Nation's Youngest Ironman

Happy for the kid, it's clearly what he wanted to do.

Disappointed in the adults, especially the coach. There are a huge number of risks associated with repetitive stress in kids that aren't done growing. I pray the kid is OK, and didn't permanently injure himself, or moreover, inhibit his natural development. -1 for the parents, too, for not researching the risks of the race. -2 for the coach, he's paid to know this stuff. 

That's a really good time.  I thought you had to be 18 in most IM races, though.

His mom does sound a little crazy.  Only 1,000 calories for a 13 year old boy?  Shouldn't he be eating more since he's growing? 

Seems crazy to let him do that. Who would fly out for two months and coach him?

There is a kid in my tri team who is 14. He does only sprints or kids races and has gone to Nationals for kids USAT races and places in top 10. He is wicked fast and is dropping his times like crazy.  He will come in top 10-15 in local sprints. Seems much more age appropriate what what he does.

Not official M Dot race?

It's mostly because the research shows that you're not done growing by 18. AND that repetitive stress injures kids' growth plates, which cause a host of issues in growing kids.  

It's not a coincidence that HS kids don't have long-distance events to choose from. 5k, or cross-country, is the longest distance available.

At that age, my brother and I would polish off a 16oz bag of Oreos and a gallon of milk BEFORE dinner while playing ping pong until my Dad got home for dinner...

ETA:  I was 4'11" and 83 pounds...  I wish I had that metabolism now...

I can't get my 10 year old to run to the door to open it, much less train for a tri.  

Probably not the best thing for him to do at that age, but it is a lot better than weightlifting at his age.  He is basically doing what all kids do during the summer, swim bike and run around.  His is just alot more extreme.  Probably the single focus of the mom (since the father wasn't interviewed, I assumed he is not part of the family which would help explain the singular focus on the son...not criticizing, just pointing it out).  I hope he doesn't burn out too soon.  You see kids that grow up swimming competitively at the top level sometimes quitting to get out of the rat race.

"We had to watch his calorie intake, which was about 4,500 calories a day before the event," his mom said. "That's when you can eat as much as you can, but not anymore. Now he's back down to about 1,000 calories a day."

His calories during training wasn't 1000. That's what it is now. At least how I read this.

But 1000 cal is still not enough for a regular growing boy.