During July I made my annual pilgrimage to Europe for some running and relaxation. For each of the past two years my wife and I have traveled to France with the main focus being seeing several stages of the Tour de France. Even tough I'm not a cyclist; I have a tremendous amount of respect of our endurance brethren that ride the two wheelers. To actually see the climbs in the Alps and Pyrenees that the Tour de France cyclists ride really shows how tough they must be, both mentally and physically. In places the climbs will make a car in first gear struggle, so think about what's it's like on a bicycle, not to mention on a bike at high altitude.

I also must confess that I'm a huge Lance Armstrong fan. I'm a fan of his return from cancer, his mental toughness and his dominating performance on the bike. Armstrong has transcended his sport and become a household name around the world. Most of the world loves him, even though some seem to be either jealous or unbelieving of his abilities as evidenced by repeated efforts by the French to link Armstrong to use of performance enhancing drugs. Love or hate Armstrong, you must agree that he has single handedly brought cycling into the consciousness of American society.

Before Lance Armstrong bicycle racing was an activity only for a few diehards in the United States. Today bike sales are way up and cycling has become "the thing" in many parts of the country. People ride bikes more than ever for fitness and fun and even tune in on the television to watch races from around the world. Armstrong has made cycling a really, really big sport. No matter where you travel you're going to see cyclist out on the roads, even on the back roads of southern Virginia where I live!

I feel running could use a Lance Armstrong. Running needs someone to capture the attention of the country, much like Bill Rodgers and Frank Shorter did in the late seventies and eighties. During the running "boom" running was considered "cool" and the hot thing to get involved in. Running participation mushroomed to levels most could have only dreamed of. Thousands of races were organized, like Peachtree and Falmouth, that are still in existence today. Running magazines were born in the era and shoe companies like Nike and New Balance saw sales soar through the roof. To put it mildly, running was BIG in the late seventies and early eighties.

During the running boom if a race had Bill Rodgers or Frank Shorter as a speaker or participant the race was almost guaranteed to have an overflow field. Rodgers and Shorter were household names that were immediately linked with running. Even today Bill Rodgers is still a big draw and very readily recognized name. However, Bill Rogers and Frank Shorter are late middle aged running icons and really no one has come along to claim their thrown as the king or queen of American running. Alberto Salazar sizzled for a few years, but injury and sickness cut short his brilliant career. Since Salazar no one has really come to the forefront and captured the imagination of American running. Yes, Meb Keflezighi won the silver medal in Athens, but how many Americans are aware of that? I would venture to guess few have even heard of Meb, even though he is a very talented runner.

Running is still a very popular activity, yet running seems to have lost a lot of its appeal for much of the general population. No longer are the major marathons carried live on network television and just last month it was impossible to see the World Track and Field Championships unless you had a special cable channel. In many races the 40 to 60 year old age groups have by far the greatest number of runners. Seems like fewer and fewer youngsters are getting involved in the sport and remaining in the sport after high school and college.

Sure, many people who once ran now gravitate toward other healthy physical activities like mountain biking, rock climbing, hiking etc., but the greatest percentage of Americans today still do no physical activity at all. Hey, all of these non-participants are potential runners! Kids today have so many activities to choose from, both good and bad, that running may not seem so appealing. Most would rather play a computer game or hang out at the mall than physically challenging themselves with running.

So just how can the next running "boom" be hatched? The answer may just lie in a running role model that will capture the attention of the masses and bring running back into everyday conversation. Who will this person be? Now that's the 64,000-dollar question. Somewhere out there right now is a single individual that is "capable" of becoming running's version of Lance Armstrong. Maybe on a farm in Illinois, in the suburbs of Atlanta, the mountains of West Virginia or the desert Southwest, a young runner is putting in miles right now that may someday lead to a Boston victory or an Olympic gold medal that will make them into the new torch bearer of American running.

What can we do to find this next running icon? Probably most importantly is to keep running and supporting the sport of running. The more people we can get involved in running the greater the likelihood of unearthing the next Rodgers or Shorter. Support your local running club, local races and local school running teams. Be an advocate of the sport by joining USA Track and Field. It's our true national governing body, yet far too few runners are members. Also, remember that by being a runner yourself you serve as a very valuable role model for youngsters thinking about getting involved in running. So I guess it's really up to all of us to find and develop America's next running Armstrong.

I read an interview recently where Lance Armstrong talked about the possibility of running a marathon in the future. Could it just be that Lance himself may become the next great American runner? We know he certainly has the physiological gifts and mental toughness needed. Maybe after a few months of retirement Armstrong will need to get a competitive "fix" and go after running. I wish he would give it a serious go and I would certainly not bet against him. I do know this: there is a new running icon out there and someday they will emerge and bring running back to the forefront of American sport. Until that time let's all do our part to keep the sport of running strong by carrying the torch for our sport.