GALEN RUPP!!! GREAT RACE

Let's not get distracted by an analysis of the course. It is neither really easy or really hard. Galen ran a strong race. He has transitioned to professional running after a strong NCAA career. And, despite his clothing choices, he handles himself well. If others dislike him because they think Nike has coddled him since high school, I see that as extra pressure to produce results. And, this he has.

I just hope Rupp stays on the track for the next couple of years at least! He is still so young!

"Give up"? In the Stanford race, half a lap after Solinsky made his move with 900m left, Rupp could tell that Solinsky hadn't just made a novice mistake and was still out there. He passed Solel and Chelanga on the next-to-last backstretch and closed on Solinsky briefly. He didn't have anything like Solinsky's finishing speed that day (60/56 last two laps), and after making that desperate effort he had almost nothing left; Solel and Chelanga both passed him back. I've watched that finish probably ten times (I like the "Beastmode Solinsky" version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kbaj2-_VNMs), and I think Rupp went way out on a limb earlier than he wanted to rather than conceding the win to Solinsky. Then he hung on as well as he could despite what had to be the serious psychological blow of seeing another American vanishing into the distance on his way to breaking the record that been Rupp's goal (and that he still broke as well). Where's the "give up" part?

I take it back: he only passed Solel on the backstretch. He was already ahead of Chelanga.

huh?

What's your question? My posts are a follow-up to this exchange:

irun:

FARAH AND RUPP WILL BOTH BE SUB 27:00 and SUB 13:00 in 2011 (Farah closer to 12:50).....does anyone disagree?

oh no no no:

if Solinsky is in the race, then yes I disagree, and quite strongly... Rupp will probably give up again, he doesn't like seeing American competition

God damn! I love watching the finish to that 10000m AR race!!!

I just finally watched the NYC Half race this morning (thanks for posting the race Brojos) and I will say this:

Rupp ran like a f-ing man! For all the shit he gets on here, no one can deny him this. He took the lead at 1k to go and clearly showed strain on his face. He was running next to the WXC champ, NYC Marathon champ, and baller of all ballers from the 2010 US road scene in Gebre...AND HE PUSHED TO THE LEAD! To hell with all you jealous assholes out there in the land of letsrun! Rupp ran a great race, especially considering that he's never raced over 10k. Slooooow opening miles, not the easiest course out there, no pacers, and he ran the 5th fastest HM of any American. I'd like to see what he could run in a race like Lisbon or Great North Run.

Great great run!

Totally agree, Stache--on both subjects. I think Rupp has a clear shot at Hall's AR on one of those courses. With his luck, though, Solinsky will choose the same race to make his half-marathon debut.

LBXC wrote:

Totally agree, Stache--on both subjects. I think Rupp has a clear shot at Hall's AR on one of those courses. With his luck, though, Solinsky will choose the same race to make his half-marathon debut.

If Solinsky is there Rupp will beat him. The longer the distance, the better for Rupp.

Thanks for a refreshingly positive perspective. I'd like to see him run well too.

No comment on the mask ...

Not that it seems to matter in this crowd, but I'm a Rupp fan.

Was he luckier and thus received more support than other young athletes? Check

Is he more talented than other young distance athletes? Uh, yeah. A lot more talented than the average distance runner.

Does he work super hard to take advantage of that superior talent? Yeah, in fact I would hazard a guess that he works harder than roughly 99% of his critics.

Is he a gamer? Yep, he runs hard in races, competes in all venues and unlike some of the other top Americans, he races a lot. That makes him fun to follow, especially since he so consistently good.