HOUSTON -- When Galen Rupp qualified for his first Olympic Games in 2008 George W. Bush was president, "The Dark Knight" was America's top-grossing movie, and "I Kissed a Girl" by Katy Perry was the #1 song on the Billboard charts.  Now, nearly 16 years later, the 37 year-old marathoner has a chance to make his fifth Olympic team, and he expects that running Sunday's Aramco Houston Half-Marathon will help him to achieve that goal at the USA Olympic Team Trials Marathon in Orlando on February 3.

On a too-warm and windy morning in Chicago, Kenya's Ruth Chepngetich and Ethiopia's Seifu Tura ran to victory at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, the first in-person edition of an Abbott World Marathon Majors event to be held in the United States in nearly two years.  Their winning times of 2:22:31 and 2:06:12 were solid, but not dazzling.  Mid-race temperatures of 75F/24C accompanied by sometimes strong winds made fast running difficult.  Both winners earned USD 55,000 in prize money.

Olympic medalists Galen Rupp of the United States and Hellen Obiri of Kenya are the top names for Sunday's Great North Run half-marathon from Newcastle to South Shields in England.  The race will be contested for the 40th time and the first time since 2019.

It goes without saying that many legendary track stars have come out of the University of Oregon throughout the years. No school is more closely associated with the sport of track and field in the universe, and it’s not even close. An Oregon coach literally invented the first Nike track spike, and the program hasn’t slowed a bit since the days of Bill Bowerman.

In a race filled with unbelievable results, here are a few of the biggest what-ifs from the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Atlanta. 

Much has changed for Galen Rupp since he won the 2016 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Los Angeles. 

The men’s race at the 2020 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials is top-heavy on paper. Defending champion Galen Rupp exists in a league of his own with an Olympic bronze medal from Rio and a 2:06 personal best buoying his position. Injury struggles and Alberto Salazar’s ban have made a potential victory in Atlanta much less certain, but Rupp seems to have steadied the ship after tuning up with a 61-minute half earlier this month. If he makes it through 26.2 miles on Saturday, there’s a strong chance he will break the tape.

The Chicago Marathon begins at 7:30 a.m. CT. Check out our men's preview here and women's preview here and keep this page refreshed throughout the race for live updates.

By David Monti, @d9monti(c) 2018 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved

Galen Rupp won the Rome Ostia Half Marathon today in 59:47, the second-fastest time in American history.

It might be February, but cross country is still in season! The USATF XC Championships go down this Saturday in Tallahassee, Florida, with 10K races for both men and women. There's no world cross to qualify for this year, so the event is simply a fun way to kick off the track and road racing season for this slew of diverse athletes — with, of course, a national title on the line.

Check out the top races from last week’s action on FloTrack!

Full 6 Part Series Out: The Program Nike Oregon ProjectThe Program: Nike Oregon Project is Flotrack's finest and most acclaimed premium offering to date. A six part series, the feature provides viewers with a behind the scenes exposition on one of the finest running groups in the world. The Program is filled with character pieces on Mo Farah, Galen Rupp, Dathan Ritzenhein, Mathew Centrowitz and Alberto Salazar. It also features episodes chronicling the Nike Oregon Project's training as well as a remarkable anecdotal piece that relives the Project's time at the London Olympics, leading up to the 10k final where members, Rupp and Farah, took home silver and gold medals.  Below is also a bonus episode on the near death experience that changed Alberto Salazar's life. Beneath that is a chronological listing of parts one through six of The Program.  Episode release dates listed next to episode title.   Episode 1: The Untold Olympic Story (7/16) In part one of our six part series, Alberto Salazar, Galen Rupp and Mo Farah reveal their training and build up through the 2012 London Olympics. Viewers are taken behind the scenes with the NOP as they discuss the lead up to race day and the unfolding of the historic Olympic 1ok final that crowned Galen Rupp, Olympic Silver Medalist, and Mo Farah, Olympic Champion. User Review: "Probably the best video I've seen in my entire life."