Rupp is the runner Prefontaine dreamed of being.

Plus, if they're 51 years old on average now, they were 9-10 years old when Pre ran in the Olympics. I wouldn't expect many people that age to know very many Olympians. Ask some 60+ guys and I bet the result will be different.

Roger that.

This makes more sense than anything anyone else here is going to say. Enough with the hype machine. Two crap movies and killer ad campaign do not make a great runner. Give it a rest.

knower of heroes' minds wrote:

Pre would consider Galen Rupp an even more despicable candy-ass than his enemy, Harold Norporth.

Candy-ass huh?

Does running a stupid race in the Olympics exclude one from that title?

How about getting drunk and driving ones MG into a rock, is that the kind of "blue collar" credential you are looking for?

^^^This makes more sense than anything anyone else here is going to say. Enough with the hype machine. Two crap movies and killer ad campaign do not make a great runner. Give it a rest.

Pre is the ladies man that Rupp dreams of being.

Rupp is now 27. Pre died at 24. Rupp has 3 more years body of work. But if you take Pre and Rupp at 24, Pre was the greater. 1-He had more records. 2-He changed track and field. If you think Pre wouldnt have picked up olympic medals if his life wasnt cut short then you are probably the most ignorant runner I could ever imagine.

People are ignorant because they wouldn't project a mid-20s runner to continue to improve?

Pre is what he is.

He never dreamed of being Rupp -- he probably never dreamed of being that fast. He probably dreamed of running 27:15.

But pre had no excuses like rupp has when he fails to achieve

No one will ever be like steve

If you want to win a race you have to go a little berserk.

Bill Rodgers

I'd like to see rupp try to kill everyone at a major marathon

59:00 first half

go berserk slap someone

no airplaning and talking to chicks like hall

i bet a 210 marathon would hurt Rupp more then a 203 anyway

Rupp as an amputee is the runner I dream of being.

Pre might have had a solid shot to medal in 1976 but not win. Probably silver kicking at 600 to drop Lopes but he wasn't going to beat Viren. But that last lap would have been legendary.

In 1980 he would have been 29 and in the thick of things but over the hill.

He was never going to win a tactical race because his kick was average among the best world class runners.

He didn't really improve much from age 21 when he ran 13:22 at the Olympic Trials until his death. Although the low key 10,000 he ran to break Shorters AR (1974?) indicated he might have threatened the WR that Dave Bedford set in 1973.

But Rupp isn't the runner Pre dreamed of until he actually wins any race of note against the very best in the World. Pre ran arguable tactically dumb races because he always tried to win every race he ever entered. He would never had it in him to run smart to just give him the best shot to finish 2nd or 3rd. That's the reason why he is remembered (not the Nike hype machine).

Nobody remembers Northop, we hear. The guys he beat in the '64 Olympics remember him. German running fans certainly remember him.

He was not influential? He was more the hero of Jackie Stewart of Scotland than Ron Clarke was, and Jackie won Commonwealth and Olympic medals.

I also saw the idea in here that Pre was a Nike PR job. While there may be a grain of truth there, the fact is that for the first half of the 70s, Pre was the most exciting and inspiring American runner around. Sure we loved Frank Shorter, and his gold medal effort, his marathon dominance, but Pre was the main story, anyone who knew running back then has to admit it.

And Pre did beat Frank in their fantastic '74 AR 3-mile run showdown.

Rupp, well hell yes he is better than Pre. Different times, different guy.

If rupp can ever manage to run 5000 faster than Ritz, then we can worry about who's the best.

Good troll post from the OP.And who dreams of silver?

Randy Oldman wrote:

Rupp is the runner I dreamed of being.

agree.much more tOp runners nowdays, more drugs and many MORE 54 last 10,000 lap. PRE WOULD HAD ACOMPLISHED MUCH MORE IF HADN'T DIE. BOTH LEGENDS ON THEIR OWN WAY

These people are stupid wrote:

Pre is arguably the greatest distance runner of all time and he was CLEAN! He ran against the world's best to try to beat the world's best.

Rupp is a drugged up fake! He runs in these collegiate races to try and break records instead of going out and racing someone that has a legitimate shot to beat him! Of course he's gonna run faster than Pre when Rupp is on 40 different supplements

You are so wrong in so many ways:

#1 Nobody in their right mind argues that Pre is even close to one of the top distance runners ever. He's not even in the top 100.

#2 You don't like it when distance runners use supplements?

What kind of numskull are you? No one can go out and run 120 - 150 mpw and not need supplements. Supplements are neither unethical or illegal. No woman can run 100 mpw and not take iron supplements. It would be suicidal.

Pre is the epitome of style over substance. He was never that good but he looked good doing it.

Billy Mills compares pretty well to RUPP. What is the point of this thread? Stupidity on display?

Well it is very successful, congratulations

As near as I can tell, here are the comparisons at roughly age 24:

Distance: Pre / Rupp

Mile: 3:54.6 / 3:57.72

5000: 13:21.87 / 13:07.35

10000: 27:43.6 / 27:10.74