It's something that is not easy to do for a lot of people. He still keeps that long-term picture in his head. Rupp says he doesn't mind being held back sometimes. Rupp's strongest event, the 10K, is just over six miles. To this day, the coach has not let Rupp run any race longer than a half-marathon. Salazar had a careful, steady ascent in mind for Rupp. 'I think they're much more apt to listen to someone like myself telling them not to overtrain than someone that really doesn't know what it takes to train on this level,' Salazar says. But to gain the trust of the Rupp family, he had to be honest about his own downfall. He recognized enormous potential in the youngster. Back then, Salazar was coaching the school's cross-country team. Salazar discovered Rupp on a soccer field at Central Catholic High School in Portland. So, it's a good relationship.'īoth men share a deep Catholic faith. I think I'm probably a little more laid back than he is, just as a whole. 'I think we're a little different for sure,' Rupp says. Portland's Galen Rupp (center, all-black uniform) tuned up for the Olympic Trials with a 5000 meter race in Eugene on June 2nd. Galen Rupp exudes a calm and easy-going personality. 'I'm trying now with the great young athletes I'm coaching like Galen Rupp to make sure that I don't repeat those mistakes and they have longer and more successful careers than myself as a result.' 'A lot of the book is not only about the mistakes I've made but the lessons I've learned from those mistakes,' Salazar says. Before he turned 50, Salazar nearly died of a heart attack. Too many years 'over the redline,' is how the hard-charging Cuban-American puts it in a newly published autobiography.

If you recognize Alberto Salazar's name, it might be from of his three-straight victories in the New York City Marathon - including a world record setting performance in 1981.Ī punishing training regime and injuries cut short Salazar's racing career. Coach Alberto Salazar congratulates Nike Oregon Project teammates Mo Farah (front left) and Galen Rupp (right) after a June 2nd race in Eugene.

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