Obviously, I should qualify this by saying Rupp is by no means done, and even when he's off his best, he's still one of the best we've got, but really I'm just wondering what you suppose has been the situation this season? After such a terrific 2012, 2013 it seems he's struggled a bit and underperformed somewhat.
He just needs a little tweaking of his thyroid meds and perhaps a couple more TUEs. He'll be back.
Watch Hannah England's interview after the 1500. There is nothing "up" with Rupp. He made finals of the 5000 and was in it until the last 2 laps. He was 4th in the 10,000.
I DO think that the 1/2 and marathon are his best events.
Brianruns10 wrote:
Obviously, I should qualify this by saying Rupp is by no means done, and even when he's off his best, he's still one of the best we've got, but really I'm just wondering what you suppose has been the situation this season? After such a terrific 2012, 2013 it seems he's struggled a bit and underperformed somewhat.
In 5 years we might look back and think that in 2012 he was ahead of schedule.
Time will tell. I don't believe in the idea that distance runners peal at 26. I think it starts somewhere around 32. Don't know what the evidence is for otherwise.
It would be nicer to see him stick his nose in it more aggressively in these 5,000's
I'd rather see him be on Mo's shoulder, in second, with 300 to go and if he is not going to make it, falter to 4th, 6th, whatever, than to just stay in 6th and end up there.
All these races in all these events at this level are tough task masters.
But maybe in a few years we look back at 12/13 as years he was still building up to being better.
None of his opponents are slouches though, and no US 5/10 guy has done as well in 50 years.
We watch the sport to be entertained, and sometimes that comes with joy (ala the silver) and sometimes it comes with frustration. C'est la vie.
I don't know. This is by far the worst season of his career. It's like he's a different runner this year. Guy's done. Stick a fork in him.
Wait, what's that? He had his highest championship finish ever in a 5k? And ran the 2nd fastest 5k he's ever run this season? And got 4th in the world championships in the 10k? You don't say...
It's probably demoralizing to go from being Alberto's golden boy to being that guy who trains with Mo.
When two buddies of similar levels (but not quite) train together day in day out, one usually overtrains.
Compare to Kara and Shalane this season.
That's as good as he is. He's not fast enough over the last lap to go with the top tier guys, and he doesn't do anything to compensate for that fact. There might not be anything he could do anyway. He's good, but he's not the best. Don't expect him to be. He ran to his level.
Brianruns10 wrote:
Obviously, I should qualify this by saying Rupp is by no means done, and even when he's off his best, he's still one of the best we've got, but really I'm just wondering what you suppose has been the situation this season? After such a terrific 2012, 2013 it seems he's struggled a bit and underperformed somewhat.
In my opinion, chasing indoor records over the winter burned him out. He has looked tired all season. Has he gone under 13 at all? Why chase records like that in a WC year. He and Farah should go record chasing next year, when there are no major outdoor championships.
Over the hill.
Happens to the best of them.
sensational indoors - hard to double peak
runn wrote:
Watch Hannah England's interview after the 1500. There is nothing "up" with Rupp. He made finals of the 5000 and was in it until the last 2 laps. He was 4th in the 10,000.
I DO think that the 1/2 and marathon are his best events.
Big deal. The ENTIRE field was 'in it' until the last 2 laps. That happens in a slow championship race.
Compared with last year's Olympic silver in the 10K and the fact he wasn't much of a factor at all in either the WC 5 or 10K, seems like something MIGHT be "up".
Could just be the hard indoor season he had. Doesn't seem like Alberto would make a mistake like that though.
Prairie Dawg wrote:
It's probably demoralizing to go from being Alberto's golden boy to being that guy who trains with Mo.
Rupp doesn't feel this way at all. They're best friends, both soccer obsessed and don't talk running much outside of practice.
I guess if you had a best friend you'd understand that.
If you aren't winning it, next best deal is your best friend winning it.
And, you know, all these guys are leading charmed lives.
The worst experience Rupp has had in the last 13 years is that he has never know the joy of paying for his own running shoes, lol.
A Duck wrote:
[quote]Brianruns10 wrote:
None of his opponents are slouches though, and no US 5/10 guy has done as well in 50 years.
Did you forget about a guy named Lagat?
bigtool05 wrote:
I don't know. This is by far the worst season of his career. It's like he's a different runner this year. Guy's done. Stick a fork in him.
Wait, what's that? He had his highest championship finish ever in a 5k? And ran the 2nd fastest 5k he's ever run this season? And got 4th in the world championships in the 10k? You don't say...
This is right on the mark.
Fans are disappointed because they hoped for a lot. Rupp is probably disappointed too since he's very close to the top and was probably hoping to improve this year and be a double medalist, and have a shot at the gold. He shouldn't be.
