I think it is ok. As long as she was able to decide after trainnig whether or not she still wanted to. 8 does seem young but, her father taught her a great lesson about sticking with something even when it is hard, and that is something she can carry with her throughout life. knowing she has already done something so hard and made it through means she will be able to again, no matter the challenge.

I will be mad though if this sparks some kind of competition trying to get younger and younger kids to beat the record age though. that would be bad.

dude! her growth may be stunted because of strenuous activity like this!

i think she should be playing on a swing-set,... ok the little girl is ambitious..that's great! and being involved in sports is great for young kids as well, but i think that this is going a little to far.. imo

Are kids less susceptible to stress fractures?

I have a number of friends who sustained heinous breaks (spiral and such) when training for junior-high and high school cross country/track--simply from overly strenuous training.

I have an 8 year old daughter and support her in everthing she does. But there is a fine line between support and pushing. I think it's the parents job to monitor their child, especially in something like this, where an 8 year old has no concept of mortality or injury. If my daughter wanted to run a marthon, I would let her. BUT, would constantly monitor her well being and be her biggest cheerleader at the same time.

55 days! that's ridiculous. an 8 year old who's still growing shoudln't be running for periods anywhere near that long.

That's over 40 miles of running a day! It seems almost abusive to me.

i dont think that was good for her health at all! Im glad she made a goal and then achieved it ..but her dad could of said "you can run but not that far" limits people!!!

My family is originally from Hainan...and it's an island

im definately not an expert but i would think thats to much work for someone so young

It seems like it would depend on the child. If a child has the mental, physical, and emotional ability to take on something like that, and a parent is able to gauge that about them, then I say go for it.

I think it is fine if the child is up to the challenge and does not suffer from any emotional, physical, or mental stress! and as long as they have gone to the doctor to get her checked out and see if her little body can take that amount of stress! and as long as the parents are sure that there daughter is ready and has her mind and and body is into it then go for it!

i hope she is still getting the proper nutrition! and that she is eating her veggie, protein. calcium and is taking vitamins to strengthen her bones!

I think it's fine if she stays healthy. I say " You go girl!" I could never do that; well, i could if I trained however I don't want too,lol.

I just started training to run the Disney Marathon and I am not sure how I feel about this article. She seems very young to be running so hard, but then, it's better than her watching tv or playing video games all day. I'm totally undecided on this. I need to go check out the links in the article.

I don't know about this. But I really think it'll depend on the individual. I think the father only had her goal in mind when he pushed her.

The health of the child is foremost. I'm no expert, so maybe before deciding to run the child should be taken to a doctor who would know about this kind of stuff (a sports therapist?) to get checked, see if she's healthy, get training and nutrittion recomendations, etc. And if the go ahead is given, keep up with regular visits.
She was able to complete it and as far as we can tell is fine, so if that is the case then I am amazed and inspired by this little girl.

If it suddenly comes out that the dad pushed her for money, recognition, or to break some record, I'm calling it child abuse. And let's hope she really did come out of this fine and healthy.

(PS - was this for some kind of a charity? I've never heard of a 55 day marathon)

:/ i feel awful for her, even if she "wanted" to do it, it can't be good for her in the long run!!

When does this little girl find time to go to school? It sounds like all she does is run all day. While athletics and fitness are important, how is she going to grow up to be a productive member of society if she can't think for herself?

I'm not sure how I feel about it, but it definitely is inspiring and remarkable.

I think its terrible. I wonder if she REALLY wanted to run the marathon or just wanted to please her father.. My bet would be on pleasing the father..

I don't think it's only the age that is the biggest issue here but the distance. It does seem like the distance would be brutal for even the most experienced runners and I'm not really sure the body of an 8 year old child could withstand that kind of constant exertion.

NOT...GOOD...AT...ALL!!! GRRRR...

no I don't think it's okay for a child to run a marathon.

omg! i missed the first part and thought it was a regular marathon, not realizing how much she actually did. that's wayyy too much for a little girl.

I don't know how I feel about it either way, but it's amazing that she was able to complete it!

I have mixed emotions. I'm amazed that she could accomplish this and want to say - well done! On the other hand she seems so young and I feel worried about that. The thing is, what about young gymnasts who train for hours a day, every day and at a very young age or young figure skaters?

No. She should be busy picking her nose and stubbing her toes.