Rupp Considering 1500-5k-10k triple at NCAA's

Honestly, I don't think Rupp's impressiveness this year comes from his times on paper, but rather his ability to simply get it done on race day. I think that is why most people expect him to do just that in the 5k and 10k, though the 1500 will be tough.

Chelanga appears to only be running the 10k, so there shouldn\'t be anyone in Rupp\'s league in the 5k. That doesn\'t mean its a sure thing, he will have run 3 races before the final on friday, but looking at the way he dominated the 3k indoors you can be pretty confident he can pull off that race.

Rupp shouldn\'t have any problem getting in the 1500 final, seeing as he ran 3:39 this weekend the day after 1500 prelims and the 5k. What he can do in the final is hard to say, but if the meet is coming down to the last day, Oregon will be very glad to have him in that race. Best case scenario he gets 2nd, worst case he doesn\'t score, but most likely he gets 4th-6th, giving oregon another 3-5 points.

The 10k against Chelanga is where he could suffer. He\'ll have a run a 5k prelim the day before, which probably wont take too much out of him, but a competitive 1500 just 90 minutes before. Rupp is clearly the better runner right now, but Chelanga could make it a very difficult race for him if he pushes from the gun. Given that Rupp kicked down Ulrey in the DMR pretty soon after the indoor 5k, I think he can pull off this race as well.

The real thing that could make this tough for Rupp is the weather. If it is hot and muggy, these races, particularly the 10k if Chelanga pushes the pace, could take a lot out of Rupp, leaving him fried for the rest of his races. Everyone has to do deal with the same conditions, but it becomes harder to deal with those conditions when you\'re racing 5 times (and 2300 meters!) over four days.

For those bashing Rupp's chances in the 1500m did you watch any of the Pac-10 meet? I was blown away with his fitness and speed right now. Another 15m or so he might have won the 1500m, he pushed the pace and led the race from 500m out and then regrouped to kick right past Heath and almost caught Centro. Anything can happen in a championship race against a talented field but I say no way he is 9th or 10th.

He hasn't ran a hard 5k or 10k all year, Chelenga is a talented runner but he isn't in Rupp's league right now.

Let's start with Galen Rupp, who said he would be willing to triple in the 1,500, 5,000 and 10,000 meters if it looks like the Ducks need him to do that.

If it happens, it would the supreme example of an athlete giving himself up for his team.

He would be unlikely to win both the 5k and 10k if he also was running the 1,500. The decision he and the UO coaches will have to make is whether he could score more points in three events, even if it meant not winning any of them, than he could in two, winning one or both.

Alberto Salazar, Rupp's personal coach, said he wouldn't stand in Rupp's way of a triple, even it hindered the chances of Rupp making the U.S. world team. The USA Track & Field Championships -- the world team qualifier -- are just two weeks after the NCAA meet, and that would be a very short recovery period after an NCAA triple.

"We're still thinking about it," Rupp said Friday, after winning the 5,000 at the NCAA West Regional. "I'm not going to say it's out of the question. I want to win as a team more than anything. It's not too often you get a chance to win a triple crown."

Salazar said Rupp will have a long career, but just one senior college season. The Ducks are bidding for the triple crown -- national championships in cross country, indoors and outdoors.

"I'll have plenty of chances down the road to chase individual titles," Rupp said. "This season it's all about winning three titles for the Ducks."

Umm, you appear to have just copy/pasted a big chunk of the article from oregonlive.com without indicating where it came from.

nike will offer chelanga a good contract for him to promise not to make the 10k too fast for rupp. maybe forrest as well. nike wants the triple, for rupp and oregon

/conspiracy theory

hey pac-10 how can u say chelenga isnt in rupps league...he took rupps 10k record!!! he was there the entire time when rupp set the indoor 5k record...and they battled the entire way at ncaas!!! not in his league come on!!!

Both the 10 and 5 will be slow, if only because of hot and humid weather in Fayetteville. This will play into Rupp's hands, since he can close vastly better than any of his competitors. What a difference a year makes! Had I made this comment last year, I would have been accused of being on drugs or an idiot or both.

I will push the pace so hard in the 10k that mr. rupp will regret running a 1500 just before. : )

AW Fan wrote:

... I am now sure how you figure he would be the favorite in any scenario, based on a year of running I would put Fernandez, Centro and Wheating as having a better shot than him ... and not in that order.

Except Wheating isn't running the 1500.

