2014 Boston Marathon BAA 5k and Invitational Road Mile

Ryan Hall returns at 2014 Boston Marathon

Ryan Hall returns at 2014 Boston Marathon

Mar 3, 2014 by Christopher Chavez
Ryan Hall returns at 2014 Boston Marathon
The fastest American marathoner returns at the 2014 Boston Marathon as Ryan Hall has been added to the elite field after several athletes scratched from the race on Monday morning. Among the athletes that scratched was Nike Oregon Project athlete Dathan Ritzenhein.

"I am incredibly excited to participate in this year’s Boston Marathon,” Hall said in the Boston Marathon press release. "After watching the tragic events that unfolded at last year’s race and knowing the resilience of both the running and Boston communities, I knew this year’s race was going to be a run of redemption that I am eager to be a part of. This year’s race will undoubtedly be the most historically significant marathon in Boston's storied history."

Hall will be running the 2014 Boston Marathon for the fourth time in his career. His fastest time was 2:04:58 from his fourth place finish in 2011. The time does not count as an American Record, because of Boston's point-to-point layout and elevation drop. There was also a tailwind of 15-20 miles/hr that contributed to the fast times of 2011. 

In recent years, Hall's career has been hampered by injuries as he withdrew from the 2013 Boston Marathon and 2013 ING New York City Marathon. 

He appears to be fit as he traveled to Kenya and Flagstaff, Arizona for altitude training sessions in the past year. After the announcement on Monday, Hall posted the following video on his Youtube account, where he runs the Boston Marathon course on a treadmill at an altitude of 7,000-feet.



Fellow American and third place 2012 Olympic Trials finisher Abdi Abdirahman has also been added to the field.