What are Some Lessons We Can Take Away From Rupp's Olympic Performance?

Salazaar has found a new brand of PEDS!

Very nice points. The number one point is key. Many athletes jumped on board with AlSal and about a year or 18 months later dropped out because they weren't pleased with their results. Salazar shaped and molded Rupp over nearly a decade. Running is a long-term sport, and athletes who are fed up with lack of results in 24 months of training are going to be disappointed because they're probably not patient enough.

Just my guess. AlSal can get the job done, but you have to give him time.

You're spot on here. Couldn't agree more.

you may be joking, but actually that's the truth. Salazar got Nike to build a climate-controlled house that simulates high altitude. They put Rupp in that house for a year before he started at UO. Farah, Tegenkamp, Solinsky and Jager have all been part of the same program.

Unlike actual high-altitude training, the training is done in normal air. they only live in the thin air. So they get the benefit of producing extra blood cells, but they don't have to scale back their training while doing so, because they train in normal air.

The WADA has investigated this training method but has yet to restrict it. Some sports have a limit to hematocrit, that is blood cells by volume, but track is not yet one of them.

Now, patriotic Americans will tell you, it's legal, don't complain... blood doping was legal too, all through the 70's and half of the 80's, and most elite athletes blood-doped, but the 1984 US cycling team still created a scandal when their doping was discovered. High-altitude training is one thing, but there's something inherently unethical about using technology to manipulate your hematocrit level. Particularly when it's a technology that only the world's biggest multinational sports apparel corporation can afford. Something about it just ain't right.

When I saw Evan Jager break the AR in the steeplechase, I was impressed. When I found out he's part of Nike Oregon Project, my respect for him dropped to zero. He may run like a Kenyan, but he doesn't train like one. He trains like a cheater.

It would be interesting to see hematocrit results for distance athletes. For pro cyclists the number is 50 ... most pro cyclists are likely at 50 ... rather than some bell curve distribution with 50 being on the right end of the bell curve. My guess is that in cycling the distribution is a solid bar at 47 - 50.

kozz wrote:

Some sports have a limit to hematocrit, that is blood cells by volume, but track is not yet one of them.

kozz wrote:

When I saw Evan Jager break the AR in the steeplechase, I was impressed. When I found out he's part of Nike Oregon Project, my respect for him dropped to zero. He may run like a Kenyan, but he doesn't train like one. He trains like a cheater.

This is the dumbest piece of ignorance I've seen on here in quite some time. Jager isn't part of the Nike Oregon Project, he's part of Jerry Schumacher's OTC Elite team. He trains like a champion, which is what he is. He's hard working, focused and doing it the right way.Stop being an idiot and actually learn a few things before spewing out nonsense.

How is that any different than an altitude tent, that basically EVERYONE uses at a high level.

Your claims are drastically one sided, the hallmark of either ignorance or desperation.

Good points. It is pretty amazing regarding Rupp's speed- he went from getting out kicked constantly to out kicking both Bekeles. And they've been talking about working on his kick for years and years.

I think the other thing to consider is that Salazar trains his althetes to compete logistically with the best in the world. He makes sure they can cover surges and close fast. That's what wins big races. I think many runners train to run a PR in a well paced race and that won't get you past the East Africans in a non-rabbited race.

do you live in a tent, or a house?

Don't get mad now.

thyroid medication + altitude training turns on certain genes which in turn produce EPO in the kidneys.

Oh, Jerry Schumacher, that's different from Nike Oregon Project? You go learn something, idiot. What do you think Schumacher moved to Oregon to do?

Good points. I think the key things are the consistency in training and the focus on speed.

Rupp has had 1 coach since high school, which means one training philosophy. He's had occasional injuries, but on the whole he's been remarkably healthy. That means uninterRuppted years of training, without the constant changes in coaching philosophy that a lot of Americans go through.

Salazar has put a huge emphasis on speed for Rupp, and it's paid off. For years American distance runners were the guys who could run a fast 10k, but had no kick. Rupp was that guy for a while, too. But he and Salazar have spent at least the last 3 years working on his speed, to the point that he now has 3:34 wheels or better.

kozz wrote:

do you live in a tent, or a house?

Don't get mad now.

Nope, but I'm not an elite runner.

If I had aspirations to be elite, I'd certainly get an altitude tent. They are only a few thousand.

Again, this is a bad argument.

Not everyone owns a $10k carbon fibre road bike, but does that mean that people who use one to train on hills are cheating?

riley stops wrote:

kozz wrote:

When I saw Evan Jager break the AR in the steeplechase, I was impressed. When I found out he's part of Nike Oregon Project, my respect for him dropped to zero. He may run like a Kenyan, but he doesn't train like one. He trains like a cheater.

This is the dumbest piece of ignorance I've seen on here in quite some time. Jager isn't part of the Nike Oregon Project, he's part of Jerry Schumacher's OTC Elite team.

OTC Elite was NOP, really still is, they just branded their group with different name after the Solinsky/Rupp tension.

One thing I think everyone is overlooking is the "Secret Rupp-Farah" workout that Flotrack posted. That bit of fitness enhancing is really the key. I bet no Ehtiopian or Kenyan duo could duplicate such heading skills - and that is why Farah and Rupp went one-two.

that video just made me think of the story, olympic runners tear achilles tripping on scale while practicing headers inside.

One thing I took away from this race is the value of having a racing partner. Rupp and Farah where akin to Ricky Bobby and Cal Naughton, Jr.. Shake, and bake.