Who you got in Chicago: Farah or Rupp?

Assuming that both start and both finish, I'll give Farah the slight edge. Definitely a close call though!

Rupp is at a slight disadvantage due to the huge dong he has to drag between his legs but I think hes got Mo beat

Paul Bunyan wrote:

It's not my intention to be antagonistic, but exactly what DNFs or bad finishes are you referring to? How many makes for 'too many'?

1) Boston 2018

2) US 10k champs 2017

3) ????

Beyond that I'm straining to think of a race Rupp has started that he didn't finish and finish well.

Fair question and not at all offensive to me. Again, I'm a Rupp fan - would love to see him dominate.

Really, every time I think of Rupp, the first one that comes to mind for me in terms of a bad finish is the classic Solinsky 10,000 m where Rupp came in the favorite to set the American Record and Solinsky blew his doors off. It's always heartbreaking to train for something like that and lose to somebody who comes out of nowhere, but doesn't a competitor battle that out and either win valiantly or meet his total demise?

I also think of Boston 2017. I know, I know. He finished 2nd in a great time, but watch the race where Kirui starts to break away from him. When Kirui starts to move, it's never a question of whether Rupp will win. Rupp concedes the race in that moment. Compare this to Eliud Kipchoge's late charge in the 2015 London. I realize Kipchoge is on a different level, and I also realize this thread is a direct comparison to Mo and Rupp. So let's consider the half marathon where Mo and Bekele battle it out at the end. There's never a question Bekele will win at the end - he's looking over his shoulder almost toying with Mo. But look at Mo's face - it's desperation and total commitment to winning. Compare that to Rupp's face in 2017 when Kirui breaks away. (From memory) Rupp's face was a clearly tired 'acquiescence' look. Again, I'm not Rupp bashing here - I have a deep respect for a guy who commits his career to running like Rupp.

There are other examples (the ones you mention), but I'll stop the commentary there. I don't know... maybe I'm too hard on him because I do want to see him dominate. I don't know him personally (though I'd enjoy meeting him) so I can't honestly say whether he does or doesn't have the fighter spirit, but watching him in races I get the impression he runs his own race. While that can be good for many reasons, if you ask me what I think a head-to-head looks like between that type of racer and one who has consistently shown a willingness to throw down the hammer and fight hard through the end, I'm picking the latter every time.

Rupp didn't concede the race "in that moment". Total hogwash attempting to sound intelligent.

Every runner, even hobby joggers like you, has days where he or she simply doesn't have it.

So when Rupp pulled away in Chicago, the others that he left behind conceded the race "in that moment"? Total BS.

Mo and Galen could both feel like sh*t on Sunday and just not have it to "break away" on that day. You may not know what it feels like, but believe me, it happens.

Solinsky had it that day in the 10,000, Galen didn't. Don't try to make pizza out of oatmeal, it can't happen. If you don't think Galen is a competitor, you missed the Olympic coverage of the marathon in Rio.

Galen ran the 10,000 and was less than 3 seconds out of a medal, then came back 8 days later and got a solid 3rd place in the marathon with 4th place almost 1 minute behind and 2nd place only 11 seconds in front of him after running over 26 miles.

Everyone can't be 1st but not calling them a competitor is so "hobby jogger-ish".

You'll read your post several times and then come back 10 times a day to see the responses, hoping that you are being congratulated on an amazing post. Sorry, you need to learn a bit more about the sport and the elites who race in them.

LetsRun.com wrote:

The 2018 Chicago Marathon is on Sunday.

There are plenty of fast guys in the field. There's 2018 Dubai champ/CR holder Mosinet Geremew, 2017 Boston/World champ Geoffrey Kirui, 2018 Tokyo champ Dickson Chumba, and several more.

But this thread isn't about them. This is about Mo Farah vs. Galen Rupp. Former training partners under Alberto Salazar, Mo left NOP at the end of 2017. Their marathon PRs are 14 seconds apart (2:06:07 for Rupp, 2:06:21 for Farah). They haven't raced since the 2016 Olympics and have never raced in the marathon. And Rupp has only beaten Farah once in 22 head-to-head matchups, and that was in an indoor mile in which Farah fell during the race.

Who finishes higher, and why?

Update: We've published a history looking at the past history between Farah and Rupp:

http://www.letsrun.com/news/2018/10/prepare-face-off-chicago-marathon-look-history-former-training-partners-mo-farah-galen-rupp/

Farah

Rupp

Yes, if Rupp had taken 7th in the marathon, dozens of posters would be saying I told you so, he'll never medal in the marathon, ever. He takes 3rd and they complain because he didn't win. I have no clue what he is or isn't on, but he's the real deal and surely a tough competitor. To not call him a competitor is ignorant at best.

Rupp wins in 2:05:54 in decent but not perfect conditions. The race is in the morning. High for the day is now predicted to be 65. Rupp and the others will be fine.

