Galen Rupp is the greatest American distance runner of all time

Are we including only marks run as an American... or are we saying the greatest runner who IS and American?

Bernard Lagat ran 3:26, was a 8x Wannamaker mile champ, Double gold medalist, multiple time Olympic Medalist, beat Galen many many times and made 5 olympic games.

Other than Lagat I think Rupp wins by a long ways.

Frank Shorter, Bill Rogers... thats a joke right?

I think the actual list goes more like this

1. Lagat

2. Rupp

3. Meb

4. Jager

5. Scott

6. Solinsky

We are talking about distance runner, not GOAT marathoner. Please remember that. Rupp beat mebs 10k record when he was just a little puppy and is now the record holder by like 25 seconds faster than Meb. Rupp has been in a lot of Olympic races and won bronze, one place behind mebs silver, in his second ever marathon. Rupp has a silver in the 10k and beat the world record holder in that race (also beat hm WR holder) and will likely run a marathon faster than Meb, meaning his pbs in every event are better than Mebronaut. These are facts. Not really sure what your argument is based on, but I'm guessing it's solely the marathon ?!Rupp also ran 13:37 in high school and has run a 3:50 mile indoors . I bet Meb would call Rupp a better runner than himself

Beastie wrote:

He's close but not there yet. If he can get a major marathon win (not 2nd, not placing high, a win). Then I will be willing to put him up there.

Meb has the best resume, no way Galen will top that. But Rupp can claim best "American born" distance runner.

Given that Jager is on this list as a steeplechaser, why not put Centro on your list? Dude has an OG Gold. He's gotta be at least above Solinsky. Probably above Scott. Maybe above Jager.

now im fat wrote:

Are we including only marks run as an American... or are we saying the greatest runner who IS and American?

Bernard Lagat ran 3:26, was a 8x Wannamaker mile champ, Double gold medalist, multiple time Olympic Medalist, beat Galen many many times and made 5 olympic games.

Other than Lagat I think Rupp wins by a long ways.

Frank Shorter, Bill Rogers... thats a joke right?

I think the actual list goes more like this

1. Lagat

2. Rupp

3. Meb

4. Jager

5. Scott

6. Solinsky

come back when Rupp wins Boston and New York

this comment is proof that Americans (even posters on Letsrun that feel themselves to be more 'pure' runners) care most about the marathonPurely as a runner, I would much rather have run 26:44 10k AR than win the Boston Marathon.As a professional, the payout at a major marathon is a no-brainer, making money and the attention is great for your livelihood, but, no one cares that Bekele won the Berlin Marathon, they care they he almost beat the world recordAnyway, in terms of this conversation, Rupp is by far superior to Meb as best american distance runner because of his track times, silver medal in London, and winning a bronze in his 2nd ever marathon. I hope he busts out a 2:05 in the next few years and this stupid conversation can be put to bedhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galen_Rupp

Naturalrunner wrote:

come back when Rupp wins Boston and New York

Lol @ all of you trying to rank people on a list. Rupp is, flat out, the best American distance runner of all time at any Olympic distance event. I bet he'd have a decent go at Jager in the steeplechase if he spent enough time on it. He most certainly can run sub 8:20. Lagat is great, but he hasn't even raced every distance.

douchelin^3 wrote:

Come at me, bro.

Robert Young ran across America. Let's see Rupp do that.

I like Rupp but Lagat is better.

Outside of Lagat, I take Rupp. He's probably the most dominant runner of an era we'll see. He's approaching 10 straight 10k titles.

Below that, tons of dudes start to come in the picture especially a guy like Centro who has the most impressive championship resume of any American in history probably.

At what point do we start considering centro in this conversation? The man is now an Olympic champ, something Rupp is not, and has finished in the top 4 in 4 out of the last 5 WCs and OGs. I'm not saying he's better than Rupp now, but genuinely asking what else he needs to do to get to that level? Sub 3:30? More medals? Medal in the 5k? I think all of those are very realistic

douchelin^3 wrote:

Lol @ all of you trying to rank people on a list. Rupp is, flat out, the best American distance runner of all time at any Olympic distance event. I bet he'd have a decent go at Jager in the steeplechase if he spent enough time on it. He most certainly can run sub 8:20. Lagat is great, but he hasn't even raced every distance.

