I finally understood what Rupp is lacking

So interesting how references to Rupp and "clown college" are always in threads where Stick With eHarmony appears. His/her jealousy inspired act has been old for a long time.

Wow,

Started reading this thread, and given what folks were saying I had to go look at the results as I assumed Rupp just flat out got stomped.

I see he got 4th in the world championships in what many were call one of the best fields assembled. Most were picking him to be an outside medal shot given the strength of the field and the shortness of the race.

So um, I don't get the hate.

I'm wondering if the anger is more folks see he could have got a medal if he had raced smarter and are frustrated with his bad tactics.

All that said, yes he does need better racing tactics.

I suppose it shows how things have changed in our expectations that we bash a runner who has got 2nd 10k 7th 5k olympics, 4th 10k 8th 5k in 2013 and 4th in this years indoor championships in an off distance race.

Yeah what a pansy for competing in events where he can win double Olympic gold...

He lacks speed, a real kick and also a bit of guts.. Sorry to be hard like this on the guy but I'm disappointed.

boy oh boy wrote:

yyy wrote:

what is his major and at which college?

elfie is a dropout from the cupcake business department at oregon clown college

in four years, he was only able to manage three years of credit

By the looks of it your high school GED wasn't enough education to get you to do some more research. As he did graduate from the UO. Which doesn't exactly equal a drop out. The credit claim might be true but I'm not sure how that plays into the original question at all.

He's lacking an expert coach like Dr. James Li.

i just wish for once Rupp would just say "F it" and go for it. go to the front, get on the rail, and say "come and get me MFers". if anyone starts to pass him, just turn the screws tighter and say "no way bro".

he has the speed. he has the endurance. he just needs to BELIEVE IN HIMSELF AND DO IT!!! GRAB THE RACE BY THE BALLS GALEN!!!

i thought he was going to do it coming through w/4 and 3 to go today, but he didn't....thus when Ndiku/Lagat/Gebremeskel started kicking, Rupp did too...but from 4th place. not going to win or medal from there unless one of those guys REALLY falters, no matter how much speed you have.

i don't think it has to do with a guy being 'smart' or 'dumb' - for all we know Ndiku has the IQ of a 1st grader! it has to do with BELIEVING YOU ARE THE BOSS & JUST REACTING. don't overthink and try to run a perfect race, just RACE.

One of very few reasonable posts in this thread. I'm sure Rupp is disappointed in this race, but he puts himself in contention for medals every time now, and when he is lucky he will medal. He isn't quite at the level of the very top runners, who should medal every time, and I don't think he ever will be. He beat Gebrehwit and Choge today, two very good runners. This race wasn't bad at all and shows the silver wasn't a fluke and that another medal is definitely possible.

so what is his major? Business administration?

You guys are ridiculous. His tactics and "toughness" is fine. There are just better people in track and field than him. 4th is really, really good and just because there isn't a medal for it doesn't mean that he still only had 3 people in the world defeat him. He has shown time and time again to have good tactics, with the occasional slip up (JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE).

I also wish he'd try to take off a little earlier sometimes, but only because he needs a jump on the people who are BETTER than him.

stevenson wrote:

By the looks of it your high school GED wasn't enough education to get you to do some more research. As he did graduate from the UO. Which doesn't exactly equal a drop out. The credit claim might be true but I'm not sure how that plays into the original question at all.

Pics?

Rupp supposedly graduated in 2009. But, Rupp stated in June 2009 that he was still 25 credit hours short. It isn't possible to be 25 hours short in June of 2009 and graduate by the end of 2009.

yyy wrote:

so what is his major? Business administration?

Marketing... my guess is that he picked this major because it matches up with future employment at Nike. Rupp doesn't know how to market himself, so he'll have to focus on some other aspect of marketing for his after-running career is DONE.

52.43 wrote:

He lacks speed, a real kick and also a bit of guts.. Sorry to be hard like this on the guy but I'm disappointed.

Lots of upset people out there regarding Rupp. This 4th just proves to me that his silver medal was no fluke. 10k is his event and positioning is easier on an outdoor track than indoors over 3000 meters.

One thing I was thinking, the Ethiopians and kenyans grow up racing in lots of uneven, crowded, jostling races loaded with talent. Lagat included as he didn't come to the US until college. Your instincts to adjust to that are developed and honed. That is likely why they seem to react quickly and often more effortlessly than western runners like Rupp, Hill, Solinsky, Teg etc. who often seem to fight themselves a bit in these races.

If you've ever been to a Latin American or Asian country and ridden in taxis you will see a very different style of driving which doesn't use lane change signals or follow road lines like we do. At first you wonder how the heck everyone isnt crashing into each other all the time, but it comes down to developing the spatial awareness and instincts from growing up in it.

Maybe our runners need to implement some uncertainty, jostling, and surging in workouts occasionally. Say, have them run a 1600 at 4:30 pace but when coach says "now" they hit :60 pace until he says "stop" and it's back to 4:30 pace. Repeat spontaneously. Finish a workout with 2 x 1600 like this. Modify it for 800 or 1000 repeats.

Rupp is doing on the world stage now what he was doing on the college stage as a prelude to his final year. He flipped the switch, learned how to race, and continued to improve his fitness. He went from perenial favorite turned bridesmaid to unstoppable champion. I'll be curious to see if can step up that one level further. He is what Farah was right before he got amazing. And speaking of Farah, does anyone think Galen has suffered from not having him around as much to train with?

themanontherun wrote:

And speaking of Farah, does anyone think Galen has suffered from not having him around as much to train with?

Yes, Rupp keyed off what Farah did in races. Farah gave Rupp cues on what to do. No more Farah, no more cues.

Strongly agree. Salazar wasn't particularly a sitter in his own racing. Rupp has turnover and enough strength. He just looks lost in the peleton. This explains why Salazar would advise him to key off Lagat or Mo. That will ensure that he is a second through fourth place guy. Pre was sick about Munich, having followed Bowerman's advice to sit. I think this may be temperamental--a certain risk aversion on Galen's part. He needs to race a lot and learn how to get out of the box early. Learning how to race is more important than post-race showboating. Sure, he will lose a lot, but then the wins will come. Salazar shelters his charges, to their detriment. Rupp probably needs to leave the Beaverton nest. But, alas, maybe he just doesn't have the motor of a Pre, Zatopek, Shorter.

Yes, Rupp has superior talent and training, but his race instincts are mediocre. Specifically, he lacks a WIN MOVE that Farah obviously has. He knows how to position himself during a race, can defend his position physically, but even though he's just as talented and fit as the competition he lacks the confidence to go for the win. Don't know if this can be taught. Even before Farah went to Salazar he would make win moves even though he really wasn't trained for it. It seems to be something ingrained as Farah did not grow up racing stiff African competition, he grew up in the UK.

Rupp ran great. The 3000 was a stacked field and going in 4th place was the best probable outcome for Rupp at a distance short for him.

With a little luck Rupp would have medaled. He got stuck in lanes 2/3 for a couple of turns in the last 600, but at that point in the race that is where Rupp needed to be, it wasn't in option to tuck back in.

4th place isn't bad. How many of you posting here are 4th best at anything in the world.

webfoot wrote:

4th place isn't bad. How many of you posting here are 4th best at anything in the world.

None of them, but some of them were top 3 in their conference 1600m so they know how to really tough it out and use their superior race instincts.