EMERSON, N.J. — At the start of most road races, youngsters are sent to the back of the pack.

Not so for just-turned-12 Giavanna Tabbachino, who at 4 feet 7 inches and 84 pounds floats across the finish line faster with every race. To family, friends and race directors, Gee, as she is known, not only outruns her father and most female entrants but also finishes five-kilometer (3.1-mile) road races in less than 20 minutes before heading off to dance performances and soccer games.

“I don’t think she needs me anymore,” said her father, Dominick, a high school physical education teacher, who has been supervising her training in this North Jersey community since her first race at 7 (a 5K in 28 minutes 59 seconds). “She’s starting to run so fast, she’s actually giving me a good workout.”

Giavanna is not alone. Youngsters are leading a family-driven competitive routine that has surprised longtime running officials. On Nov. 5, 14-year-old Alana Hadley of Charlotte, N.C., who has been running since she was 3, finished third in the Rock ’n’ Roll Savannah Half-Marathon in 1 hour 16 minutes 58 seconds, a personal best.

“It’s beginning to be noticeable,” said Mary Wittenberg, the president of New York Road Runners. “We’re onto the beginning of something.”