Galen Rupp hopes NYC Half begins build back up to marathon

Galen Rupp enters Sunday’s NYC Half, his first race in four months, coming off what he called “a pretty rough” 2022.

The two-time Olympic medalist competed four times with two DNFs in the Big Apple (NYC Half and New York City Marathon) and, in the road events he did finish, results of seventh and 19th, all surrounded by neck and back pain.

Rupp’s New York City Marathon debut on Nov. 6 was his most recent race. His back began really bothering him after 10 miles. He dropped out around the 22nd mile after it “completely locked up.”

“Obviously, the marathon left a little bit of a sour taste in my mouth,” Rupp said by phone last week. “Even the half last year in New York was a little bit of a disaster. So, definitely wanted to go back, and I thought that a half marathon would be a good distance for where I’m at right now to kind of test myself and see where I’m at.”

Rupp, a 36-year-old from Oregon, has taken it slow over the last few months. He didn’t run for the first two or three weeks after the five-borough marathon. By late December, he was back to a reduced but “decent volume” of miles, training remotely from Arizona-based coach Mike Smith.

He said he has been pain-free for two months — “a huge blessing” — but his training load hasn’t been close to normal going into Sunday’s 13.1-mile race.

“I’m not expecting to be in top shape,” he said. “But I am hoping to be competitive here in the half coming up and keep building from here.”

Rupp had no plans for a spring marathon as of the interview, but he did not rule out a late entry. Recognizing a need for competition, he’s eyeing more shorter distances this spring and summer.

He said it’s possible he races on the track and in the 10,000m at the USA Track and Field Outdoor