In 2011 he was 7th in the 10000m and 9th in the 5000m, and ran 13:06, 26:48
In 2012 he was 2nd in the 10000m and 7th in the 5000m, and ran 12:58
In 2013 he was 4th in the 10000m and 8th in the 5000m, so far 13:05
He is on a three year plateau where he has been solid for being right there at the bell. In 2011, he did not have the kick. In 2012 he developed the kick and got a medal. This year the kick is still there but the field is faster now. Mo was not a 3:28 runner in 2011. Rupp hung within about 2 seconds of him in both races this year despite Mo's improvement.
Who beat him in the 5000m today and their PRs?
Mo (12:53.11)
Gebrhiwet (12:47.53)
Koech (12:48.64)
Longosiwa (12:49.04)
Soi (12:51.34)
Lagat (12:53.60)
Edris (13:03.69)
Who was behind him?
Alamirew (12:48.77)
To me, it looks like Rupp is ready to go under 12:55. This was an extremely competitive 5000m field and Rupp was doubling back.
I'd hoped Rupp would do better today but this was a realistic result for him. If anything, I think improved positioning at the bell would have gotten him 5th place without any change in fitness.
Now he has to come up with a 5 second improvement in his base ability for the 5k, and perhaps of that, 1.5 seconds has to be in the kick.
He may have reached his limit, nobody knows. But he did not go backwards this year, and it is arguable that he may have gone forwards, just that the rest of the world improved more.
Did anyone ever expect Farah to improve much after last year? He did, and quite a bit in the 1500-5000 range. So did Rupp, but it is masked by what everyone else did.
The only question is, will Rupp have a 2013-Farah-like improvement in the future? If so, he will be a medalist again. If not, he is merely going to end his career as the best long distance runner in US history.
What I would love to see now (if there is any energy left in Rupp for the rest of the racing season) is for Farah to rabbit Rupp for 4000m of a 5000m, and get him under 12:55. Why do they not do this? Then Rupp can return the favor in the 3000m a week later. I know, a fantasy, but whatever...
Nutella1 wrote:
When two buddies of similar levels (but not quite) train together day in day out, one usually overtrains.
Compare to Kara and Shalane this season.
This is pretty logical. I am sure Alberto knows this, it is not like Rupp's performances have been complete bonks this year. The Nike labs test for indicators of over training, Alberto works hard to prevent it, as it is an issue so high on his radar screen after killing his own athletic health by over cooking himself in training. There just isn't probably exact science.
As someone posted, a slight drop off after an Olympic year is not uncommon.
His indoor and outdoor miles are nice progress from 4 years ago.
Hopefully with the pressure of WC's off, Rupp can jump in some races and go after some PR's.
We'll see.
1234567890, you lay it out nicely, though I'm not going to quote all that.
I suppose that some of us just thought that after last year's Olympic 10k, in conjunction with Rupp's 3:50 indoor mile, that this year was really primed to be the Mo and Rupp show. Instead, it was the Mo show. Obviously, taking 4th and 8th is nothing to scoff at. But both of those races played out perfectly for Rupp to medal, and he was fairly well out of 3rd in each.
The PRs you list for those guys are interesting... but hell, was 12:55/12:52 really out of range for Rupp this year, especially after that fast indoor season?
In other words, it was a very strong year, but only disappointing because of the standards he set over the past two years. Most athletes only get so many healthy world championships in their prime, so I'm assuming he isn't thrilled to be a little down this year. Regardless of the history of U.S. distance running, I think it's past the point at which we can get jazzed about him being in the top 8 in world races. I doubt he is.
Has anyone noticed how civil A Duck has been on this thread?
A Duck wrote:
Prairie Dawg wrote:It's probably demoralizing to go from being Alberto's golden boy to being that guy who trains with Mo.
Rupp doesn't feel this way at all. They're best friends, both soccer obsessed and don't talk running much outside of practice.
I guess if you had a best friend you'd understand that.
If you aren't winning it, next best deal is your best friend winning it.
And, you know, all these guys are leading charmed lives.
The worst experience Rupp has had in the last 13 years is that he has never know the joy of paying for his own running shoes, lol.
You might be the single most irritating person in the history of the world. You don't know how Galen Rupp feels unless you are Galen Rupp, so STFU.
113 wrote:
The PRs you list for those guys are interesting... but hell, was 12:55/12:52 really out of range for Rupp this year, especially after that fast indoor season?
That was kind of my point, like he is probably a 12:52-12:54 guy right now and placed where a 12:52-12:54 guy should have. Now he needs to become a 12:47-12:49 guy with a slightly better kick and he will be in the battle again for a medal of any color.
Though he did not threaten a medal, he handily beat Gebremeskel in the 10000m, and came back to beat Alamirew in the 5000m. Before the finish, nobody would have given him a chance against either one of them in those races.