I remember an interview Chris Derrick did before he retired. He was running with a fast group and doing fast workouts, but he strained to do it.
Looking at his workout times, there was little to indicate that he was slowing down. But he felt the enhanced strain wasn't going to lead to race success. And in races, he was slowing down.
I wonder if Rupp is following the same pattern as he gets older. He probably didn't think he was going run 1:04 plus, but again, workouts can be deceiving. He is also still injured.
What a great career. Injuries can slow a runner down for good.
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Have to admit that's true too. The ABC TV coverage of the NYC Half has been awful for years and actually it has been doing a bad job in the TCS NYC Marathon too for years.
Yesterday (3/19/23) in the NYC Half the womens race became a two-person competition very early. On the men's side it was a tad unusual for some
one-third to a-half of the race but as what tends to happen the guy who was out there by himself for a while got swallowed by the back pack. What it seems is that the TV coverage is meant to save money on any "special" motorcycles with cameras and commentators to keep track of some top runners in a following pack. I think the coverage goes a bit too far with reporters talking to spectators or casual participants
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Ben True is one of the only American dudes to have WON a Diamond League middle or long distance race in the past few years.
Winning a DL race is a special status none of these "medals are everything" champs fanatics can do, who have given up on ever being the fastest.
Granted Ben wasn't the fastest either, winning only the bottom rung New York 5000 in 13 something, but that's better than Galen has managed. Not a Galen hater! He had an outstanding career. Let's just not get carried away about who is fastest.
True has a habit of peaking for relatively meaningless races and then disappearing when it matters. He won that 2015 NY Diamond League in 13:29 against a very weak field - Nick Willis was 2nd and Nguse Amlosom (who?) was 3rd.
Suggesting that True’s watered-down DL win somehow stands out against faster times and global medals is an especially cold take, even for you.
Galen Rupp is a fighter--he isn't Jack Nicklaus at age 46 winning the '86 Masters but if he pulls out a big win at a WMM or somewhere like that it'll remind me of that. Same with Tiger's resurgence.
"Fighter" isn't exactly the first word I think of when I think of Galen Rupp... But definitely a big talent and I hope he can make a comeback.
I also have the same injury (injuries?) as Rupp. At a meet and greet I asked Jared Ward if he knew of any advice from Rupp on how to fix it. He basically said good luck man :(
It's not even fun to root against Galen at this point. All time US Great, a true heel- our sport needs him...but not like this.
We saw this coming two weeks ago when he commented on a sub-par/non ideal buildup. We knew this result was coming. Could he make the men's marathon team? Probably, but what's that worth anymore?
I don't want to see Rupp go the way of Bekele- step into the sunset, old man. It's time.
Can't argue Salazar is a great coach. Nemerous ahletes that have left him have fallen off a cliff. Even Levins fit that billing until his recent resurgence.
I believe you are attempting to say that you can't argue Salazar is NOT a great coach
Obviously there are great coaches out there but I think proof of what you're saying is the complete anonymity of international coaches who aren't white. Canova, Brother Colm etc and then dirty Jama Aden are all that I ever see discussed. Who coaches Kipchoge? How about Mo Katir, Hicham El Guerrouj or any number of absolute world class athletes whose coaches get no mention here? I understand the desire to credit a genius coach pulling the strings but it's silly to deny the fact that the factors you mentioned are 80% of the job.
Italians will be shocked when they are told they aren’t white .
Granted Ben wasn't the fastest either, winning only the bottom rung New York 5000 in 13 something, but that's better than Galen has managed. Not a Galen hater! He had an outstanding career. Let's just not get carried away about who is fastest.
What on earth are you talking about? You know Galen Rupp won a Diamond League 10,000 right? You know Galen Rupp won a silver medal in the 10,000 in 2012, right? I'll set a aside the bronze in the marathon in 2016 even though I think it is quite legit because of the concern about Galen having shoes others didn't, but that 2012 silver is one of the better distance running performances from any male US runner ever.
Rupp at the Olympics:
2012: 2nd in 10,000, 7th in 5,000
2016: 3rd in Marathon, 5th in 10,000
2020(1): 8th in Marathon
Rupp at the WC: 4th, 2x 5th, 7th, 2x 8th
Diamond League: 1st, Pre Classic 10,000 (26:44)
Marathon Majors: 1st, 2x 2nd, 5th
10x National Champion
Ben True has made one global final and has one DL win.
Can't argue Salazar is a great coach. Nemerous ahletes that have left him have fallen off a cliff. Even Levins fit that billing until his recent resurgence.
Clown post.
Levins fell off a cliff when he JOINED Salazar.
His "resurgence" happened after he got back to fitness and training WITHOUT Salazar-- after Salazar wasted years of his life and gave him multiple chronic injuries. (You know he needed surgery under Salazar, right? That was right when Nike dropped him.)
I don't know that Rupp has it in to make the 2024 team. He said it himself that he wants to run to win. But he might need to show up with the intent of reacting to the field in the latter stage of the race to be okay with one or two people running away from him but keeping everyone else at bay.
Does he have the talent to do so? Absolutely. Is the current crop of US men contending for the 2024 team actually better than him (think of a 100% healthy Rupp showing up to the starting line, not one who's only been able to do 70% training)? Even if someone can run a faster time I don't know that anyone would beat a healthy Rupp's tactics.
But can Rupp be okay with "running to finish Top 3" and just focus on making the team or is he going to go out and try to prove himself as the top dog in the field? He's been that way for so long and there's always only one way to go when you're at the top
You gotta wonder if Rupp can stay healthy enough to train for a 100% effort. I'd like to see him go through 2-3 healthy marathon builds and PR. I'm sure someone in this thread must have referenced Rupp's 2:06 in Chicago a mere 17 months back.