Galen Rupp is the real winner - ran in lane 2/3 the whole time!

Rupp clearly is just as in shape as he was earlier -- not fried -- but he should be embarrassed at his tactics in that race. Let himself drift massively until about 800 to go, then had to do TONS of work in 2/3 to get around guys, surged massively at 400m (too early, passing Lagat like he was standing still), and then all the run was out of him in the last lap. Had he positioned himself properly and run less distance, Rupp would've definitely medaled. Poor, poor racing.

He lacks the winner's mentality, never putting himself in position to challenge for the victory. He challenged but was well beaten by Gebremeskel for third and had no chance at all at the victory, letting himself getting boxed like that with very little distance left. Why not push hard at 600m or at least 400m when you have the strength and you rarely have a dynamic kick in the last 200m?

The winner is the first person to cross the finish line. Clearly Rupp ran further than needed, that's no ones fault but his own.

I think Xfit guy accidentally posted on the wrong account here. Why are you watching an indoor 3k!? lol.

I knew it was a troll all along.

good race, Galen!

Positioning indoors is incredibly difficult, especially at the world level. Honestly, with all the good people in that race, 4th place is not that bad. Obviously he probably wanted a medal, but really, I think this bodes well for the outdoor season.

He did push hard, going by Lagat. But then he had nothing left when it counted. Didn't help that he ran in lane three for so long.

Hopefully now people will finally agree with me that he is a horrible RACER due to ducking real competition and time-trialing against college guys season after season.

I'm a huge Rupp fan, but is it bad that the 1st thing I thought when I saw him get 4th was that someone ahead of him would probably get DQ'd and that he'd still get a medal?

Seemed like he had the inside lane the ~entire last lap, and the gap just got bigger... Though, he was in lane 2-3 from 2400--3000m

I'm not sure if he would have placed any differently with different tactics, unless he caused Geb to get boxed in. That being said, I'd love to see him try to control a race from the gun since he's had some impressive time trials

Rupp will be unbeatable at 10k

cbenson4 wrote:

Positioning indoors is incredibly difficult, especially at the world level. Honestly, with all the good people in that race, 4th place is not that bad. Obviously he probably wanted a medal, but really, I think this bodes well for the outdoor season.

Hey -- a reasonable poster!

Bubbadeeboo wrote:

Seemed like he had the inside lane the ~entire last lap, and the gap just got bigger... Though, he was in lane 2-3 from 2400--3000m

I'm not sure if he would have placed any differently with different tactics, unless he caused Geb to get boxed in. That being said, I'd love to see him try to control a race from the gun since he's had some impressive time trials

No one's talking about his tactics on the last lap -- the gap DID get bigger, but that's because he shot his wad a lap earlier (and before that) making moves for position. If he'd positioned himself well earlier in the race -- i.e. held his position instead of drifting back and letting everyone sweep past him -- he'd have been closer to the front without making big moves and been able to use that for the kick.

All that said, while it was a disappointing race from Rupp, I think it shows how good he is -- strength & speed. I don't think his fitness was a problem here. He's one of the best in the world. Just ran a clunker of a race tactically here.

deleuze wrote:

cbenson4 wrote:

Positioning indoors is incredibly difficult, especially at the world level. Honestly, with all the good people in that race, 4th place is not that bad. Obviously he probably wanted a medal, but really, I think this bodes well for the outdoor season.

Hey -- a reasonable poster!

It's really hard to criticize these races because positing can be nutty, I think if you never raced indoors, you should recuse yourself from commenting.

I think he should have made a move earlier, but on the other hand, I've never raced a 3,000.

Clearly he needs to continue to improve, his tactics, positioning and when to pull the trigger -- and he seemed to take a step in the right direction here.

He(Rupp) wasn;t beating any of those top 3 in this race, not off that pace

I think a good effort, he did not get himself into the greatest of spots, but he is not beating any of those three over last 300M of one of these

A Duck wrote:

Clearly he needs to continue to improve, his tactics, positioning and when to pull the trigger -- and he seemed to take a step in the right direction here.

Rupp is nearly 28. His speed will be going the other way. I don't see him ever becoming the tactical racer someone like Lagat is like.

PS. I have raced indoor. It was easy to predict that Rupp was going to have a harder time swimming through traffic indoors than if the race was run outdoors on 400m track.

I thought it was a great race for Rupp. Being out in lane 2-3 doesn't matter when the pace was that slow. Are you guys forgetting he beat Gebrhiwet? That's a huge head to take.

Lagat, Gebremeskal, and Ndiku were just better runners on the day. I don't think there's anything Rupp could have done to improve.

Honestly, I was watching the womens high jump and though WTH are they interrupting this for the skinny boyz jog? And then I saw this amateur, are you kidding me?

All in all, a sad sight. First he is the SCRAWNIEST of em all, and then he runs like sh|te.

Alright, gotta go work out. Muscles are not growing while you're sitting on the couch.

TAA wrote:

I thought it was a great race for Rupp. Being out in lane 2-3 doesn't matter when the pace was that slow. Are you guys forgetting he beat Gebrhiwet? That's a huge head to take.

Lagat, Gebremeskal, and Ndiku were just better runners on the day. I don't think there's anything Rupp could have done to improve.

I couldn't agree more. Beating Gebrhiwet in any race should be considered a solid day. I mean, the guy is freaking fast.

Who cares about his race. I want to know how he did in his post race workout.