Centro has got to be the favorite given recent performances but Fernandez, Rupp, the Arkansas men, and the Wisconsin men all have a reasonable shot. It should be a great race.

wal wrote:

hey pac-10 how can u say chelenga isnt in rupps league...he took rupps 10k record!!! he was there the entire time when rupp set the indoor 5k record...and they battled the entire way at ncaas!!! not in his league come on!!!

He took Rupp's record, but the 2008-2009 version of Rupp seems far, far better than his 27:33 from 2007. Rupp and Daba would have run away from him in 13:13-14 if things hadn't gotten tactical. And, battling all the way at NCAAs? What I saw was Rupp cruising, and then dropping Chelanga the instant he decided to, winning by +5 seconds, with Chelanga barely holding onto 2nd. He's now been beaten three different ways, regardless of a fast (AR) pace or a slower kicker setup.

Does someone really think that Arkansas put together the schedule of events for the NCAA meet? I'm fairly certain that a group of NCAA administrators and possibly the coaches association put together the schedule. I don't think that the host school gets to make any decisions that could possibly bias the meet other than their getting to run on their track with plenty of their fans there.

The 5K/10K double will be extremely tough due to the schedule. Anyone attempting this double will be forced to race 20K over 3 days. Wednesday night 5K prelims, Thursday night 10K final, Friday night 5K final. I don't know why they didn't put the 5K off until Saturday.

My guess is that Rupp will run the 5K and 1500 and skip the 10K. This will have him running the 5K prelim on Wednesday, the 1500m prelim on Thursday, the 5K final on Friday, and the 1500m final on Saturday. Still not an easy schedule, but more manageable. We saw him go dominate te 5K/1600m on Friday night and come back looking dominant still in the 3K on Saturday indoors. Will be interesting to see what happens. Looks like it's going to be a fun meet in Fayetteville.

forest wrote:

first off, sam chelenga (the ncaa 10000m record holder) would like to talk to you about that whole 5k/10k wins being easy rupp

Usually someone running only a few seconds fast than you were two years ago, after you've had a breakthrough season, in which you've beaten that person with ease each time you've raced, is considered 'easy prey.' Maybe not 'easy' so much, but definitely 'prey.'

"I'll have plenty of chances down the road to chase individual titles," Rupp said. "This season it's all about winning three titles for the Ducks."

Even from a marketing standpoint, a triple crown is worth more to Rupp than a good performance at USA's.

From a team standpoint the 5K/10K seems like the way to go to me. In the 1500 he could place anywhere from top 3 to dead last in a slew of 3:37 guys, and the 1500 prelims could muck up his efforts in the longer races. Drop the 1500 and Ducks are guaranteed 20 points from Galen.

Anyone else think Rupp/Oregon is underestimating the weather? No doubt Chelanga and Arkansas runners will be much more prepared for the heat and humidity than Rupp just because they live in it. I think if they really want to maximize Rupp's points, he needs to cede the 10K to Chelanga, maybe run as easy as possible for second, then win the 5K, and do whatever he can in the 15. But I think Rupp will have a tough time not going for the win in the 10K.

music is happiness wrote:

From a team standpoint the 5K/10K seems like the way to go to me. In the 1500 he could place anywhere from top 3 to dead last in a slew of 3:37 guys, and the 1500 prelims could muck up his efforts in the longer races. Drop the 1500 and Ducks are guaranteed 20 points from Galen.

Let's say he gets 2nd in the 5k and 10k, then scores even 5 points in the 1500... that's 21 points, so more than he'd get from a 5k/10k double win. If he wins either race, he can fall farther back and it's still worth it.

In my opinion, Oregon does not need a Rupp triple. They will score conservatively as follows: Centrowitz (8); Wheating (8); Kiptoo (5); McNamara (2); Rupp in 5K (10); Hostetler (8); Wolff (3); Warren (2); Rupp in 10K (8) Eaton (10); Ackley (2) = 66 pts. (more than enough points to win the championship).

I think King Rupp said what I would have said regarding Rupp compared to Chelanga. Maybe not in his league is too strong a statement but what I meant is I don't think there is anyway he beats Rupp in the 10k regardless of what Rupp has done up to that point regarding 1500m.

As for the weather, Rupp dealt with it pretty good in China.

Maybe I'm too high on Rupp but I really think if he had run a hard 5k or 10k we'd have the times to back up the kind of shape he appears to be in.

The NCAA sets the schedule, not the host team.