him. Let the girls enjoy the experience. Instead of worrying about their time and not being satisfied that they didn't do good enough, will never be good enough. Where is the joy in that? If the father would back off and just encourage them for just being who they are, for trying their hardest, the girls might actually love themselves. All I could see is the youngest sister wanting the love and acceptance of her older sister, who clearly did not feel the same way. Has this attitude been developed because of the competition that these parents have placed on these two young girls. Win, be faster, be better then the other person. I am all in favor of exercising however, loving themselves and each other is also important and I feel that they are missing this one.

Personally, I think it’s fabulous that these two young girls are exercising and getting their bodies fit and healthy. My issue is with their father who does seem to be a bit harsh on these girls. If this is the girls' true passion, then why stand on the sidelines shouting at them to push harder as they pass by him? What about encouraging and accepting them for trying their best, loving them for what they have accomplished? How about enjoying the experience? It appeared to me as though the girls felt their “times” were not good enough, that they themselves will never be good enough. The younger of the two seemed to want her older sister’s love and friendship, something the older sibling wanted nothing to do with. All I got out of this was people thinking only of themselves, to do what they can to get to the top, to be the best. There is more to life than this. How about teaching these girls to give back. To use their amazing talents to help girls that might not have access to this sort of training, or the funds to enter a race. There is more to life then having the best time in a marathon

As a father of two young boys, ages 12 and 11, who also run, including long distance runs, tough trail races, etc., here's my take on this. I think it is wonderful that these two girls apparently enjoy running all these races. They probably also enjoy all the traveling to different places to race. My kids are the same way, and they will also occasionally do back-to-back races, although not nearly as often as these girls do. So I think it is great in that sense.

However, on the flip side, I am convinced that the parents, and especially the father, are "showing off" these girls. I have several reasons for believing this, and will give a couple of them here. Number one, the 12-year old ran the Houston marathon last year at age 11...illegally. The minimum age requirement for that race was 12, and she did not have a waiver to run it at 11. So her dad signed her up listing her age as 12. She showed up at the start line with all kinds of writing on her that basically said "hey look at me...I'm young and I'm running this marathon." That is not normal. Eventually, at some point after the race, the girl was DQ'd from the results because word got back that she was actually 11. She did run the race legally as a 12-year old last month in the very fast time for a 12-year old girl of 3:41.

Number two, as others have said, they are not the fastest for that age, nor do they run the most at that age. Yes, the 12-year old is one of the faster ones around, but the 10-year old is not. While her times are excellent for a 10-year old, you can find many others that age every bit as fast or faster than her. They are also not the only ones those ages doing these longer races, including the tough trail runs. So why are they getting all the attention, and not the other kids? You guessed it...the parents, especially the dad, are actively promoting them and begging for the attention. The other kids doing similar things as them are known locally, and most prefer to keep it that way.

Since I'm here, I'll throw in my own "brag" moment, and it helps show that these girls are not unique in what they do. When my sons were 9 and 10, they wanted to run a 6-hour timed trail race here in Oklahoma. So I signed them up...I was running the race as well. The goal of the race is to run as far as you can in that time...you can stop at any time and be credited for the mileage done. Well after about 3 hours, my kids were still going strong, but I thought they were about to crash and burn, so I made them walk one loop of the 4-mile course with me before letting them run again. Once they finished walking that loop with me, they took off running again and kept running right until the end. They ended up with 30.2 miles covered in the 6 hours...on a single track technical trail with rocks and roots....at ages 10 and 9. And they still to this day "blame" me for making them walk a lap, keeping them from going even further. The overall winner did 39 miles that day. I "only" got 23 in. I say this just to emphasize that these girls are far from the only young runners doing distance out there, and doing it well.

My kids watched the Rock City episode last week on these girls, and my 12-year old asked if they are signed up to do the Austin Marathon this weekend. I checked, and lo and behold, yes they will be there doing the half marathon. So hopefully we will get to meet them, as my 12-year old is doing the full marathon on his quest to become a marathon maniac (and he won't be the youngest) and my 11-year old the half. As soon as my kids found out they will be running the half, my 11-year old suddenly got some extra motivation, and says that he is beating at least the 10-year old. Looking at her times, I'm fairly confident he will. Now the 12-year old is probably a bit out of reach for him. Another comment about the Rock City piece on these girls...when they were showing video of the trail race in Hawaii and making it sound like it was so difficult, my boys immediately said that they are exaggerating so much on how hard it is. My kids were right of course, but I told them that is something the media does to make their story more interesting.

I ran a full marathon in March 2012. By mile 5 I was keeping a pace that would be close to Boston Qualifying for my M60-64 age group. These girls ran the half marathon, which started several minutes after the full. The older one flew by me around mile 5, then the younger one flew by a very short time later. I was amazed and felt honored to be on the same course; I was also very happy not be in their age group. Their parents obviously love the girls and spend a lot of time with them. As long as they enjoy running, let's all encourage them. Running is a lot less dangerous than gymnestics (broken necks and bones) and football (torn knees that last a lifetime) and numerous other activites kids perform. I'll be watching for the girls in a couple of weeks at the same race. Obviously, I won't see them if they are running the full and start at the front where they belong. Shame on anyone of any age who says anything negative to little kids who pass them. For 99+% of runners, running is about competing against yourself, not against kids who are not even in your age group. Seeing excellence should inspire us all.