She will make money as a runner if she stays healthy, but money isn't everything. I look at all the professional athletes in baseball, basketball and football who made some money and then spend the rest of their lives playing golf, managing their restaurants, car washes, trailer courts, franchises, whatever it is, and I don't envy them at all. Except for the very few super-wealthy athletes (your Jordan's, your Magic's) or the exceptional few who end up talking heads on TV or in exciting coaching careers, I don't envy many of them at all. I think it's much smarter to go to college during normal college years and prepare for a life that might not include something you're only going to do in your twenties and maybe into your thirties. Also, call me quaint but nothing is quite like the college experience to give you a fuller, richer life for the many decades you still have to kick around this earth. If Alexa Efraimson were my daughter -- hell, if Mary Cain was -- I would not advise them going pro as teenagers in a sport like track & field.