Just saw the 5th episode of this season. Dealt with a kid who could run fast quite like Clark. I presumed he was just another entity dreamt up for the sole purpose of Smallville, however towards the end when it becomes apparent he could even run faster than Superman, got me thinking. Looked up some info. on The Flash and turns out the kid was meant to potray one of the flash family, Bart Allen. Speed was apparently an inherited trait in varying proportions. But then I guess a lot of the superhero traits were in a sense. Superman being an obvious exception since he was an alien in the first place.

The Flash on Smallville