I have lost hope in humanity this is the most ridiculous statement I've ever heard. Jager would eat Rupp for breakfast in the steeple.

nothing to argue with here. Good points. I'd argue Centro is the most successful American runner that isn't a sprinter. If he had a world record he could start to apporach "the list" with Carl Lewis and MJbut for the time being, Centro is a mid distance guy not a distance guy like the OP asked. What does everyone think?some will disagree, but he never races above 3000m, so it's like saying El G is the best distance runner of all time....

tcolbert wrote:

At what point do we start considering centro in this conversation? The man is now an Olympic champ, something Rupp is not, and has finished in the top 4 in 4 out of the last 5 WCs and OGs. I'm not saying he's better than Rupp now, but genuinely asking what else he needs to do to get to that level? Sub 3:30? More medals? Medal in the 5k? I think all of those are very realistic

The black ones

now im fat wrote:

I think the actual list goes more like this

1. Lagat

2. Rupp

3. Meb

4. Jager

5. Scott

6. Solinsky

Such a long list, and thread, but no Khannouchi?

Double world record holder in the marathon, world best in the 20K. Couple of important wins. All in contrast to Rupp.

Ackley wrote:

If your benchmark is the "greatest" had to be recognized by his peers as a serious threat to win his best event(s) [limiting it to 5k through Marathon] on any given day on the world stage for a several year period, I would go with Shorter, Rodgers and Salazar.

Rupp is a complete stud but and has great range, but has too much East African competition under my analysis. Meb is simply not in Rupp's class.

[If we go below 5k -- Jim Ryun is the greatest.]

Virgin over Salazar for sure.

If someone have to argue that he's the best runner, then he's probably not the best runner.

Fart Proudly" (also called "A Letter to a Royal Academy", and "To the Royal Academy of Farting") is the popular name of a "notorious essay" about flatulence written by Benjamin Franklin c. 1781 while he was living abroad as United States Ambassador to France.

Franklin punned that compared to his ruminations on flatulence, other scientific investigations were "scarcely worth a FART-HING".

Description

"A Letter to a Royal Academy" was composed in response to a call for scientific papers from the Royal Academy of Brussels. Franklin believed that the various academic societies in Europe were increasingly pretentious and concerned with the impractical. Revealing his "bawdy, scurrilous side," Franklin responded with an essay suggesting that research and practical reasoning be undertaken into methods of improving the odor of human flatulence.

The essay was never submitted but was sent as a letter to Richard Price, a Welsh philosopher and Unitarian minister in England with whom Franklin had an ongoing correspondence. The text of the essay's introduction reads in part:

I have perused your late mathematical Prize Question, proposed in lieu of one in Natural Philosophy, for the ensuing year...Permit me then humbly to propose one of that sort for your consideration, and through you, if you approve it, for the serious Enquiry of learned Physicians, Chemists, &c. of this enlightened Age. It is universally well known, that in digesting our common food, there is created or produced in the bowels of human creatures, a great quantity of wind. That the permitting this air to escape and mix with the atmosphere, is usually offensive to the company, from the fetid smell that accompanies it. That all well-bred people therefore, to avoid giving such offence, forcibly restrain the efforts of nature to discharge that wind.

The essay goes on to discuss the way different foods affect the odor of flatulence and to propose scientific testing of farting. Franklin also suggests that scientists work to develop a drug, "holesome and not disagreeable", which can be mixed with "common Food or Sauces" with the effect of rendering flatulence "not only inoffensive, but agreeable as Perfumes". The essay ends with a pun saying that compared to the practical applications of this discussion, other sciences are "scarcely worth a FART-HING."

Copies of the essay were privately printed by Franklin at his printing press in Passy. Franklin distributed the essay to friends, including Joseph Priestley (a chemist famous for his work on gases). After Franklin's death, the essay was long excluded from published collections of Franklin's writing, but it was included in Fart Proudly: Writings of Benjamin Franklin You Never Read in School, a 1990 collection of Franklin's humorous and satirical writings and is available online.

sound_argument wrote:

If someone have to argue that he's the best runner, then he's probably not the best runner.

I apologize if you confused my statement for the makings of an argument.

letsrankpeople wrote:

Ackley wrote:

If your benchmark is the "greatest" had to be recognized by his peers as a serious threat to win his best event(s) [limiting it to 5k through Marathon] on any given day on the world stage for a several year period, I would go with Shorter, Rodgers and Salazar.

Rupp is a complete stud but and has great range, but has too much East African competition under my analysis. Meb is simply not in Rupp's class.

[If we go below 5k -- Jim Ryun is the greatest.]

Virgin over Salazar for sure.

Seriously?

2+2=5? wrote:

Beastie wrote:

Lagat is a US citizen and ran for the USA, but he is not American. He was born in Africa. So I know I gave you the response you wanted but American (from Ameria) has a different meaning that US citizen.

So American ≠ Citizen of the United States of America?

LOL PC Bros are soooooooooo predicable.