How? Rudy Chapa ran 28:32 in high school and would never run faster despite running 2:11 for marathon and American 3k record

He rarely ran the 10,000. The 3k and 5k more often. I ran New York in 83' when he ran 2:11. Debut for both of us. A great friend and very smart as well.

It appears Rudy was concentrating more on the 5000m. Certainly in 1979 when he ran 13:19 Rudy could have likely run under 28 flat or a bit faster.

Of course I meant 28 flat or a bit faster. 28:32 in high school is tremendous and requires much talent and training.

OU Connect wrote:

He rarely ran the 10,000. The 3k and 5k more often. I ran New York in 83' when he ran 2:11. Debut for both of us. A great friend and very smart as well.

this poster is correct

Any info on how he trained?

I'm frankly more disturbed by the fact that Mary Decker - Tab - Slaney was there.

Sand Dunes wrote:

Any info on how he trained?

There was an article in an ancient RW about the coach -- I'm sure someone remembers. Anyhow, he trained like a grown ass man, with lots of mileage and plenty of speed. Two of his teammates at Hammond also broke 9:00 for the two mile.

The 28:32 is really astounding, almost as astounding as Webb’s 3:53. To run 28:32 is like running 9:07.8 for 3200 three times with no rest and then you still have one more lap left. So very few high school runners today could even run Rudy’s 10000m pace for 3200m.

At Oregon, Rudy was needed more for 1500 - 5k. They had Alberto, more the pure strength guy and nowhere near as fast at shorter distances, for the 5-10k.

Peppers pot wrote:

The 28:32 is really astounding, almost as astounding as Webb’s 3:53. To run 28:32 is like running 9:07.8 for 3200 three times with no rest and then you still have one more lap left. So very few high school runners today could even run Rudy’s 10000m pace for 3200m.

Damn thats fucken crazy

Peppers pot wrote:

The 28:32 is really astounding, almost as astounding as Webb’s 3:53. To run 28:32 is like running 9:07.8 for 3200 three times with no rest and then you still have one more lap left. So very few high school runners today could even run Rudy’s 10000m pace for 3200m.

It is as good straight across as Rupp's 13:37, only Chapa ran it 25 years prior. And it still puts him as #4 all-time on the U.S. Junior list.

What is Rudy’s race? He looks all miscellaneous in the face.

I don't think Rudy ever really even raced the 10,000m after high school. He only did it in HS because his coach figured it was the easiest way to get him to qualify for the Olympic Trials his senior year, which he did. He and Hulst chasing that standard in HS likely cost them both a National 2-mile record.

Seeing as Rudy ran a 7:37 3000m in college, he likely would have been the first high-schooler under 8:30 had he put all his chips into training for the 2-mile rather than the 10k. I'm glad he did what he did though because 28:32 over forty years ago for a high-schooler is just amazing. I don't think anyone's even come close to breaking 29 since. Maybe Rupp, but iirc more than 30 seconds back.

Morning training: Run 60 to 70 minutes continuously, starting at 6:00 AM daily throughout the year, except as noted above. This continuous run is at a reasonably fast pace on streets and roads. The pace is increased once each mile of the run for a distance of about 440y.

The following are evening workouts, in addition to the above daily morning training.

FALL AND WINTER TRAINING (1975-76)

Monday—PM, 3 x 3 miles. Jog 1/2 mile after each.

Tuesday—PM, 4 x 2 miles. Jog 3/4 mile after each.

Wednesday—PM, 75 minutes continuous fast run on roads

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Thursday—PM, Fast, continuous runs of 3-miles, 2 1/4-miles, 1 1/2-miles, and 3/4 mile. Jog 3/4 mile recovery after each.

Friday—PM, 7 1/2 miles time trial.

Saturday—PM, 60 minutes fast road run.

Sunday—AM, 90 minutes road run. PM, Rest.

SPRING AND SUMMER TRAINING

Monday—PM, 6 x 3/4 mile fast runs. Jog 3/4 mile after each.

Tuesday—PM, 10 x 440y as fast as possible under the circumstances. Jog 88Oy recovery after each.

Wednesday—PM, 75 minutes continuous fast run.

Thursday—PM, 8 x 880y at as fast pace as possible under the circumstances. Jog 44Oy after each.

Friday—PM, 7 1/2 miles time trial.

Saturday—PM, 60 minutes fast continuous run.

Sunday—PM, 90 minutes continuous run.

Chapa lifts weights Monday, Wednesday, and Friday each week, consisting of 3 sets of 10 repetitions of military press, bench press, and curls. He is coached by Dan Candiano. Chapa competes in ten 2 1/2-mile cross-country races, 5 indoor track races, and ten outdoor meets annually.

Except when resting the day prior to major competition, Chapa merely substitutes competition for the above training on the day of a race. He eats no food for four hours prior to racing. He rests one week at the end of cross-country, indoor, and outdoor racing seasons before starting workouts for the succeeding racing season.

[NB: Most of the Hammond runners' training was done around a 3/4-mile loop in a park--hence the frequency of workouts that seem to be multiples of 3/4 mile.]

Lydiard Cerutty wrote:

[NB: Most of the Hammond runners' training was done around a 3/4-mile loop in a park--hence the frequency of workouts that seem to be multiples of 3/4 mile.]

Maywood Park!

That training is remarkable. It looks like it must have been over 140 miles per week, over 20 miles a day, as they are running 60 to 70 minutes in the morning, and considering they were sub 9 2 milers, were surely going at least 10 miles each morning, then they had days in which their evening workouts were either 75 minutes fast--probably 12-13 miles, or intervals adding up to 10.5 or 11 miles not even including a warmup or cooldown.

[quote]yesstiles wrote:

I don't think Rudy ever really even raced the 10,000m after high school. He only did it in HS because his coach figured it was the easiest way to get him to qualify for the Olympic Trials his senior year, which he did. He and Hulst chasing that standard in HS likely cost them both a National 2-mile record.

As a freshman Rudy ran an early season 29:0x and then cratered at NCAA in around 30:30 and i believe that was the last one he ran. He was upset that Dellinger had him run the 10k instead of the 5 at nationals that year.

SDSU Aztec wrote:

[quote]yesstiles wrote:

I don't think Rudy ever really even raced the 10,000m after high school. He only did it in HS because his coach figured it was the easiest way to get him to qualify for the Olympic Trials his senior year, which he did. He and Hulst chasing that standard in HS likely cost them both a National 2-mile record.

As a freshman Rudy ran an early season 29:0x and then cratered at NCAA in around 30:30 and i believe that was the last one he ran. He was upset that Dellinger had him run the 10k instead of the 5 at nationals that year.

I think a similar thing happened to him his senior year of HS. He ran that 28:32 in April at the Drake Relays, then at the Olympic Trials 6 or 8 weeks later he tanked with a 30:30 and was very upset and talked of quitting. Obviously he got over it.

I agree, I never feel that mark gets enough love. Truly tremendous. I know he had some good marks after HS, but I thought he didn't quite live up to his potential. Injuries?