Rupp is the runner Prefontaine dreamed of being.

very true!

there are way more similarities between PRE and Symmonds.

but when you never see rupp do anything that any normal human does, like drink, or whatever. you havta wonder how much he really enjoys it, it seems sometimes he is deprived of human emotion.

so the real question is... Is AlSal the Soup Nazi!?!?

Time for Rupp to leak a sex-tape.

Perhaps if Pre's dedication to being the best runner he could be matched his passion he would have lived a more Rupp-like existence off the track, still be alive, and have his OG medal. As it is, they are and were very different people so it's not fair to say Rupp is the runner Pre dreamed of being. Pre was the runner he dreamed of being and Rupp is the runner he dreams of being. Pre gave us a legend. But a tragic and incomplete legend. It's unclear yet what Rupp's legacy will be. It's not fair to either of them to compare one to the other.

HC wrote: Perhaps if Pre's dedication to being the best runner he could be matched his passion he would have lived a more Rupp-like existence off the track, still be alive, and have his OG medal.

Pre was instrumental in getting the AAU out of T&F. Without that start there is no money for Rupp to run professionally.

Pre was clean Rupp is not

Millesxc wrote:

Time for Rupp to leak a sex-tape.

I bet AlSal would be in the background, calling out splits.

too fast Galen! slow it down!

almost there! 200m to go! kick kick kick!

HEY J wrote:

Pre was clean Rupp is not

Who knows how big a science project/BALCO left over/ experiment GR really is?

Bottom line:

People outside of letsrun.com do not know who Rupp is. It's really only letsrunners who either dislike/distrust Rupp, or fawn all over him like tween-age girls on the Biebs.

People outside of running actually knew who Pre was, even stranger, many of those people cared about Pre and what he was accomplishing. How many American distance runner have such a legacy?

Pre dreamed of being doped to the gills?

Pre is arguably the greatest distance runner of all time and he was CLEAN! He ran against the world's best to try to beat the world's best.

Rupp is a drugged up fake! He runs in these collegiate races to try and break records instead of going out and racing someone that has a legitimate shot to beat him! Of course he's gonna run faster than Pre when Rupp is on 40 different supplements

Lets consider each runners disposition. Rupp backs out of races when the pollen count is too high. Meanwhile, Pre ran a 3:55 mile with hazardous air conditions due to a field buring nearby. He may have hacked up some blood afterwards but never considered not racing.

Rupp is pampered with the latest technology, teams of doctors and coaches. Rupp is living the life Pre should have had. Pre lived off food stamps in a trailer and stood up against the injustice of the AAU. Pre is a legend because of his tenacity, grit and for what he might have been. He very well could have had an OG in '76. We will never know. That mystique just adds to his legend. As for Rupp, he is already maximizing his potential and while yes he may have all the American records he will never be a legend like Steve Prefontaine.

Frogger wrote:

Pre was never really that good. He's a Nike hype job

"never really that good" is a stretch.

More beers less fears. wrote:

Millesxc wrote:

Time for Rupp to leak a sex-tape.

I bet AlSal would be in the background, calling out splits.

too fast Galen! slow it down!

almost there! 200m to go! kick kick kick!

LOL!

^this

Pre also frequently visited the jail to talk to and connect with the inmates (which the cops didn't like.)

Pre was a runner and a hero, Rupp is a runner.

Why do we even talk about running...why do we watch....why do we care....All these insecure booger eating morons are just gonna scream for cheating and dopers. Here is idea A M E R I C A get behind the best damn runner this country has ever witnessed and i don\\\'t know CHEER HIM ON?!?! You people who keep bashing rupp for being a \\\"robot\\\" aka dedicated as f**K need to talk a long walk off a short pier. What do you want from Rupp maybe some Facebook posts or instagrams, perhaps a vine? He keeps to himself and couldn\\\'t give a crap what all you losers are talking about on letsrun.com I for one am pretty ecstatic that we have a chance at a gold medal in the 2016 olympics 10k from a geeky white kid who works his a** off.

