Track and Field Blogs - Ryan Hall

This is not exactly how I envisioned it I thought to myself as I descended down the cement path into the quiet of the tunnel that would lead me into the Birds Nest. I had never physically been into the Olympic Stadium before but I had run through this tunnel thousands of times in my minds eye during training. For the past decade, whenever I ran through a tunnel I would always picture myself running into the Olympic Stadium, of course, in my dream world I was always winning the marathon, not struggling in 10th place. Never the less, as… more »

I have always dreamed about what the whole Olympic experience would be like. I have seen portrayals of the Olympics in many movies, the most memorable of which was "Cool Runnings," but to experience it for myself has been both exciting and boring. I know that "boring" wouldn't seem to be the adjective of choice when describing the Olympic experience, but the truth must be told that the Olympics is not all excitement, all the time for us athletes. I have been telling people that I want to go back to the Olympics sometime when I am not competing so… more »

I could write a whole book on the lessons I have learned from marathon training. I feel like every time I build up for a marathon I get a whole life's worth of wisdom from just three grueling months of training. These past couple of weeks has been filled with ups and downs. One day I will be doing a 13-mile tempo run feeling strong and filled with energy. The very next day I will be doing close to two hours of running (split between two runs) and feel like I couldn't take on a recreational jogger. Deena has routinely… more »

This past Tuesday I returned to Mammoth Lakes to put in my last hard month of altitude training after spending a week in Eugene to watch Sara compete in the Olympic Track and Field Trials. Watching the trials was one of the most emotional week-long experiences of my life. Watching some of my teammates and friends qualify for the Olympics kept me up late at night as a result of my excitement for them. However, my heart broke with my wife and some of my other teammates who failed to qualify. I could feel their pain as my own. I… more »

I learned something important about myself on a long run I recently completed a little over a week ago. My older brother, who is functioning as my full time trainer leading up to the Games, and I tried to get up early and beat the heat, however, by the time we started at 8 a.m. the roadside thermator in town already read 80 degrees. The long run route would take me through my local neighborhoods for 3 miles and then around the lake for an additional 15 miles before hitting the dirt road that would lead from my house at… more »

Besides logging hundreds of miles of running over the past two weeks I have been watching previous Olympic Marathons while I stretch or while doing core work. What I have noticed is that the favorite rarely seems to win. I was reflecting on why this is the case. It kind of blows my mind that someone with a PR some two minutes or more slower than another athlete can win on the most important day of both athletes careers. While I am sure there is not just one explanation for why the "impossible" happens in Olympic marathons I am beginning… more »

On a run a couple of days ago I found myself laughing at Kai (our miniature Siberian Husky) as she tore off through the woods in hot pursuit of yet another squirrel, only to be left at the bottom of the tree peering up as the hotly tempered squirrel rattled off some explicits in its native tongue. I thought to myself, 'why does she keep wasting her energy flying after squirrels when she has chased thousands of squirrels during her short life, yet never, ever, even been close to catching one?' But as I contemplated her spirit I… more »

With three months to go before the Olympics begin I am now putting the finishing touches on a vision that birthed 10 years ago during a long, slow, painful, fifteen-mile run around the lake. Now, after all I have been through I have just 105 days to pour myself into my training and prepare for the biggest opportunity of my life. All the training, all the discipline, all the depression, all the sacrifice, all the joy, it was all part of the journey that has prepared me for August 24th.

I love the Olympics. I always have.… more »

As has become my custom before all my best races, my travel to London was crazy. Before breaking an hour at the Houston Half Marathon it was a monster snowstorm that left us in a ditch and literally snowed in, before London last year it was nearly missing my flight as I realized that the train from San Diego would not drop me off at LAX like I had thought (although my tardiness did result in me getting the last available seat on the plane...in first class), before the Olympic Trials it was the fires and smoke that made for… more »