Allyson Felix at Urunchinga refugee camp in Uganda

Olympic champion Allyson Felix celebrated her 27th birthday on November 18th in Uganda, where she visited and played with children at Urunchinga refugee camp. She described her trip to east Africa, which also included a safari at Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, as a wonderful experience.

From Africa, the American sprinter traveled to Spain for another wonderful experience. For the first time in her very successful track career, Felix was named the IAAF Female World Athlete of the Year. “I’m grateful for the journey,” said Felix, “and I’m humbled to win the award.”

Her journey to the top of world athletics came after a spectacular performance at this year’s London Olympics. Felix won three gold medals – at 200 meters and as a member of the USA’s victorious 4 x 100 meter and 4 x 400 meter women’s relay teams.

Allyson Felix shows off her three Olympic gold medals on top of the Empire State Building in New York

The 4 x 100 meter squad, which also included Bianca Knight, Carmelita Jeter and Tianna Madison, set a world record at the Olympic Stadium in London, clocking 40.82 seconds. The four American athletes earned the Female Performance of the Year award at the IAAF awards ceremony in Spain.

Even before London 2012, though, Felix sprinted to Olympic success. She won a silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics and a gold and silver at the 2008 Beijing Games. At the world championship level, Felix has won eight golds, a silver and a bronze. Even with so many international victories, some track analysts feel she is underappreciated by the American sporting public.

Allyson Felix celebrates with the American flag at the Olympic stadium in London

Parker Morse, Senior Writer at Running Times Magazine, says he “doesn’t know why she’s not the most famous female athlete in the country. She has a great attitude, great ethic and great performances. I’ve never met anyone with anything bad to say about her.”

Felix was born and raised in the Los Angeles area and she has clearly been inspired by her parents. Her father, Paul, is an ordained minister and her mother, Marlean, is an elementary school teacher.

She has described her speed as an amazing gift from God and both parents were proud when their daughter graduated from the University of Southern California in 2008 with a degree in elementary education. So, she might decide to follow in her mother’s footsteps and teach children when her athletic career is over. Judging by her smile with the African children at the top of this page, Allyson Felix will be as comfortable in the classroom as she is on the track.

Sports and the Thanksgiving holiday here in the USA go together like turkey and Aunt Maureen’s homemade stuffing. American football kicks off on Thanksgiving Day. Many fans will watch games on television, while others, like my nephew Wade, build up an appetite for Maureen’s Thanksgiving feast with football games at a nearby field.

I’ll be building up my appetite with a 10-kilometer run around my neighborhood. The 30th annual Turkey Chase is one of many road races held in American cities on Thanksgiving morning. These events are often fundraisers for organizations or charitable causes. My race raises money for the

Turkey Chase 1983 T-Shirt

local YMCA.

My neighbor Rachel says her knees hurt when she runs, so she plans to walk a two mile Turkey Chase course on Thanksgiving morning. Rachel also admits she’s looking forward to trying on the official Turkey Chase T-shirt given to all participants. It reminds me of a line from the late Fred Lebow, founder of the New York City Marathon: “Never underestimate the power of a T-shirt.”

Runners at the start of the 2010 Turkey Chase

Rachel also says the healthy nature of the event appeals to her, which brings to mind a Thanksgiving message from another late sportsman, Hall of Fame basketball coach John Wooden: “So often we fail to acknowledge what we have because we’re so concerned about what we want. We fail to give real thanks for the many blessings for which we did nothing: our life itself, the flowers, the trees, our family and friends. This moment. All of our blessings we take for granted so much of the time.”

I used to take running for granted, but after knee surgery in 2007, I don’t anymore. So on Thanksgiving morning, when I’m at the starting line, I’ll say a little prayer to the God of my understanding: “Thank you for my health.” “Thank you for letting me run again.”

The Confederation of African Football, CAF, will hold its annual awards ceremony December 20th in Accra, Ghana. The biggest prize to be handed out in the Ghanaian capital is the African Player of the Year, and if recent history is any indicator, there’s a good chance the trophy will be lifted by a striker. Nine of the past 10 winners have been strikers, with the only exception 2011 African Footballer of the Year Yaya Toure, the rugged and powerful midfielder for Manchester City and Ivory Coast.

2011 African Footballer of the Year Yaya Toure

Toure is again a top contender for the 2012 award. African football analyst David Legge says the Ivorian has been very consistent for Man City and he was a key factor in helping the club win its first English Premiership title in 44 years.

Legge’s three other picks for the award are all strikers – Demba Ba of Senegal, Didier Drogba of Ivory Coast and Christopher Katongo of reigning African champion Zambia. Ba is based in England with Newcastle United, while

Zambian captain Christopher Katongo

Drogba and Katongo are currently with the Chinese clubs Shanghai Shenhua and Henan Construction, respectively.

Drogba was named the African Footballer of the Year in 2006 and in 2009 and he was recently picked by Chelsea fans as the club’s greatest ever player. “For part of this year, Drogba was playing for Chelsea,” says Legge, “and it was his penalty kick that gave Chelsea at long last the UEFA Champions League title.” Katongo captained the Zambian team that won its first ever African title earlier this year in Libreville, Gabon, a championship that Legge describes as “the story of African football in 2012.” And Ba, according to Legge, “has been banging in the goals for Newcastle United.”

Banging in the goals does seem to capture the attention of the head coaches and top officials from CAF member associations whose votes will decide the winner of the 2012 African Footballer of the Year award. We have to go back to 1986, when Moroccan goalkeeper Badou Zaki won the prize, to find a defender who won the much coveted honor.