Michael Fout

I would be willing to bet that LaPorte gets just as much snow as much of the northeast... at least very close... Lake effect at its worse

Fout lives in NW Indiana close to Lake Michigan (I believe at a higher latitude than CT). Quit making excuses for your favorite runner.

I give him props on a good race, he ran it perfectly, he deserved to win it, but the temperature had alot to do it as well, Northeast had a disadvantage cause i live in Connecticut, and trust me its 30 degrees every day, and Fout was used to the heat

People just overlooked Fout due to him not running a ton of high level meets earlier in the year and not having alot of support from people posting on the message boards. The kid is just stronger and better than most gave him credit for and it finally showed. He's the best XC runner in the US this years.