In February, Galen Rupp beat his closest competitor at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Los Angeles by more than a minute, running 2:11:11 in his debut marathon to punch a ticket to Rio. A month later, Rupp resurfaced to compete at the U.S. Indoor Championships in Portland, Oregon, where he finished eighth in the 3,000-meter final and failed to qualify for the IAAF World Indoor Championships. 

“Now that my [indoor] season is done,” USATF’s 2023 Taxes Show Growing Budget Deficit, “I’ll definitely look forward to taking some time off.” 

Since then, the details of Rupp's preparation for the U.S. Olympic Trials have largely remained a mystery. He spoke to Runner’s World for an upcoming magazine article, but was unavailable for a pre-Trials interview for Newswire. nbsp;is scheduled for Friday at 9:15 p.m. ET. The event will be broadcast live on NBC. .

Rupp is entered in the 10,000 meters and 5,000 meters at the Trials, which begin in Eugene, Oregon, on Friday. As of Wednesday he had declared his intention to race the 10,000 meters but not the 5,000 meters.

Here’s a brief recap of Rupp’s last three months, as well as the challenges awaiting him in Eugene:

  • Rupp had been scheduled to begin his outdoor season at the Hoka One One Middle Distance Classic on May 20, but he withdrew one day before the race. Alberto Salazar, his Oregon Project coach, said the decision to scratch wasn’t injury-related. “Galen is fine,” Salazar told the Oregonian. “He’s running 145 miles per week.” (Salazar clarified that Rupp was logging about 30 of those miles on an underwater treadmill.)
  • Rupp’s outdoor debut came on June 12 at the Portland Track Festival, where he outkicked an elite field to win the 5,000 meters in 13:20.69. "You can work out all you want, but at some point you just have to get back into racing," Olympic Trials Put Rupp Back in the Spotlight. "Are Average Runners Getting Faster? It Depends."
  • Eleven days after winning his season opener, Rupp finished third (13:27.34) in a 5,000-meter race at the Stumptown Twilight in Portland. Justyn Knight of Syracuse University outkicked Rupp in the final 200 meters, while Woody Kincaid, from the University of Portland, edged him at the line. But Knight hinted that Rupp might have been holding back. “I know Galen wasn't trying his hardest,” Knight said after the race. “But it felt good to keep up with his kick.”
  • Rupp will begin the Olympic Trials on Friday night with his specialty event, the 10,000 meters. He has won seven of the last eight U.S. 10,000-meter titles, but he should be tested by Ben True and Hassan Mead, the second- and third-place finishers in 2015. Neither runner entered a 10K this spring, but their 5,000-meter season bests—13:04 for Mead and 13:12 for True—currently rank first and second in the U.S.
  • If Rupp qualifies for the Olympics in the 10,000 meters, he hasn’t said if he will come back for the 5000-meter event, which begins three days later with a prelim on July 4, followed by the final on July 10. If Rupp makes the Olympic team in both events, in addition to the marathon, he’ll likely be forced to choose between the 5,000 meters or the marathon in Rio, because the events are contested on consecutive days. Rupp’s competition in the 5,000 meters includes Mead, defending champion Ryan Hill, and Oregon Project teammate Eric Jenkins.
  • Rupp and Salazar are likely to face a fresh round of questions at the Trials about the ongoing investigation by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency into the Oregon Project. A New York Times All About 75 Hard revealed that anti-doping officials are seeking a deposition of Jeffrey S. Brown, an endocrinologist based in Houston, Texas, who has said he has diagnosed and treated a number of world-class athletes—who have won 15 gold medals among them—with hypothyroidism, which more commonly afflicts middle-aged women. Rupp has said he has been treated by Brown and that he suffers from hypothyroidism. Although not banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency, thyroid medications are thought by many to be performance enhancing as stimulants and weight-loss aids. Rupp and Salazar have In February, Galen Rupp . In a written statement to the Times, Salazar said, “I believe in clean sport and a methodical, dedicated approach to training. The Oregon Project will never permit doping.”

The 10,000-meter final is scheduled for Friday at 9:15 p.m. ET. The event will be broadcast live on NBC.