In an exciting display of American distance running finally returning back to the competitive level of the dominant African nations, Meb Keflezighi was the first American man to cross the finish line for the 2009 New York City Marathon. This feat has not happened since Alberto Salazar won the fabled race in 1982, some 27 long years ago. In his own race, Salazar won with a combination of grit, fortitude, and guts, and it was in following the same example that Keflezighi surged to the finish, upstaging the pre-race favorites, both representing Kenya.

This latest win for the American comes after a string of recent exciting developments for American distance running. Once thought to be so far lagging behind the Kenyans and Ethiopians filling podiums at every World competition, many
resigned to the fact that these African runners were just simply physically superior to their opposition and that their natural gifts and apparent physical make-up deemed them untouchable. For the last decades it appeared that Americans and any other distance runners not from these regions were not in a race for a win, but simply hoping to break into the top ten or even twenty spots. This changed with a string of American upsets and cornerstones passed. Dathan Ritzenhein's third place finish in the Weltklasse Meet in Zurich, Switzerland with a time of 12:56.27 for the 5000 meter event not only bested the long standing American record once held by Bob Kennedy, but even more impressive was that he placed third in the event, motoring past the rest of the African field.

This feat eventually lead to him to a third place finish in the World Half Marathon Championships with a time of 60:00 and established him as the first American distance runner to medal in the World Championships. Beside Dathan, it appears that Americans across the Nation have stepped up their game as well, with others emerging to claim previously unheard of times and finishes. We can't forget the women who have blazed the way either, notably Kara Goucher tackling the Marathon event with her eyes set on not just American records but titles as well against her African counterparts. Steepler, Jenny Barringer has proved to be a force to reckon with on the International scene, as well as the remaining members of the select group comprising the Oregon Project team based out of Portland, Oregon among which both Goucher and Ritzenhein train with. Who heads and coaches this group? Well, it is none other than the noted Salazar himself, which seems to bring us full circle.

With this amazing upset from Keflezighi, American distance running seems to have proven that these latest events are not to be regarded as mere flukes, but are only the beginnings of much more to come.