She Is 13 and Too Young to Enter

Pema Franchi is thirteen. She is winning some of the hardest mountain running races on earth, and she is not old enough to be on the start list without somebody writing an exception for her.

Trail Runner sent Brian Metzler to find out how that happens without breaking the kid. The answer, so far, is that nobody has told her it is supposed to hurt. She is keeping it fun.

Every generation of this sport gets one arrival that rearranges the ceiling. Ecuador just sent one up the mountain.