GO RUPP

I know a couple of guys who know Rupp and they say he's nice and all but they would not want him on their team. Boring, that dude is all about running and nothing else.

I said it before, I know a lot of people who knew Pre very well including Bowerman and they all had great stories about this guy. He was a legend because he was a legend.

The difference is Pre did everything off the books and Rupp only does it by the book.

Rupp will never be that and I doubt he would have wanted too. Pre would never have wanted to be a Rupp never....

Rupp=Oly silver medal

Pre=Legend of Eugene

Well, Pre never had the same coach from high school to pro--in fact, Pre never got the chance to be a pro or get that kind of support. Pre didn't have all the technological advancements Rupp has. I'm not badmouthing Rupp--he's a fantastic runner and the best America has right now. But remember that many of the greatest runners of Pre's era and shortly thereafter--Rono and Salazar included--never ran close to Rupp's times, and I doubt that if Rupp had been in his prime during their time that he would have beaten them. You just can't compare runners of different eras like that.

Sure, I'm puzzled like many of you about why Rupp is in Olympic shape running indoor rabbit races, but if that's what floats his and Salazar's boat, who are we to criticize? Then again, if Rupp can't run a great, world-beating outdoor season this year, and if he ends up seriously injuring himself and going the way of Alan Webb, the haters are really going to pile on.

boredman wrote:

HEY J wrote:

Pre was clean Rupp is not

Who knows how big a science project/BALCO left over/ experiment GR really is?

Bottom line:

People outside of letsrun.com do not know who Rupp is. It's really only letsrunners who either dislike/distrust Rupp, or fawn all over him like tween-age girls on the Biebs.

People outside of running actually knew who Pre was, even stranger, many of those people cared about Pre and what he was accomplishing. How many American distance runner have such a legacy?

except thats completely untrue, just to test this I asked my dad (runs marathons but other than that doesn't care much about the sport) and then 10 people who have no idea about running at all.

Dad:

Pre: "no whose that?"(once I told him who he was he remembered him from the olympics)

Rupp: "Ya, hes the guy that got the silver in the 10k right"

10 other friends:

Pre: 1 (i honestly was surprised that they knew, and questioned the further to make sure that they weren't lying)

Rupp: 7 (almost all knew him from his silver in London)

None: 3 didn't know either.

Now realizing as I write this is extremely age biased avg person age was 22 they wouldn't really know him at all or atleast they shouldn't. So I had my dad ask 10 of his friends about pre/rupp (Avg age was 51 for my dads friends)

Pre: 4 (not bad almost half knew him)

Rupp: 8 (double, I was surprised more knew him than in my friend group because I do talk about running quite often.)

I'd equate Rupp and Prefontaine to Pokemon:

Steve is essentially Pikachu: if you know anything about Pokemon, it starts with Pikachu. Most widely recognized, but not exactly the best.

Rupp is a Legendary. You may not remember much about him because he isn't as memorable as Pikachu, but he'd have no trouble beating one in a battle.

blargh wrote:

Northop being brought up was interesting. I had heard of him being Pre's "nemesis" a while ago, but I didn't know about his silver medal. The thing is, no one really gives a crap about him. Nobody remembers him because he wasn't influential, inspiring or likeable. Some people like Rupp, i mean he's not an unlikeable character. But he really isn't a character. He's a robot who goes to bed at 8 o'clock, never has fun and is completely obedient to Salazar. Although a silver medal would be great, I'd much rather be Pre. His image was never tainted by getting old or falling off (Webb). And he was inspirational, had fun, and pissed a few people off. Rupp will go down as the best US distance runner ever, but Pre will be remembered longer.

What a stupid comment. Rupp never has any fun? His 2012 Olympic 10,000 finish and celebration looked pretty fun to me.

Go watch the "Track Shack" from when he was at Oregon, he had plenty of fun.

A runner's job is not to entertain you off the track.