Galen Rupp stole my voice

Mo Farah takes gold, Galen Rupp takes silver and a dejected Kenenisa Bekele stares down at the track in defeat

It's a good thing I'm typing this and not telling you, because my voice is gone. Over the last 500 meters of that memorable Men's 10,000 meter Olympic Final, I yelled, I screamed, and I probably had my neighbors debating on whether or not to call the cops on the guy next door that has been getting up very early this weekend for some odd reason.

It was that good. No. That great. Inspiring for many and validating for Alberto Salazar and his Galen Rupp, ahem, Oregon Project.

For the English and the American fans out there, the race went about as well as it could have. Maybe even better. How did these two guys that train in Portland, Oregon beat up on back-to-back Olympic 10,000 Champion, Kenenisa Bekele? his brother Tariku? and a load of excellent Kenyans? A ton of hard work, that's how.

Now I wonder if Salazar will give them the night off. One would think that they earned it after the Pre Classic, when Farah took the 5000 win in 12:56.98 and Rupp would break the 13 minute for the first time in 12:58.90. No chance. Olympic Finals were their goal, not early June. After the meet ended and many of the journalists were finishing up their stories, Rupp and Farah emerged onto the track to rattle off eight 75 second laps before calling it a day. It wouldn't surprise me that after the fans file out of Olympic Stadium tonight, they'll do the same.

Post-race workouts like this have been more the standard and not the anomaly over the years, as Salazar has crafted Galen Rupp from wunderkind to world class. And think what you want, but adding Farah to train with Rupp over the past few years was just another piece to that puzzle. It has been extremely mutually beneficial to both.

And lucky for us, they'll be toeing the line again Wednesday, August 8th in the 5000 heats, and likely again in the 5000 final on Saturday, August 11th; the final day of track competition.

Bring it on!

Follow writing about running on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest

Support the site and start here when you shop on Amazon.com

Film Major: "Town of Runners"

Jerry Rothwell's "Town of Runners" gives us a timely look at how the Ethiopian running system works from the elementary level on up. It's nice to see this, in a moment where the international road racing scene has been called into question. In America, we see new faces pop up from Ethiopia and Kenya every year and this documentary shows us how they are brought up through the ranks, from their hometown to the club system and then on from there... if they are good enough.

The film starts in the small town of Bekoji, where you see a big crowd watching the Women's 5000 meter final from the 2008 Beijing Olympics on a flat screen television. The crowd roars as it becomes obvious that one of the stars of their town, Tirunesh Dibaba, will take the Gold Medal. Other stars from Bekoji include Derartu Tulu, Kenenisa Bekele and his brother Tariku. They were all developed by longtime local coach, Sentayehu Eshetu.

Coach Sentayehu Eschetu

The story then begins to focus on two middle school aged girls, Hawii Megersa and Alemi Tsegaye, who are training with Coach Eshetu, with hopes of showing enough promise to get picked up by a club. If they show enough talent at the Regional Youth Championships in Asella, they are rewarded with a two year contract with one of the clubs, which are located through out Ethiopia. Both the girls run well, with Hawii placing a little higher, but ultimately, Alemi gets into a better situation, as although the government supports the clubs, Ethiopia is still a developing country and some limitations can't be avoided.

Coach Eshetu doesn't have to do much convincing of the girls parents, as moving on from the 12,000 person Bekoji is something they are proud of. "Winning is not without reward. They get money" is part of his sales pitch. "Only education and running" are important, according to Hawii's mother. Unfortunately, Hawii is thrown into a bad situation in Woliso, with poor living conditions, lack of money for dinner for the entire club and a town that doesn't support the runners. She retreats home before falling into another tough situation in Asella. Alemi is a better situation in Holeta, which ultimately brings out the best in her at the Oromia Club Championships.

"Most atheletes in clubs in Addis Ababa are from Bekoji" says Coach Eshetu, whose advice for some young runners during a tough hill workout is "vomit and keep going!" His runners love him and his care is genuine and proven. He's aware that very few will truly make it, but that doesn't stop him from helping all of them.

Director Jerry Rothwell

It's noted that Bekoji had "roads of mud that not many people visit," but by the end of the film, it shows that the roads have been paved and "big trucks will now come through Bekoji." Will that lead to more injuries and more opportunities outside of running? Maybe.

The cinematography in "Town of Runners" is absolutely beautiful and there's a scene of Ethiopians doing the High Jump that you must see to believe. Most of the film is subtitled, as the official language of Ethiopia is Amharic, but that doesn't take away from the very entertaining subjects. It's a film that any running fan will be very happy to see.

Follow "Town of Runners" on Twitter here. "Town of Runners" opens Friday at the Tribeca Film Festival. For all upcoming screenings, go here.

Update: Watch in the US is online for free at the Tribeca Online Festival. You can watch the film online anytime between April 19th at 6:45 and 11:59 on April 29th and it is free to watch. But you do need to reserve a virtual seat (and there are only 1000).

Check out the trailer below:


Follow writing about running on Twitter and Facebook

Thanks to our sponsor, 14 Minutes, the Alberto Salazar autobiography, for sponsoring the blog this week. I'll be reviewing it very soon! If you're interested in sponsoring writing about running (and other great sites like TrackFocus, Track Superfan, Paul Merca and the House of Run podcast) in the future, check out The Relay Network.