NBC had a nice interview with Rupp. Galen said he needed to race great competition now. Also said that he had no excuses that his Achilles was fully recovered. Also saying Mo dominated him on the track. He apparently is very good friends with Elliud Kipchoge.

Farah

I want Rupp to win but lets be real, it's Farah all the way for the WIN!

Nigel_Bikes wrote:

I want Rupp to win but lets be real, it's Farah all the way for the WIN!

Agree.

Someone noted above that Rupp's 10K fail against Solinsky and his 2nd at Boston were worth note. I'd throw the Olympics in there, too. Rupp was Mr. Fade at that race, if you'd look at it again. It's a good thing the marathon isn't 27 miles, or the outcome may have been different.

That said, the past few years have seen him run better. BUT, let's see what happens when he's not the only guy who can ramp it up at 21. What will happen when someone else does, and he's trying to hang on? This may be reaching, since he has won a few of these, but c'mon man. 2:04 isn't in his wheelhouse no matter what. And neither is going around Mo with 400 to go.

What we know...

A) Mo Farah is Mo Farah, if he is within striking distance with a mile left it is very unlikely anyone beats him. His win at the Great North Run was once again fantastic, leaving him as several people's favorites.

B) Prague was impressive, but not even close to Mo Farah holding on from a suicidal 61 minute first half in London. Rupp has done nothing to prove he is one of the world's best Marathoners. Prague was basically a time trial, Chiacago 2017 was a farce (that field was the worst of any major that year, beating washed out off the sauce Kenyans really isn't impressive, and his kick wasn't a big deal considering he did it off 2:11 pace), he lost Boston then dropped out the next year, and got wrecked by Kipchoge and a random Ethopian in Rio. Rupp may prove that he is a real marathon force in this race, but as it stands right now, Rupp's magical kick is a myth.

C) Kirui shouldn't be counted out, he was the second best marathoner in the world in 2017, and ran Boston in a parachute and did enough to get second even blowing up in the last mile, and that was the same race that was to tough for Rupp to handle.

D) The others: Geremew has had an amazing season this year making it through the sh*t show that is the orginization of Dubai to run a 2:04 flat. His tune up half was also quite impressive. While on paper everything looks great, breakout performers from Dubai have a habit of falling of quite quickly. Karoki is great at the half marathon, but is yet to run a good full marathon, which as we know from Tadese, is not guaranteed. Still, there is potential for a breakout race from him. The last contender I like is Augustine Choge. The once promosing young track star is ready to make his marathon debut. He hasn't raced since febuary 2017, but that half marathon went well, and Choge could be ready to be Kentas newest marathon star.

rupp in theory should be the better marathoner.

however farah appears on his game now and rupp, who knows? after a soso tune up, with probably tired legs... a bit.

you have to bet moe on that limited information...

if rupp is on his A game, its rupp.

al sal will know best.

the odds should be 3:1 for moe: rupp.

give all.

Will the winner run faster than the other marathon this weekend, didn't last year

NOPe and Rupp2:06, I think you misread my post. I respect Rupp’s ability. I think his name deserves to be in the conversation for best American Male Marathoner ever - maybe even best American male “runner” given his prolonged success at many distances. Indeed, the 10,000m/Marathon double at the Olympics was a Herculean effort and he performed well. Even in the 10,000 I mentioned where Solinsky crushed him, I believe (going off memory so I may be wrong) Rupp ran faster than the prior American record, which was his goal. That counts for something.

With regard to my “hogwash” I do honestly believe when Kirui moved in 2017, Rupp calculated and couldn’t go with him. I conclude that he conceded “in that moment,” and I stand by that comment. That doesn’t take anything away from Rupp as an athlete-I just use it as a comparison to Mo fighting Bekele in the half marathon. Both men lost their race, but one did it differently than the other.

That said, my understanding of the question wasn’t “Will Rupp finish 2nd, 7th or 10,000th?” It was Rupp vs. Mo head-to-head. I think Rupp takes a serious shot at the American record, but I think Mo takes a serious shot at the European record. Given they are so close to each other, I think, for the reasons I detailed (and assuming both start and both finish), Mo beats Rupp. I hope I’m wrong. I’d love to see Rupp beat Mo and I’d love to see him win overall.

In a couple days we’ll know for sure. That’s the beauty of competition. This will be my last post on it because I just joined the conversation for fun, and I’ve already clarified twice. Either way, it should be an enjoyable race to watch. Enjoy it.

Hi, I want to start following more races and this one is all over LR.

What channel will the race be on?

Constantly seeing the name Stinson pop up in this post with Mo and Galen.

Wanna guess what they all have in common? They are all TUE abusers. Not rooting for any of them. Plus, stinson being mentioned in same sentence as rupp and mo is a slap in their faces. Stinson is a blow up king. Shows up when the stakes are low and blows up when they are high... just wait and see

Mo won. Awesome.