Who Wins at 10000m? Fisher, Pre, Rupp, Nenow, Webb, Ritz, Salazar, Solinsky, Mills, Kennedy?

Fisher wins, and it’s not particularly close either.

Imagine Salazar on full EPO and super spikes.

We don't have to imagine

In their absolute prime, I'm going with Rupp, with Solinsky and Fisher a close second and third. Rupp, just because no US runner has accomplished what he has in the 10k. Fisher just broke his record, but Rupp got silver, and if he had a chance like Fisher did to run fast, he'd have broken 26:30 with super spikes.

Solinsky over Fisher because he said before he was injured in 2011 he was in 12:50/26:45 shape. That's at least close to Fisher if he had new spikes, and if the 12:50 was accurate, I take Solinsky in a race over Fisher unless it's an absolute time trial.

If Fisher medals in Eugene though, he moves to first on the list.

My guess:

1. Rupp v.2012/2014

2. Fisher v.Mar. 2022

3. Solinsky v.2010

4. Ritz v.2009

5. Kennedy v.1998

6. Webb v.2006

7. Salazar v.1982

8. Nenow v.1986

9. Pre v.1974

10. Mills v.1964

I could be giving Webb too much credit. It’s possible I’m sleeping on the past too much.

But EPO wasn’t available and of course neither were super shoes. So yeah, we do.

I think it's safe to assume that Salazar was taking whatever was available to him at the time

Let’s have the courage to embrace the future before it arrives. Fisher is so smooth and smart. 26:33 is just the start. He is going to undoubtedly be America’s greatest distance runner. We know what the others have done at their absolute best. Fisher is already as good or better and there is no reason to think he’s topped out. Fisher will be one of the all time greats, including the East Africans.

Todd Williams FTW

Rupp ran 26:44 and closed in something like 1:58 and wasn’t wearing dragonflys. I think 1.5 seconds per mile is realistic over 10k for the spikes. So that’s 9 seconds right there. Closing in 1:58 means he had a lot left in the tank. He could’ve ran 26:2x in his prime

And his coach insisted on giving him massages over an actual professional.

I recall watching that 26:44, and it was incredible. He closed in 1:57, and I think his last 400 was 56. He beat 2016 Olympic silver and 3x WC bronze medalist Paul Tanui by 5 seconds! All things considered (including super shoes and wavelight), it was probably even more impressive than Fisher’s AR.

letsrun.com

Galen Rupp Runs 26:44.36 To Break His American Record

LetsRun.comMay 31

39 years to the day after Steve Prefontaine died, Galen Rupp came within .62 seconds of running Prefontaine's 5,000m PR back-to-back. After the meet it was also announced Galen's wife, Keara, is expecting twins.

Open link

But what really pushes him over Fisher for me in this hypothetical is the kick he had in 2012–namely closing in 52.x to kick past Lagat in the OT 5k, and of course out-kicking the Bekele bros in the London 10k. Fisher’s developing a strong kick too, but until further notice I give the nod to peak Galen.

Nobody seems to think the gold medalist has a chance. Nor the man who nobody wants to see hanging on with a lap left. If you give me the field you can have Rupp and Fisher and I like my chances.

Nobody’s disputing Mills’s greatness, but the era he ran in was so radically different, and I don’t think any conversion of shoes and track surfaces brings his 28:17 down well under 27.

As for Webb, out-kicking Ritz in a 27:34 California 10k is superb for a miler, but are you really ready to claim he’d out-kick a recent Olympic 10k silver medalist, or hang with a guy who just ran 61” faster? If so, you have to believe he was contesting the wrong event (he wasn’t).

It’s such a shame Solinsky’s career got ruined by injuries. I believe he was more talented than Rupp; he was clearly the better runner in 2010. I wonder what Solinsky could have accomplished if he hadn’t gotten hurt.

What I am saying is that I would take the field and you can have Grant and Galen. Of course I do not think Mills nor Webb would be likely to win BUT…Galen would not likely lead and if Pre and Alberto could be talked out of leading then who leads and how fast? This could easily turn into a 13:45/13:20 affair even in the super shoes and then the winner is anybody’s guess. Yes Galen and Grant are favorites to win BUT I would take the field. IF Alberto and Pre lead then it could still turn into a 5000m race and Galen may not win. Grant may not either.

Some people forget that Ritz, Solinsky and Kennedy were faster at 5000m than Galen and are capable of winning this hypothetical.

MEB would be in the mix too!

Rupp by a wide margin. Fisher got 6th in the 10k at the Olympics with a time of 27:46, closing with a mid 56 last 400. This was with superspikes on the fastest track surface ever created.

Rupp, however, closed the 2012 Olympic silver race 27:30 with a 53 mid. Last 200 was 26 low IN LANE 2 WHILE SLOWING DOWN THE LAST 15 METERS. This was on old mondo with old spikes, no carbon fiber.

Additionally, Fisher benefits from being able to recover from workouts easier because he runs in carbon fiber shoes. This allows him to do much harder workouts and much more frequently with a lower risk of injury than runners in previous generations. If Solinsky got to train in carbon fiber shoes, he might have never gotten injured.