Outside Mag: Galen Rupp is hard to love

Citing a panel that was composed of Salazar enemies is not exactly a fair rendering of the American running establishment and the author neglects to note just how open Salazar used to be with workouts until the post-race workouts of winter 2013 got so good that the heat started to come (running post-race workouts after 8:07 or 3:50, one of which included something like 5xmile ending in low 4s), but aside from that, the article could have been far harsher on Salazar and Rupp by referring to the testosterone issues, the hollowed out books, the syringes, the sketchy hypothyroid drugs, etc. And for Rupp's personality, he could have reported on how classless he is after bad races.

Rupp has a heckuva resume, though: 3:50i, 7:30i, 12:58, 26:44 AR (numerous indoor AR's), 59:47, 2:06:07, 10000m Olympic Silver, marathon Olympic bronze, Chicago Marathon champion, Boston Marathon runner-up, Prague marathon champion, many American titles and Olympic and World teams, as well as many NCAA titles.

Hes reserved and quiet. He doesnt need FB or Twitter and I respect that. Nothing new in the article. I like Galen and others too.

zxcvzxcvxcz wrote:

but aside from that, the article could have been far harsher on Salazar and Rupp by referring to the testosterone issues, the hollowed out books, the syringes, the sketchy hypothyroid drugs, etc. s.

That is EXACTLY why Rupp does very few interviews. Every clown who thinks they are a "journalist" just wants their shot at asking Rupp a bunch of accusatory questions about those exact subjects. Maybe those CLOWNS would be better served interviewing USADA and WADA officials on why they have yet to find anything on Rupp over the last few years while busting a BUNCH of Kenyans.

Squad Goals wrote:

Also, bull$h!t:

"which it is suggested that former Oregon Project runner Dathan Ritzenhein was pressured into taking a high-volume infusion of L-carnitine against his will."

No one held a gun to his head. He's a grown man making grown man decisions.

Did you read the USADA report? The doctor assured Dathan he was injecting a legal amount, and then he goes and injects above and beyond the legal amount. Dathan was a VICTIM.

Why would he want you to love him?

This is what entertainment in sport is like (tennis today with all those nice people is incredibly boring):

Runnergrl wrote:

Hes reserved and quiet. He doesnt need FB or Twitter and I respect that. Nothing new in the article. I like Galen and others too.

When guys like Sage Canaday does the exact opposite to he gets also gets trashed. The running community is a bunch of bitter idiots.

Maybe the proof just isn't there.... wrote:

zxcvzxcvxcz wrote:

but aside from that, the article could have been far harsher on Salazar and Rupp by referring to the testosterone issues, the hollowed out books, the syringes, the sketchy hypothyroid drugs, etc. s.

That is EXACTLY why Rupp does very few interviews. Every clown who thinks they are a "journalist" just wants their shot at asking Rupp a bunch of accusatory questions about those exact subjects. Maybe those CLOWNS would be better served interviewing USADA and WADA officials on why they have yet to find anything on Rupp over the last few years while busting a BUNCH of Kenyans.

^This

sasdf wrote:

Really?????? wrote:

The article is true, but I still think it’s a jerky article to write and publish.

Indeed. A pretty dirtbaggish thing to write. And this is a major publication?

Dirtbaggish, jerky?

Where would you categorize cheating?

I love how they always mention he's the most tested US runner,...i remember that being Lance's defense for a long time, straight up looking people dead in the eyes and lying

"Feeling Galen Rupp is only in this for Galen Rupp"

Seriously, WTF is this? Quiet introverted people always get this levelled against them because they are not outgoing with their personality, they automatically get accused of being selfish.

