Chris Solinsky leaving Portland - accepts coaching gig at William and Mary

Rojo was pwned.

Some fair points Rojo. However saying Solinsky was far better than Rupp in high school is a little off. Solinsky was a better cross country runner. Rupp ran the high school record of 13:37 for 5000m. Not sure if Solinsky ran any 5000m races in high school but it is highly unlikely he would have run much faster at that age. I don't think you can really say Rupp was nowhere near as good in high school. Solinksy ran 4:03.80 (1600 m) and 8:43.24 (3200 m)in high school. Rupp ran a 4:01 mile and 8:03 3000m in high school.

I don't believe that people don't judge Rupp on his personality (or lack of it) and social awkwardness etc. Yes people judge Rupp because of Salazars association with a Slaney and Athletic West but I think a large part of the vendetta against him is about more than just that. I'm not saying you personally judge him like that but many do as can be seen by many of the posts on here.

Lets Run don't help with what you let go on the Boards, the silly pictures of Rupp wearing his face mask repeated at regular intervals in the past and dreadful pictures of him celebrating when he finishes races. Not sure if that’s deliberate or just because that is the best photos you can find!

With regards to drugs / dubious methods, no one mentions Tegg using blood spinning to treat an injury which he once talked about in an interview. Hardly anyone mentions the fact that Ryan Hall is / was on Thyroid Meds or Bob Kennedy. Lagat even gets less people questioning him for lack of injuries and longevity than Rupp and he had a positive A sample. Interestingly I remember an article about Kennedy acting as a mentor for Rupp. I wonder if it was him that introduced the idea of Thyroid medication to Al Sal and Rupp?

Some of the stuff about Rupp not being blue collar enough is just stupid. It's as if when Solinksy or others got to Portland he didn't have access to anti-gravity treadmills, under water treadmills, altitude tents, etc. Other than Thyroid medication which makes me feel very uncomfortable (although only Rupp can really know if he needs it for medical reasons, and it is not on the banned list), why would you not want your best athletes to have the best possible chance of succeeding by using every legal training technique or piece of equipment they could. If you want your best distance runners to win medals at the Olympics maybe that attention to detail is what it takes. Why are people obsessed with being blue collar? If I was that level and had an injury problem I would be on the anti gravity treadmill not trying to run injured to claim I was 'real blue collar runner'.

I, like you, believe athletes should be prepared to be open to discussions about drugs in sport and it would make me feel better about believing peoples performances if they did. At some point every top level runner should be interviewed about the topic. It would be good if rather than asking weak questions to Rupp about using training advantages likes masks etc you just came out and asked him about his Thyroid medication, what are his thoughts on drugs in sport, has he ever taken PED's or seen others use them, what other medication / supplements does he take. Why not ask AL Sal, Jerry or Solinksy while you at it. You might not get any answers but if they really are clean and have nothing to hide they should be grown up enough to have an open conversation about it. Why not give them warning before an interview that you intend to ask these types of questions rather than just springing it on people and let them have a chance to answer properly. It may make it more likely you get fuller answers to your questions. Have you tried to write an email to some of the top runners explaining your reasons for thinking it is important for them to be open to discussion about there opinions on doping and asking some real questions? It would be interesting to see what responses you get.

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You make some good points but miss the nuances of the doping conversation. Similarly, last week, when I was on Kostetskaya for being a doper because her mom ran 3:54, someone said, "Oh ok, all fast people are dopers, then what about Radcliffe?"

The difference is Kostekoya's comes from Russia where the dopoing positives are through the roof.

Why is Salazar/Rupp much more of a suspect in most people's eyes than Jerry/Solinsky? It's pretty simple and has nothing to do with "They fit people's image of how they want runners to be."

1) Salazar worked with Slaney who was busted.

2) Salazar was part of AWest where there was known drug usage.

3) Salazar consistently has made it clear that it's not just about running - whether it's medications for allergies or thryoid or devices like anti-gravity treadmills, under water treadmills, altitude tents, etc.

The science of #3 very well could be legal but it leads to naturally way more discussions of it than the other group.

4) Rupp was nowhere near as good as Solinsky in HS. Solinsky won Footlocker by 21 seconds.

Read more:

http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=5954923&page=5#ixzz3ABB6eXez

I would make two points on the Solinsky-Rupp comparisons:

First, you are absolutely correct that Solinsky could "hold Rupp's jock" during high school and that their careers were close early on, with Solinsky potentially ahead. But ultimately, Rupp has proven to be the much better runner and has had a way better career. I feel like this always comes up, comparing Rupp to Solinsky at the same age or Derrick or some other runner. What separates Rupp from those guys is that he has made consistent progress over the years. He has not gotten injured and not burned out and has peaked for US and international championships. That is why he's got an Olympic medal and why his career is ultimately superior to those of Bob Kennedy or Ritz or Solinsky. Saying that one runner or another is better at 22 or 24 in interesting, but ultimately the results across the career are what matter. Solinsky's talent led him to a tremendous but early peak. I think Rupp's greatest talents have been staying healthy and making steady progress.

As to the suggestion Rupp is more likely to dope because of the things you mention, virtually all of them, with the possible exception of the thyroid medicine, are used by every major athlete. Is Deena Kastor more likely to dope because she used an underwater treadmill? Were Jim Ryun and Paula Radcliffe dopers because they took asthma medication? I think the reality is that people don't like Rupp very much and like Salazar even less. So those two are pegged as dopers, while "blue collar" members of the same program like Ritz are not usually tarred with the same brush.

No wonder Solinsky hasn't been running well.

http://www.letsrun.com/photos/2014/falmouth-road-race/imagepages/image56.php

Solinsky and Hall as W&M additions. Pressure to deliver or is 'coaching up' really overrated (it's all about talent).

Rojo: with all due respect, those 4 points do not constitute nuance. They are not even points. The guy is right, You need to do some reporting and interviewing. And it is ok that you just like Solinsky better.- Rupp takes way more accusations than any Salazar runner. But Centro is catching up! What about Ritz, Cain, etc. Also, please ask Hall about thyroid meds and ask at Teg about the knee treatment. See how that goes.- if you are going to say something about AW. Please say whether you mean AlSal was a cheater. Or who was proven to be a cheat. We can't all read between the lines. Just come out and say it. I assume you have good information. Then also tell us exactly what that says about Rupp, Ritz, Rowbury, Hasay, etc. what should they know about AW and what should the do.- just Ask Al Sal if he knew slaney was doping or how he could not have known. Then post the interview,- High school comparisons are pointless and, even so, Rupp ran some better times than Solinsky anyway. And Don't cherry pick data with a 21 second difference when lots of other data is available.