Impressive finish for Rupp

Arcane Denial wrote:

Bekele ran 53.02 to hit 27:05.10. The performances aren't even close, sorry!

Exactly!! All this stuff about Rubb being "ready to win a medal" is silly. Maybe he is (I hope so), but his run at PAC-10s is not particularly convincing evidence of it.

Bekele remains almost a minute faster than Rupp over 10k, and 30 seconds over 5k. These are *massive* differences.

I reckon Bekele could close in 54 at the end of a half-marathon run at 29:00 10k pace (~4:40/mile = 61:20 half-marathon = just under Bekele's likely marathon pace).

If you watch the video, it's clear that his last lap split could have been even faster. I thought it was a classy decision on his part NOT to pass the (UCLA?) runner when he clearly could have done so. I can't think of anything more demeaning than getting lapped and Rupp gets kudos from this sports fan for no imposing that indignity.

J.R. wrote:

Paul Cummings ran 56 the last lap of a 27:59 in the '84 trials.

http://www.juanjosemartinez.com.mx/photos1.html

Nice link!

Bekele Rupp Bekele at Rupp's age

26:17 27:33 26:20

12:37 13:18 12:37

7:25 7:44 7:30

3:32 3:43 -----

Rupp has shown signs of significant progress recently, closing a (relatively) easy 10k that fast is also a good sign. Could he have closed a 28 minute 10k at the same pace? I think so. Too much faster than that I think you're going to start to see that dropping off.

well, if he ran 13:18 for 5k in february, that comes out to about 4:20/1600m pace, and 29:00 for 10k is about 4:38/1600m pace, so i'd say that's almost tempo pace for him. so really, that 10k was a good healthy 6 mile tempo run for him with a strong, 54-second finish. not a bad workout.

irun wrote:

well, if he ran 13:18 for 5k in february, that comes out to about 4:20/1600m pace, and 29:00 for 10k is about 4:38/1600m pace, so i'd say that's almost tempo pace for him. so really, that 10k was a good healthy 6 mile tempo run for him with a strong, 54-second finish. not a bad workout.

yep.

watching that he definitely could have hit :53 if he needed to, which is why he was spot checking and then shut it down before coming to the line.

if you have to come back and run a 1500 final the next day against a hand full of sub 3:40 guys and another handfull just over that, especially with kickers like wheating and centro, you'd want to save as much as possible too.

with his recent 800, the 10K kick and his :52 kick in the 1500 he'll be able to run in the :53-:54 second range off of much faster pace this summer, say at the US championships.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love for Rupp to see international success, but he's a long way off. Championship 10ks are closed in under 55 - in times that Rupp, even IF in alleged 27:20 shape, cannot even time trial, much less handle the surges and team tactics involved. I don't care if it was a workout, if he actually believed that it was worthwhile, it only further indicates his lack of fitness (relatively! I'm not trying to be a dick).

Holy shit, grammarians, blank check!

Anyway but consider:

2003 WC:

26:53.70 Kenenisa Bekele (PR 26:17)

26:54.58 Haile Geb (PR 26:22)

26:58.76 Sileshi Sihine (PR 26:39)

This is the infamous race where they scorched the second 5k in ~12:58, which, even allowing Rupp 13:10 fitness, remains in a whole other league of performances.

2004 Oly:

27:05.10 Kenenisa Bekele

27:09.39 Sileshi Sihine

27:22.57 Zersenday Tadese (PR 26:37)

53.02

2005 WC:

27:08.33 Kenenisa Bekele

27:08.87 Sileshi Sihine

27:08.96 Moses Mosop (PR 26:49)

It's crazy - that 27:08 is the slowest 10k Kenny B has ever run as a pro! I think, at least. I might be wrong.

2007 WC:

27:05.90 Kenenisa Bekele

27:09.03 Sileshi Sihine

27:12.17 Martin Irungu Mathathi (PR 26:59)

Note the finishing time is but .8 off what he ran in Athens. Guy is like clockwork!

2008 Oly:

27:01.17 Kenenisa Bekele

27:02.77 Sileshi Sihine

27:04.11 Micah Kogo (PR 26:35)

The slowest PR in the whole group, Mathathi's, is still sub-27! The guys nabbing third are 26:30 beasts, and they are still left in the dust behind Bekele (& Sihine)! Sihine has obviously been in far better shape than his 26:39 indicates, I think he could have run within a few seconds of 26:20, when you consider that Abebe Dinkessa ran 26:30 in the biggest fluke I've ever seen.

Anyway, the point is, Rupp is doomed!

oops I put Sihine's finish in the 2003 WCs as 26:58, but it is really 27:01.44

No Sense of Humor Police wrote:

We're going to have to take you down the station, son.

Unfortunately, you're under arrest yourself.

MAYEROFF wrote:

29 flat? Jeez, I can run 25 seconds faster than THAT, by myself, on the roads, in BANGKOK! (but not in trainers)

Jason - why do you keep perpetuating this lie? You have done absolutely nothing that suggests you could run a 28:35 road 10K on the verge of turning 40. There are only two possibilities here. 1) You did not run 10K or 2) You are taking performance enhancing drugs. There is no inbetween on this one.

If you supposedly ran the time that you said you did, you would be smoking the top masters runners like Sean Wade and would be world ranked as a master. Why isn't this happening?

do people really think that rupp is only 13 seconds faster over 10k than 2 years ago? he is on a completely different level now. the signs are everywhere, 13:18 indoors for one. what did he kick home in on that one on a banked 200 meter track?

"Shigatoshi" just the fact that you are using an anonymous handle shows that you have no testicles, so I am not going to answer your questions because you are spineless and nutless.

serious thought here wrote:

do people really think that rupp is only 13 seconds faster over 10k than 2 years ago? he is on a completely different level now. the signs are everywhere, 13:18 indoors for one. what did he kick home in on that one on a banked 200 meter track?

27.27 final 200m lap, off of a new AR pace. Rupp may have been in 10k AR shape in 2008. Now he might be in sub-27 shape now.