I mean really, what a great year 2008 was (erm... outside the economy).  We had one heck of an Olympics, the emergence of an unbelieveable, if slightly eccentric, sprinter; arguably the greatest high school performance in history (German Fernandez); Shalane Flanagan (yes a little home cooking there considering I'm from MA); and so much more.  Yes, you hear about the Celtics (for good reason), David Tyree, Tiger Woods, Federer-Nadal, and Michael Phelps, but the fact of the matter is we had one hell of a year in the running world- and all of that is just on the track.

Usain Bolt.  Jeez that man is unbelievable.  When you can not run full speed through the 100m finish and still break the world record, you know you have a talent on your hands.  Not to mention he broke one of the most unbreakable and cherished records in track and field.  Yes, there have been the allegations of steroid use, but those are expected in the era we live in.  Innocent till proven guilty, I always say, and for now, to me, he is the fastest man ever to walk the face of this planet.  Especially considering his quiet rise to prominence, Bolt has to be the story of the year in running.

What about German Fernandez?  Well he without a doubt gave us the greatest high school distance double in history, and possibly the greatest one day high school performance in history.  A 4:02/8:34 double in the 1600/3200 is something that may never be matched at the high school level.  Then, three weeks later, he went on to break the 29 year old high school 2 mile record, set by Jeff Nelson, with a 8:34.40 (this was in fact a two mile, the former being 3200).  He also broke Galen Rupp's 3000 record en route by breaking the eight minute barrier in 7:59.  He is now a freshman at Oklahoma State, but was injured at the NCAA Championships, giving OSU a disappointing, but very respectable eighth place finish.

What else did we see this year?  We saw the men's marathon record broken by Haile Gebrselassie at the Berlin Marathon, breaking the record he set last year at the same event.  We saw Tyson Gay get injured in Trials, taking him out of the Olympic 200 and likely causing him to perform at less than 100%.  We saw Shalane Flanagan take bronze in the 10,000 meters at the Olympics, becoming only the second American woman to medal in the event, the other being Lynn Jennings in '92.  She was a bright spot in a disappointing Olympics for the Americans, especially considering the dropped batons in both 4X100 relays.

Although it has been a great year in every sport, running has also seen a year pass by that featured some great moments, along with some that, Americans at least, would like to forget.  I know I've forgotten plenty so let me know how stupid I am.  For my first year running, I know I could not have possibly asked for anything more, and I guess we can only hope that, 2009 is even better.