Salazar Preparing His Squad For Pre Classic

He wants his athletes to have fresh legs going into their races.

One of the top coaches in the world, Alberto Salazar, is about as serious as they come. According to a report on the Oregon Live, the former Boston and New York City Marathon champion who now heads up the Nike Oregon Project has indicated that he is having his athletes well rested going into this weekend’s Prefontaine Classic in Eugene.

Salazar coaches Olympic silver medalist in the 10,000m Galen Rupp as well as double-Olympic gold medalist Mo Farah.

“It’s a Diamond League meet,”  Salazar said of the Pre Classic. “It’s very important. We’re definitely pointing to it. We’re not tapering for it like we would the U.S. Championships, but we’re resting a week for it. It’s important to run well. We’ll go into it with fresh legs.”

This Saturday, Rupp, a former University of Oregon standout will be racing the 5000m on the storied Hayward Field in front of a hometown crowd.

And on Friday, Farah competes in the 10,000m against the likes of world record holder Kenenisa Bekele.