Evan Kim is not sure what she wants to do when she grows up. She might want to be an elementary school teacher. Or perhaps an Olympic long-distance runner.
She’s working on the running thing.
The 5-foot-tall sixth-grader placed second among all girls and women at the Ventura Marathon in February when she ran the 26.2-mile course in 2 hours 58 minutes, averaging less than 7 minutes per mile. Her goal this year is to run the fastest recorded marathon for a 12-year-old of either gender — she’s only four minutes away. Her trainer (also known as her dad, who goes by MK) says the equation is simple: Just follow the workout plan and the record will be hers.
I wonder what kind of person is the record holder, like are they naturally gifted (obviously there's at least a sprinkle of this) or did they just train super hard, which doesn't sound super fun...
I wonder what kind of person is the record holder, like are they naturally gifted (obviously there's at least a sprinkle of this) or did they just train super hard, which doesn't sound super fun for a 12-year-old.
Also this comment by the father was kinda weird:
MK said that the rule barring younger runners is similar to what women faced before the Boston Marathon went coed in 1972.
Anecdotal experience, when I ran cross country in my youth and trained hard every day, I still got absolutely smoked by 12 and 13 year olds randomly. Part of it is a heavy training regime, but if...
Anecdotal experience, when I ran cross country in my youth and trained hard every day, I still got absolutely smoked by 12 and 13 year olds randomly. Part of it is a heavy training regime, but if your body isn't built for it, you won't be able to match some people. Probably the most humbling experiences I had was running track for 6-7 years, only for some random kid to get on the track and just run laps around me.
Yes, there is a chunk of training for them (especially for someone trying for an Olympic level) but also if they are a multisport kid and have a really active lifestyle, with great nutrition options at home, then I'm not surprised by how good some kids can just be without much targeted effort.
I wonder what kind of person is the record holder, like are they naturally gifted (obviously there's at least a sprinkle of this) or did they just train super hard, which doesn't sound super fun for a 12-year-old.
Also this comment by the father was kinda weird:
Anecdotal experience, when I ran cross country in my youth and trained hard every day, I still got absolutely smoked by 12 and 13 year olds randomly. Part of it is a heavy training regime, but if your body isn't built for it, you won't be able to match some people. Probably the most humbling experiences I had was running track for 6-7 years, only for some random kid to get on the track and just run laps around me.
Yes, there is a chunk of training for them (especially for someone trying for an Olympic level) but also if they are a multisport kid and have a really active lifestyle, with great nutrition options at home, then I'm not surprised by how good some kids can just be without much targeted effort.