Rupp Sets 10-mile American Record on way to Half Marathon Win

Dorena, OR—Galen Rupp wanted nothing more than a chance to race. On a crisp fall morning in the rural Oregon town of Dorena, he got just that.

He also wanted a chance at a record and while the half-marathon record didn’t fall – the 10 miles Rupp covered in route to 13.1 was fast enough to break the 10-mile American Record in 45 minutes, 53.1 seconds. The previous record was 46:13, set by Greg Meyer in Washington, D.C. in 1983. 

Rupp went on to complete the half-marathon in 1:00:22. Suguru Osako, Japan’s top marathoner who trains in Portland, finished second in 1:01:15. Pat Tiernan of OTC Elite paced the runners through nine kilometers and finished the race in 1:06:42, narrowly missing the Australian 15K record of 43:13.  

“It’s been a challenging year and I was just thankful to have this opportunity to race,” Rupp said. “I just wanted to get a race in. I was happy to break the 10-mile record, but my expectation was just to race. 

“It sounds silly, but just to travel somewhere was a big deal,” said Rupp, who lives with his family in Portland. “I haven’t left my house since the Olympic Trials. I haven’t run with anyone since the Trials, and I just wanted to run with people. I’m so happy to have a race under my belt.

The USATF-certified race was organized and operated by the Eugene Marathon staff and followed all COVID-19 guidelines. The 10-mile record will now go through the ratification process. 

Osako—who trains with Pete Julian’s group in Portland—lowered his own Japanese marathon record of 2:05:29 at the Tokyo Marathon on March 1 of this year and was hoping to gain the same accolades at the half-marathon distance but fell just shy of the 1:00:00 mark.

“My expectation was to get the National Record,” Osako said. “But it was good training for me. I really appreciate everyone who gave me the opportunity to race today.”

Next up for Osako will be the Japan National Championships—10,000 meters on December 4 in Osaka.