Running = Child Abuse In US?

I wonder the same thing about over-weight parents that take their infant children to fast-food restaurants like McDonalds EVERY DAY. It's disturbing. But to answer your question, a group of non-running Americans would consider it child abuse. I guarantee it. People here find something wrong with everything.

I doubt there would be any children who would even want to go to school and get their education that bad enough by runnig that far, even if they fell into the same situation as Eliud. Education is not valued like that here.

That's, sadly, very true.

That is a true statement. kids do not value their education at all. I am a high school teacher and the kids just piss and moan about how difficult their lives are, do not do their homework, and eat shit like mcdonalds all the time. OH, and complain about walking up the stairs because it makes them out of breath. I actually want to tell them that if they weren't so fat, it wouldn't be that hard.

with a work ethic like that (which is not limited to the nation's youth) is it at all surprising that the dollar is dropping?

thats not why the dollar is dropping.

do some more homework on the subject please.

letsrunners have the most distorted view of the world. Maybe I come from a crazy place, but I remember in elementary school maybe one or two kids out of 80 in my class were fat, maybe 8 or so overweight. This was only about 15 years ago.

I have a hard time believing that every kid is fat now, when I look around and see kids who all look completely normal weights.

Yeah. Thanks. I've wondered too where all the fat kids that we read about are. I've probably coached a hundred kids by now on my sons' baseball and basketball teams and am still looking for the first fat kid.

24km to school every day. So that's 12km there and 12km back. With wild animals lurking. Sure, that's asking for trouble. Now if he was with a group of older kids, then maybe it's ok.

wondering... wrote:

I wonder the same thing about over-weight parents that take their infant children to fast-food restaurants like McDonalds EVERY DAY.

The only way you could possibly know this is if you work at McDonalds.

yes for the most part we have become a nation of lazy pansies, 24k or 15 miles would be considered child abuse, most of our collegiate teams dont even run 15 miles a day, we are the country of dont overdue it, it is better to undertrain than overtrain (although someone who overtrains is extremely rare) the way i see it running 15 miles on a daily basis after awhile (2-3 years for able bodied people between 18-40) will only take about 1 and a half hours. compare that with the time other athletes put into their sport, swimmers and cyclists do 5-7 hours a day, a collegiate amateur wrestler runs in the morning, lifts 2-3 times a week, drills about an hour 5 days a week and this does not include the 2 hour coaches/team workout so 4-6 hours a day. even a 20 mile run is only a little over 2 hours.

When I was in High School (graduated in 2006) a lot of the kids in my class were still pretty skinny and lived generally healthy lives. It seems like a lot of kids put on weight after going into college because they don't continue to play their sport and usually start drinking more and eat less healthy.

able bodied people between 18 and 40 can hold 6 minute pace for 15 miles? Don't buy it. An 1:18 half marathon and then a couple extra miles at that pace for a good time. Not a lot of people that can do that.

Or if I personally know people who do this, idiot.

Dude, not cool!

As a middle school PE teacher, there are more overweight kids in my classes now than years ago. We have to buy more and more adult large and xl uniforms. It is sad, so many 7th and 8th graders cannot run a lap or two without walking. The mile run is downright dangerous for some. There is only so much we can do when a kid's lifestyle is so unhealthy.

I buy it.

1)It is in doubles, so don't go saying it is a half marathon + more as it is split up.

2)The kenyans have been doing miles like this from when they are children so it is not a sudden shock.

3)This was most likely on a dirt road, so less impact.

4)I would not imagine that six minute pace for kenyan boys is a huge challenge. And not for a future 12:50 guy doing 80+ miles per week.

5)They are healthier then American children-less body fat, healthier food, etc.

Thank yo to all the level headed people who have responded so far. Normally, I'm the last person to break my arm patting myself on the back, but I feel obligated to defend my generation. First and foremost, we are not all a bunch of fatasses. I notice a lot of overweight little kids, but that disappears once they get to high school. You either join some activity, or you have no friends. When I walk down the hall, I don't see a bunch of fatties, I notice tons of kids my age who are in phenomenal shape. In fact, off the top of my head, I can only think of two kids I know who are actually fat.

As far as academics go, I have a 4.9/5 GPA, and I am barely in the 65th percentile for my class. Kids today are willing to throw themselves in a million different directions because they have to. What high schooler in Illinois doesn't dream of getting into U of I? If you want to get in, you'd better be in the top 10% of your class, be up to your neck in activities, and have aced your ACT. My dad did next to nothing in high school, and went to U of I twice (failing out both times).

Granted, we're not perfect. We complain too much, we're short sighted, and occasionally reckless, but teenagers have always been like that. Also, I can say with a fair bit of sureness that most kids my age would not want to run 24km to and from school everyday, but if you older guys think that your generation would have openly embraced all that running, with more than the exception of the occasional Gerry Lindgren type, you are out of your mind.

Sure, some of us are lazy, but kids have always been lazy. Remember that generation of kids that went to the streets of Haight-Ashbury to smoke pot and do nothing? How'd they turn out? My dad didn't do much in high school besides smoke pot and fail classes, and now he's the most responsible, hard working person I know. Kids mature. They always have.

There, that ends my rant on why the sky is not falling and never was.

- There are a lot of fat kids at every level in American school. Please do not kid yourself. If you want to go even further, the percentage of unfit kids is even higher. Visit a PE class someday if you need enlightened.

- Ever hear of grade-inflation? I hope so, because it is rampant. They have even scaled the standardized tests differently to boost scores in recent years. 65 percentile with a 4.9/5? Sorry, but that is just not normal.

- Our country has become all about the value of merely participating and applauding ourselves, and our mediocre youth, for doing so. It should be about more than jsut showing up. Want to get in to a good school? Be the absolute best that you can with academics and one or two pursuits/passions. Save the laundry list of extracurriculars.

- Our country, not just our youth, has become lazy. That's the point of this thread. Education, seeking excellence, opportunity is not valued enough to work (e.g. running 24K) for it.