Oh, I've been smoked by speedy youngsters during organized rides before (some even of a metric distance), so I know it is possible for a little guy/girl to rise to that sort of challenge quite happily. But none of those rides had that sort of elevation change, distance or weather conditions. My own sons were/are distance runners from the time they entered middle school on. One of them even ran a half marathon in high school--but it was always about them doing something they chose to do themselves. I think (I hope, I hope ) I can tell the difference between choice and coersion. These people were ACTING like what they were doing was wrong. They were actively trying to hide what they were doing. When my son ran his marathon, he did it entirely under his own steam, and if he hadn't been able or willing to finish, we would both have said we were proud of him and left it at that.
I don't know why, but I am haunted by what I saw.