Galen Rupp Targeting AR in the Marathon (Interview)

A lot of people seem to think the new road shoes let you recover quicker and not be so beat up after marathons. We could start to see people race more than 2x a year, particularly when there are Olympic/WC marathons in the summer.

If this is true that could be the best feature of the new shoes. I think one problem with the popularity of the top marathoners is that they aren't in the public eye enough.

The average person only sees them once or twice per year.

If they could run 3 majors a year that could become bigger. Add in a couple 1/2 marathons and now people will know who they are.

How do you really market someone who is only out there once or twice a year?

Has he not targeted the AR before? Guess he woke up feeling motivated. Headlines like this are so infuriating.

No.

He has only done "tune up" races and tactical marathons- where he contended for medals or wins.

Lolwut. He's done Chicago 4 times (and I guess this confirms a 5th)... three times with official pacers, and once with his own secret pacer. He's also run Prague, also with pacers, where he ran his PR.

Rupp's chance for the AR is long gone.

He will not "pop" a 2:05 any day now.

Yeah....

"Pacers" with super fast PRs, who don't block any wind, who run highly variable paces, and who try to out-sprint you at the end.

So far, the conversation about faster recovery has all sounded like this. It's like a snake eating its tail. Someone says "hey I bet those shoes help you recover faster" -> someone is like "hey I hear those new shoes help you recover" -> someone reports that this is true in their experience -> it becomes accepted as fact. To add to the ouroboros, all I can say is "big if true". But with running, it's so hard to know what is objectively true, what's placebo, and what's BS.

No. They have regular-ass pacers

Wow! I learned a new word. Not some trendy neologism but one with a considerable history, going back to the Late Greek. Way to go! A feather has been added to the LetsRun cap.

merriam-webster.com

Definition of OUROBOROS

a circular symbol that depicts a snake or dragon devouring its own tail and that is used especially to represent the eternal cycle of destruction and rebirth; something (such as a never-ending cycle) that is likened to or sug...

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en.wikipedia.org

Ouroboros

The ouroboros or uroboros () is an ancient symbol depicting a serpent or dragon eating its own tail. The ouroboros entered Western tradition via ancient Egyptian iconography and the Greek magical tradition. It was adopted as...

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Chicago was 9 weeks after the Olympics, not 6.

Chicago seems likely however if he really is going for the AR…I wonder if he considers Valencia. December gives more recovery time from Worlds and it is probably more reliable than a Chicago in terms of weather.

Galen did go abroad last time he tried to run simply for time…

Rupp has the talent to get the AR. It will finally give him the opportunity to chase the clock and leave it all out there. I hope it's televised live. It will be interesting to watch.

London might be a better place for Rupp. Berlin often has a shallow field so he might not find people to run with in that 2:05 range. London will always have a deep field and is a fast enough course, and is in October this year

Hot weather at three of the Chicago races and Prague had only one quality opponent.

It's worth mentioning that when Khalid Kannouchi ran that 2:05 AR, not only was it an American record, it was a world record at the time. He was the first guy ever under 2:06.

It's amazing how low the WR has gone in just a few years. The WR has steadily dropped. The AR has not.

This is why cycling and XC skiing is so popular in Europe. You see them competing every week for months every year.

You’re getting downvoted, but I think this is more true than people would like to believe.

Rupp hasn’t done anything in the last year to suggest he’s anywhere close the the kind of shape needed to target the AR anytime soon. But, if he does, it’s time a top American raced Berlin. Go get it.

I'm glad this is still a priority for him. Thought he looked incredible at Chicago last year, and might have gotten the AR there if not for combined wind + heat. Everything will have to come together but hey, anything's possible.