Dear Cooper Teare

Heinsight

Said the exact same thing before the trials and guess what? Played out exactly how I said it would...

There's nothing wrong with not being an Olympian.

There is a place for runners like him- back when Russ racing for elites was more of a thing guys like him has a place, made money, and were well known.

More Americans should go to the roads and not necessarily the marathon.

His problem at the trials was a lack of fitness and not race selection. He was not going to make any team with only 3:35 1500m capability. Fit, or not, Teare would suck at 10000m, and he’s never going to be as good as Fisher at 3000m.

If you have a lack of fitness, wouldn't it be wise to select fewer races, and to limit yourself to the ones where you have some hope of a result?

I'm not saying that there was anything he could do to make the team. I don't think there was. But running three 1500 meter races can't help.

The Steeple is the answer. It always has been - it can reignite his career in the other events.

No, if he is was at the top of his game, he would have run closer to 3:32 in the 1500m final. Skipping the 1500m, and running just the 5, wouldn’t have made any difference.

hey dumba$$ what about the 3:32/12:54 he ran this season?

The point of the post is not that Teare cannot run fast in these events. It's that he doesn't have the strength to do it in championship races after running heats. He can run fast in perfect situations, but not all the time and seemingly less often compared to the other contenders.

Jakob is a 3:27 runner but he's still gotten dusted by 2 guys with slower PR's than him. Absolute time in a vacuum doesn't mean everything towards medaling in championships.

brother, we all know that. hints why I'm saying he needs to focus on the 5k

Also, to the homie who keeps saying he should switch to the steeplechase... you're just plain WRONG. Look at his form, you think he could jump over barriers??

Good post. I feel the same way. Hardly a certainty that he would be comfortable jumping barriers and water. I was a 6'2" miler and never liked jumping. Those that are comfortable clearing barriers have a talent. May be that Teare would be a good steepler. I'm guessing that 5000m is his best event.

Had this discussion this morning in the office. He is a bizarre case in that he really strong PR's - especially over 5000m, but can't parlay his ability over the 1500m/mile (which are also very good PR's) into any real weapons or tools over that distance.

His greatest race was the US title in 2022 in that stupidly slow race (3.45.8) where he closed in 51.9 but that race now seems like a total career aberration.

So you'd think the 5 has to be his best event but he isn't strong enough to pull a Fisher/Abdi (even though Abdi hasn't even broken 13 and is slower than him over 1500) and he doesn't have the power to kick with even a kid like Wolfe let alone Hocker if it got really greasy and slow through 4000m

If you asked me what the go-to power/archetype of all the top American male 15-5k guys was I could tell you - except for Cooper Teare. I have zero clue what he is great at. Zero. And that might sound harsh like I don't think he's a good runner and it's not that at all - I just don't see any path for him to ever make a team again.

He’s slightly better in the 5000m but he showed up for the trials in about 13:20 shape.

*deer

Jerry tried telling him he was a 5000 runner, and he didn't take it well

How will we know if he never gives it a try?

Do you think the US 5K teams will get any easier to make as Young, Wolfe, and Blanks develop into their mid 20s?

According to the accepted Letsrun dictionary, you misspelled “Deer.”

I already wrote Cooper a letter. He needs to respond to my letter before he responds to yours.

Cooper ran a 12:54 5000 in May. even though it was hot in Eugene I'm convinced those three 1500's were the reason he ran almost 50 seconds slower. he needs to pick an event and stick to it. he's clearly a 5000 runner.

at first I was dissapointed Nico Young was only doing the 10 and not doubling, but now I see the genius of that. You go all in on one race, throw everything you have into it, and be done with it. Cooper and his coaches need that same mentality.

😂😂😂😂

Even if this delusional pipe dream of yours becomes reality……. Grant is still gonna be going to Paris…..not so for Cooper unfortunately

It's like how many people are afraid of heights. It can sometimes be overcome, but most people in that situation have no interest at all in trying to overcome it. Plus he already knows his talent or lack thereof in jumping over things.

Another analogy is that some kids like skateboarding and doing tricks on bikes and snowboards. Others shy away from that kind thing.