by Doug Binder, The Oregonian

Monday August 18, 2008, 5:00 AM

It takes the Internet, a telephone, an aunt and a Canadian sports channel for runner Galen Rupp's family to find out how he fares in the 10,000-meter race

The morning began with a warm cup of coffee and a family's frantic search for what was happening at the Bird's Nest stadium in Beijing.

The house on Southeast 55th Avenue is bedecked with a white Olympic flag hanging over the front porch. Inside, the parents of Olympian Galen Rupp were prepared to scour the Internet for shreds of information about his 10,000-meter race, which began at 7:45 a.m. PDT Sunday.

"It's been maddening," said Greg Rupp, who spent weeks trying to figure out how to best monitor his son's race from home. "We've had people calling, and we've had no information."

The Rupps decided months ago that they would not travel to China if Galen made the U.S. team. It would be unlikely they would get to spend any time with him, and the trip would strain their finances.

"We'd have seen Beijing, but we'd be $20,000 poorer," Greg said.

That doesn't mean they weren't interested in every step of the...