Galen Rupp 7:44.69 for 3k

I know you're trolling but I'll give you this, if Rupp has a green light to hammer next weekend and is 100% healthy, I think he's going to blow his outdoor 5K pr (long over due) away. Assuming the track is similar in terms of speed as Boston I think Rupp could get 13:22. That is if he goes after that kind of pace from the get go.

He's very capable of running fast pace all alone. I think his AJR in the 10K of 28:15 was something like 14:18 and then 13:57 with almost the whole second half all alone.

He was coming off his highest week ever at that time (110) the week before too. Knowing Alberto's training, that just counts the miles and not all the other stuff.

It's been 3 years since then and both his strength and speed have vastly improved.

So US distance running was disadvantaged by it being an Olympic year?Lagat had an exceptional '07. Who else.....?US Mens distance running is NOT competitive with 1) The world currently2) Non-distance T&F disciplines3) Its own history - take a look at the top 100 US performances. How many additions have occurred in this decade?800 - 14 (14%)1500 - 30 (non-Lagat 15)5k - 3810k - 48 (Abdi is 40% of this)Marathon - 14 times <2:10:30, out of a total of 46 performancesIf there were "depth" then the 50th, 60th etc performances would be improving...but they are not. A few talented athletes are running well consistently, (KK, Lagat, KD, Abdi), and everybody else is cropping up 1-2 times at best.There are times on this list from before my birthday (ryun 1:44.3 June 10, 1966), and I am an old man. US mens distance running is not doing anything...it is drifting...basking undeservedly in the accomplishments of a handful of athletes.

26mi235 wrote:

Off the Grid wrote:

No...its not.

Mens' Distance running is completely out of it. How many US runners from 800 up world ranked? 3/10 athletes of the year were distance runners. So its not that distance runners can't compete against sprinters/throwers on a global level.

How many distance runners ranked in the top ten US athletes - none. Hall & Lagat got 14 points between the two of them (~0.1% of total points available). Even within the confines of the US, US distance running is not on the map.

The only bright spot is US womens' distance running. THAT is going relatively well, where US women received 12% of all US AOY votes, and 3 world rankings.

Face facts...its February. Who cares? The race is in August.

File this under 'what have you done for me lately' - note a somewhat higher record for 2007.

List the countries that are more competitive than the US in distance running. I count:

Kenya

Ethiopia

Morocco

Uganda

Tanzania

Eritrea (kind of)

Japan (marathon)

Maybe Spain (mid-distances)

Russia has the women but they're all on the sauce.

So who else is ahead of America? And should the US expect to be number one against this field? If you don't want to count Lagat, ok, (I count him as he wasn't brought over a la Shaheen) Tegenkamp was 4th in 2007 by inches, the US has won a bronze at 10000m in the last two major championships, was the only country to win men and womens marathon medals in Athens, went 10th and 11th (or 9 and 10) in the mens marathon in Beijing against one of the all-time great performances, Webb had the WL marks at 1500m and the mile in 2007 (I think he was #2 at 800m), and Hall is now #16 all time in the marathon. Then you've got a guy like Willis, whose background is essentially indistinguishable from that of an American's, and has been US-based and coached for six years now.

And yet, Germany, Italy, France and Spain had just one medal between all of them in athletics in Beijing (two if you count the 50km). Is the US really doing that poorly?

"[Are] the US (Men) really doing that poorly?"

as you point out, its relative.

1) vs the world? yes...and getting further behind. Not news

2) vs other disciplines in US T&F? absolutely:

Additions to top 100 performances this decade(with # of performances by top US performer)

400 37 30 - MJ

200 47 23 - MJ

100 47 32 - Mo

110HH 39 34 - AJ

400H 19 29 - Edwin

The sprints ALL have the overhang of one dominant performer. Who did Mo bump off the list? Carl Lewis...who dominated the list before.

3) vs US women. Not news.

4) vs US distance runners from the past? indeed.

the US is the 3rd largest nation on earth and throws vast amounts of resources at sport through the NCAA system alone, and distance running ends up holding a pair of twos.

Some glimmers of hope...but basically its as they said in the 60's, "Over 1500, Americans take taxis". Now that is reduced to 400m.

Mo Farah will eat Rupp alive!!

Not likely. Check out today's LRC summary of the Boston meet. "Rupp A Bridesmaid." If he had won with a 7:39 or something they would say, "Rupp fails in world record attempt."