by Larry Eder
Galen Rupp, photo by PhotoRun.net
Well, the following press release changed the entire complexion of the U.S. Marathon Trials for men.
Galen Rupp, the 10,000 meter AR holder, the 2012 Olympic silver medalist, is venturing into the marathon, like his mentor, Alberto Salazar.
How will Galen Rupp fare over the 42.2 kilometer distance?
My guess is, pretty well.
As Galen Rupp said in a nicely done USATF.TV interview, he would not be racing the distance if he was not prepared.
Barring an injury or a faux pax, Galen Rupp should do quite well over the distance and in the marathon Trials.
Galen noted that Coach Salazar had asked him to “keep an open mind” when they spoke about it this past fall and early winter.
Why does this change the complexion of the marathon? With Dathan Ritzenehein, Meb Keflezighi and Galen Rupp, the surprises in the Trials can still happen, but their impact may be less.
I still contend that one marathon does not make one a marathoner. We all knew that Galen Rupp would try a marathon. For me, I just thought it would be on a course where he could pay for his twins entire college tuition in one race.
Well, we all can be a bit surprised with this one.
Still, it could be just to keep Galen Rupp’s options open. As he also noted in the interview, he can double over 10,000 meters and the marathon, or 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters.
Stay tuned.
Olympic silver medalist Galen Rupp to compete in U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials
PORTLAND — Olympic silver medalist Galen Rupp has declared his intent to enter the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Marathon, taking place on Saturday, Feb. 13in Los Angeles.
Rupp (Portland, Oregon), a two-time Olympian in the 10,000 meters, will compete in his first full marathon in the City of Angels. Rupp has competed in two half marathons in his career, finishing the New York City Half Marathon in 1:00:30in 2011 and completing December’s Portland Holiday Half Marathon in 1:01:20 in 2015.
USATF.TV sat down exclusively with Galen to chat about his first marathon, how his training has changed, turning 30, his desire to compete at both USATF Indoors and World Indoors, the upcoming Super Bowl and more, viewable here.
The 2016 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Marathon will air live on NBC for the first time in U.S. Olympic Team Trials history. Both men’s and women’s marathons will be televised live nationally. NBC Sports Live Extra – NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, tablets, and connected TVs – will also live stream the coverage.
Join the conversation with USATF on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram using #LA2016.
