The Wallflowers and OKGO are playing a concert this Sunday in Phoenix. I know, right? Not since the rumored Beatles and Rolling Stones World Tour has so much excitement been generated by this colossal duo linking up. In fact,  when Olympian Ryan Hall heard this news, he stopped his training in Ethiopia mid-run, hopped on a plane to Arizona, and signed up for the P.F. Chang’s Rock ’n’ Roll Half Marathon. The American record holder in the 13.1 mile distance will use Phoenix as a tune-up for the LA Marathon on March 15. Yes, the pun was intended. 

 

Jokes aside, Hall and fellow Olympian Amy Hastings headline Sunday’s race through the streets of Phoenix. The 32-year-old Hall has a half marathon PB of 59:43, but that was set eight years ago in his debut. Since then, Hall has had his share of ups (2:04:58 in Boston 2011) and downs (DNF London Olympics). Now training under legendary coach Jack Daniels, Hall will look to win his first race since May of 2013. 

 

Hastings will also use this half to prepare for bigger things down the road. The soon-to-be 31-year-old plans to run Boston in April, and will look to ride the momentum of her fifth place finish at the Chicago Marathon in October. There, Hastings remarkably tied her PB to the second, running 2:27:03 to match the time she ran at the 2011 LA Marathon. That performance in Chicago  came at a much needed time in Hastings’ career, as she had placed 20th at New York in 2013 and DNF’d in Boston this past spring. The former Arizona State runner has a 13.1 PB of 71:19 from 2011.

 

Hall won’t go unchallenged on Sunday. Canadian Olympian Dylan Wykes, Kenyan Benson Cheruiyot, and Ben Bruce all have sub-63 minute half marathon PBs, and represent Hall’s toughest competition. Wykes finished 20th in the 2012 Olympic Marathon, and owns the second fastest half marathon PB in the field (62:14). 

 

The Wallflowers and OKGO are the headline acts for the post-race festivities.