The mark of a champion is seeing the cup half full rather than half empty when faced with adversity.

And so it is that 19-year-old Oregon sophomore Galen Rupp does not so much lament the fact injury forced him to skip the NCAA cross country race on November 21, a race he would certainly have been in the thick of, as much as see it as an opportunity to prepare for his next track season.

"Obviously I would like to be there," Rupp said shortly after an intense treadmill workout at the home of Alberto Salazar, who has guided his career to date. "I think if I had run the Pac 10 or the regional meet our team would have had a really good chance to make the NCAA. It was another disappointing part of the season."

"On the other hand it kind of worked out well because I was able to take a break. Our 2005 track season went into August and having to kind of rush back to make it to the NCAA season was not the most ideal situation but we tried to make it work. Unfortunately, it did not. I am making sure now I am rested and ready to go for track."

A high school phenomenon, a year ago Rupp enrolled at the University of Oregon and immediately made an impact on the program being revitalised by new coach Vin Lanana. In May he broke fellow Oregon Duck Rudy Chapa's American Junior 10,000m record in front of the hometown fans. Leading for most of the race, the 18-year-old recorded a time of 28:15.52. A second place finish at the NCAA championships behind Arizona's Robert Cheseret of Kenya further established his credentials. It was not the first time Rupp has lined up against the mighty Kenyan distance runners.

Two years ago he represented the U.S. at the IAAF World Youth Championships in Sherbrooke, Quebec earning a 7th place finish in 8:10.42, finishing behind six east African athletes. Occupying the first two positions were Kenya's Augustine Choge and Tariku Bekele, the younger brother of Ethiopian superstar, Kenenisa Bekele. Choge has since turned into a world beater with a 5000m personal best of 12:53.66, while the younger Bekele has also dipped under 13 minutes for the distance. Rupp's personal best over 5000m remains 13:37.91, although he has lowered his best 3000m performance to 7:49.16.

Rupp is not in the least dismayed by what would seem an unfavourable comparison to these two. He credits Salazar, the two-time New York City Marathon champion, with instilling patience within him. Salazar believes young athletes from western countries are at a physical disadvantage from an early age because their lifestyle is much more pampered. Most African athletes walk or run great distances on a daily basis. Rupp has accepted Salazar's wisdom wholeheartedly.

"In my sophomore year in high school, Alberto and I talked about taking a long term approach to things and not rushing. I know he has talked a lot with people, who have been successful at distance running and they all said 'do not give him everything at once,' " Rupp explains. "There is always room for improvement in terms of mileage and speed work, I do a lot of it now but I remember kids in high school who ran 110 miles a week. You definitely get benefit from that but you do not really have much farther to go. You cannot run a lot more mileage to get better. I am increasing mine and hope to improve every year."

Last year he was averaging 85 miles a week during his build-up to the competitive season and even though he has nursed a bone bruise in his foot -- an injury suffered when he stepped in a hole while on a training run -- he plans to increase that to about 95 miles a week. The big question is, does he think he can close the gap on the Kenyans?

"Yes, I like to think so. I will just try to be as close to those guys as possible. When I ran against them in the Junior Race at the World Cross Country Championships in 2005, I tried to use them as a benchmark," he reveals. "Each time I run against them I see how well I am improving compared to how well they are. Each race I try and think about getting closer and closer and filling the gap in pieces. Just looking at it in one big chunk I would have to run 30 seconds faster for 5000m."

"This year in track obviously I want to try and keep improving. I hope to run 7:45 in the 3,000m and I also hope to run 10,000m under 27:50 this year. These are all reachable goals for me and hopefully I will do it."

Salazar believes his charge can go under 13 minutes in the 5000 sometime in the next couple of years. Only one American has ever achieved this standard -- Bob Kennedy, the U.S. record holder at 12:58.21, set in 1996.

Clearly, Rupp respects the East African athletes and has his sights set on them rather than other Americans. He has read their biographies and talked with those who have occasionally trained in Portland and he understands the sense of desperation that drives young Kenyan athletes to pursue track and field.

"We are so privileged here in the U.S. with all the luxuries we enjoy on a day-to-day basis. I think that we have a lot of people in other sports like basketball, they can get by on their natural talent and make it to the NBA and get better and I think some people think there is some quick solution in running to get success. That is just not the case," he insists.

"You have to put in all the hours, do the extra stuff, the drills, and the weights because the Kenyans do not have the choice. They do not say "I will not run today I will do something else." they say "I have to get food for my family. Their work ethic over there, on the whole, may be a little more because of the environment they are coming from."

Asked which athletes he most admires and his response is swift. It is Saif Saaeed Shaheen the former Stephen Cherono, who has won two world 3000m steeplechase titles and holds the world record for the event, and Kenenisa Bekele, the Olympic 10,000m champion. Both are consistent winners.

"Coming up I played soccer so I do not really know much about the history of great runners," he says. "But those two guys and (Steve) Prefontaine I am familiar with. They find a way to win. They can surge, they can kick, they can do it all. That is important. They do not have to rely on one type of race to win. Either way they find a way to win."

Rupp is also encouraged by the performance of Australian middle distance runner Craig Mottram whose fierce finishing kick earned him the 5000m bronze medal at the 2005 IAAF World Championships in Helsinki.

"I want to run the Olympics and World Championships and get a medal there. Mottram is a good example," Rupp declares. "He has shown it is not impossible but that it takes time and dedication. You have to believe in yourself. I am not sure what Mottram does but I am sure it is not just doing 50 miles a week and a lot of speed work. I do not think he has some magic formula that works for him. Sometimes people say they want to break the records and get medals. I do not think they have any idea how much work it takes to get to that level."

Patience and caution are the watchwords. But there will come a time when Rupp will put it all on the line and be judged as a senior. To that end he has some clear goals for the future.

"Eventually I will try and challenge the American records, go under 13 minutes for 5000m and be competitive every day," he admits. "Sometimes guys have one good race and everyone thinks 'this is the guy who comes up and challenges.' I think it is more important to have not just the one race but every race after that be exciting where you will be a threat. I think we have a lot of good guys in the U.S. who are going to try and do that."