[ What if ] Galen Rupp to run world XC

Would never happen. The XC course in Jordan is not Galen approved.

Wondering..., wrote:

Lets say Galen gave up this year, went pro last spring, and now is heading to Jordan to run this years world XC...How do you think he would fair against the world at this point. He was thirteenth at the Olympics. So would he place top ten this year or even better?

Medal?

...Win?

If im correct dathan was the last to grab a medal and that was in the JR race.

So how does the letsrun crowd think he would do this weekend?

You have to keep in mind that in the Olympics, only 3 runners were allowed from each country as opposed to the 6 from each in world cross. That means twice as many Kenyans, Ethiopians, Moroccans, and whatever the hell other countries that Africans run for. He's running very well right now, but in all honesty, I think it would be a huge accomplishment to even match his 13th place finish from the Olympics.

[quote]XC Course Tester wrote:

Would never happen. The XC course in Jordan is not Galen approved.

[quote]

So you are making fun of this bc his coach was looking out for him and his safety hoping he would not get hurt...

maybe coach smith of OSU should take this page out of his book...or German can just keep getting hurt, flopping, and letting everyone down...

2008 footlocker.

NCAA XC

NCAA indoors.

Rojo called him out for it all in his blog. Very good rojo. im glad someone else sees it also...do read it breaks this young man down great...

Alberto/Nike would make sure he wins.

Yuk yuk yuk wrote:

Alberto/Nike would make sure he wins.

Like they did at the Olympics.

Or better yet.

Winning the olympic trails on his home track, right in front of his fans, in nike's back yard...

wait he didnt win those?

All in all. I bet you right now where he is at and his finishing speed. I bet he would go top ten easily...i cant wait till he races again at that type of level and stops messing around with the lil kids at NCAA time to grow up and be a man...Good luck to him

I was being sarcastic. Rupp was younger than half the guys at NCAA's. You're smart.

too much of a wuss.....never happen....

run for free wrote:

too much of a wuss.....never happen....

How can you say that after his performance at the olympics, ncaa xc, and indoors...

it is well known that world xc champs is the toughest race out there for distance runners...the level of competition is insane...7 runners from each country....much tougher than than NCAAs xc, especially indoor NCAA..who are you kidding????......olympics is actually easier since there are only 1-3 athletes from each country....hence he is a wuss for not competing.............................

....................real champs seek out the best competitions...............................

Geb avoided worldxc. Is he a wimp?

When Rupp got over there some 20 Africans would walk up to

him and say "YOU WILL LOSE." And they would all be right.

Unless Salazar pulled some regulation out of the hat, or maybe a sniper rifle.

You'd have to clear it with Nike World HQ in Beijing first

With the depth of that race he'd be doing well to crack the top 20. He'd be the most likely pick for top non-African as he was at the Olympics. Better than 15th would be a surprisingly good performance at this point. Worse than top 30 would be a disappointing.

I think he could manage top ten. Look at what he has been doing.

What does everyone think he will run in the 10k this outdoors?

Geb is a marathoner now....Geb in his teens and 20's ran many world xc against Tergat and the Kenyans.

Rupp is 21-22 and has not even run one....big wuss.......

I'm convinced that the hate shown on this forum towards Rupp comes from those girly boys with a crush on him.

No freaking way Rupp is top 10 at world cross right now. He was 13th in a race that limited to 3 entries per country and only had those who were competing in 10k..and a few in the 5k. But you're telling me Asbel Kiprop (the 1500m phenom and Jr World XC champ) wouldn't beat Rupp at world XC? Sheesh! World XC brings together all the best from different races into one race. I'd agree with whoever said Rupp top 30, and I think I'd expect as much, but top 10? No way.

run for free wrote:

Geb is a marathoner now....Geb in his teens and 20's ran many world xc against Tergat and the Kenyans.

Rupp is 21-22 and has not even run one....big wuss.......

Rupp ran the Junior race in 2005 and finished 20th, a little over a minute back of the Kenyan winner.

2To of Salazars runners have placed top 15 at world cross.

Karl Keska (formerly of U of O) finished 13th in the long course in 2000 and Adam Goucher finished 6th in the short course in 2006.

Now obviously the field is deeper now with no short course, but there are not a lot of Africans who are better suited for the short course that cannot beat Rupp over 12K.

Rupp ran faster than Goucher and Keska guys ever have over 10K two years ago (as a 20 year old), and he is clearly WAY beyond that level now. The 30-40 drill that Rupp did by himself last fall went 24 laps before being told to stop with nearly every single split under target pace (meaning 29.xx/39.xx or better). Karl Keska did that workout for years while at Oregon and despite being one of the best cross country runners in the NCAA at that time never reached twenty laps even with the help of teammates. I don't know if Goucher ever tried this workout under Salazar, but it was pretty clear that Salazar has never seen or heard of anyone getting near where Galen did in the workout. And he did it under pace the whole time.

Courses would certainly play a factor, a firmer footing course would be to his advantage. I certainly think top 20 would be achievable and top 10 would be amazing, but possibly attainable.

Next year is not important in terms of summer championships, I would love to see Galen and all of our top guys make a goal of the world x-c championships and then a summer of euro racing.