Well you know what. Fu$k you Martin Fritz Huber and your fu$k your hypocrisy. You only write about Rupp to make money and are in only in it for Martin Fritz Huber. Just because Rupp is a world class athlete doesn't give you the right to say who he should be just to fit into your mould of the world. And all because you want a piece of him you selfish pr*ck. Why exactly does Rupp have to be in it for anyone else? Are you in your job for anyone but yourself? Your level of self importance far exceeds the reality of the situation. You're nothing but a parasite that feeds on others with your little hit pieces. And you wonder why Rupp doesn't entertain the media when this is what is wrote about him.

Tw@

Squad Goals wrote:

dwightarm wrote:

I love that the article is followed by an article on Desi. Two athletes who have such different career trajectories and while one could argue Galen has the superior career, Desi is the one whom the running community embraces and loves to root for.

Huh? 26:44, 2 x oly medals, as a Chicago win are all that needs to be said. There's no arguing. AT ALL. Sheesh, I'm not even a Rupp fan.

So win at all costs is fine with you? Even if Rupp was "likely doping" as the USADA report indicated?

well,, wrote:

Runnergrl wrote:

Hes reserved and quiet. He doesnt need FB or Twitter and I respect that. Nothing new in the article. I like Galen and others too.

When guys like Sage Canaday does the exact opposite to he gets also gets trashed. The running community is a bunch of bitter idiots.

There are always going to be haters (especially for people on the opposite extreme who have a big online presence but aren't super fast), but I think it's pretty obvious that Sage is generally popular and well liked.

Fentrekker said: a subculture that is generally populated by gregarious and decent folk...

I find it odd that you associate decency with gregariousness. can introverts be decent people too? or is decency only achieved by those who have entertained you to the level you think you deserve?

And yes, Galen did spit rather than shake Lagat’s hand. End of the 2012 5000 at the US Trials. It was rough to watch because I was thrilled that Galen won.

this is a deliberate fiction on your part. a biased re-imagining of the facts.

when the race ended Bernard Lagat bent over and put his hands on his knees. Galen Rupp walked away a short distance and, yes, he did spit. but then he turned round and he and Lagat embraced like true warriors.

cheers.

Regarding the article in general, I think it's typically very difficult to do fair journalism about "what people think," without just cherry picking a few anecdotes and projecting what you think. Even supposedly reputable, mainstream publications are now in the business of running stories about how people are "embattled" and certain issues are "controversial," without any real substantiation. It ends up being a device to throw bombs while pretending to just report the news. This kind of writing is becoming more common in the social media era, as well.

That said, I think this kind of writing has its place if it's done right. The most important thing is to make sure that "what people think" is properly substantiated. This piece might have done a bit more in that regard, but it does at least include some concrete details. The reaction of pro runners to Rupp's performances on Twitter is a fairly reasonably objective fact (unlike "people on Letsrun," pro runners on Twitter is a small and defined field that anyone can independently look at themselves if they want to). Another good thing about this piece is that the "why" portion doesn't purport to be anything other than the author's opinion.

Finally, I think we have to accept that this genre of writing has an important role in sports journalism in particular. Professional sports, at bottom, only exist because of the emotional connection that forms between athletes and fans. Sports writers have long tried to explore that connection. Here's a recent long piece on Messi that's all about that:

http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/23520684/barcelona-star-lionel-messi-manages-stay-hidden-fame

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"Very Successful Athletes Who Don't Give Me Interviews Are Hard To Love"

Fixed that headline for you.

Agreed. This was a hit job. Very disappointed that this piece got published -- and the writer clearly hasn't been around too many elite athletes.

- Desi Linden is not even in the same universe as Galen Rupp as far as world class running .... not even close. False Analogy!

- The article has ZERO respect for what it takes to succeed as a world-class runner: part of it is avoiding distractions such as social media and alleged journalist.

It was a good article. This thread has been polluted by some Rupp fanboy who just screams trying to shut out those of us who are not biased either way, which does tend to kill the thread.

For me Galen Rupp is easy to love, especially if you’re a big fan despite the circumstances surrounding him. He doesn’t need to be open or do anything to the public like Meb does(btw I never liked Meb). Galen is already awesome and I know he’s clean.