Galen Rupp cruised to victory in a special half marathon Friday near Row River in Lane County.
The former University of Oregon star and two-time Olympic medalist finished in 1 hour, 22 seconds, well in front of Japanese Olympian Suguru Osako, who crossed in 1:01:15.
This was Rupp’s first competition since he won the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Atlanta last February.
“It’s been a challenging year for everybody because of COVID,” Rupp said. “I’m so thankful and grateful to have this opportunity just to race. That was my whole mentality coming in here -- get a race in. If it happened that I ran really fast, great.”
The race was set up by the Eugene Marathon. The precise location and start time were kept secret to discourage spectators and stay within Oregon’s coronavirus protocols.
The lack of reliable internet service at the scene prevented the race from being live-streamed. Few details of the action were available while the runners were in the course.
Rupp’s winning time was well short of the U.S. record of 59:43, held by Ryan Hall since 2007. But Rupp’s 10-mile spit of 45:53 betters the U.S. 10-mile record of 46:13 held by Greg Meyer since 1983.
Ian Dobson of the Eugene Marathon said Rupp’s 10-mile time met all record criteria.
“Any time you set a record, it’s a great day,” Rupp said. "I think this technically is my PR (personal record) for a half marathon too. I ran a little quicker in Rome a few years ago, but that wasn’t a record-eligible course.
“Technically I came out with a PR. So, it was a great day. Any time you can do that, you can’t leave disappointed. I would have loved to go faster. It just wasn’t in the cards today.”
-- Ken Goe