Is difficult to say. I also ran track from 5th grade up through High School. My parents allowed me to make my own decisions but I will say that some kids did not want to run and their parents forced them. Many times the parents were so harsh and if the child had a bad race, the parents would get mad and the child would cry.

I'm like you in that I'm sensitive to that stuff. I think the best thing to do would've been to congratulate the kid because who knows, that could maybe turn a negative thing into a positive. You can never change the parents so even if the child was removed from the ride, the parents would do it somewhere else. If the kid learns that other people are ok to talk to and that just because you're young it doesn't mean you aren't invisible, maybe he'll say something to a school counselor or adult friend about what's going on. If there's something going on, of course