As the leader of the middle of the pack my contributions to this website will likely be unorthodox. I apologize in advance for my lack of flowing metaphors and sincerity. However, I won’t apologize for the sexy prose. While I wrote in earnest about the Ryan’s I will rarely be as serious again. Welcome to the middle of the pack, it’s a jungle of politics, music, legalese, and of course some splashes of running….gossip. Just the way I like it. 2008…it’s YOUR year. Well it’s 2008 and it seems most of the media outlets and really any outlet with a mouth, is trying to convince us that the whole world is going to hell. Maybe its your neighbor or your professor or even that super-politically active co-worker who is constantly trying to make you believe that the economy sucks, that the environment is sucking even harder, and that the Iraq war is an all consuming fireball of suckiness. This may all be true, but what my 2008 theory presupposes is, “maybe it doesn’t suck?” Switch gears. Have you listened to that new Spoon album? The song ‘Underdog’ sounds like a rockabilly Elton John when he was still playing in the closet. It makes me want to run. That is the kind of stuff I am talking about, as there is still motivation to be found. That even in the eye of the apocalypse there will still people creating great things. On the other hand, I suppose we could all sit around, have a good cry and feel crappy about some sucky stuff. Of course I will suggest we don’t waste 2008 on such meager endeavors. Listen America, this whole world is a disaster’ attitude is getting tired. It needs to stop. There are good things happening in this country and Americans are still kicking ass in at least three major ways. Let me expand. First of all we’re finally starting to vote. Have you seen the participation numbers in the primaries so far? No? Well lucky for me, my super-politically active co-worker told me there have been record turnouts. I forget most of the lessons from my political science degree but I seem to remember people voting to be a sign of a healthy democracy. (Or at least healthy for one of the teams) Second, while the economy is jittery, we still give a ton of money through out the world. For example, the man who put the G in GDP, Mr. Bill Gates, still gives more than half of his loot away. He seems like a nice nerdy dude. Also from what I hear, Ritz has followed along a similar path with all those millions he gets as one of America’s best athletes; wink, wink. Plus, there is a whole bunch of other people doing good things, including my neighbor Dave who always makes sure the gutters are clear so the water can flow unabatedly down the street. Thanks Dave as that’s what America is all about. Finally, and obviously most importantly, we’re running faster. A year ago Ryan Hall blasted that half in Houston. Since then our distance medal hopes have created a barbershop quartet with the likes of Webb, Hall, Lagat, and Kara Goucher singing a sweet tune called the ‘Distance Revival’. Personally, I think 2008 is our year, while I viewed 2007 as just a spirited warm up. American Distance running is a tiger again, a beautiful loping tiger that eats suckiness. All the wheels are turning on the triple threat train: we’re voting, we’re giving and we’re running.