.S. Half-Marathon champion; 2006 USA Cross Country champion; 2005 NCAA 5,000m champion; 2003 NCAA Cross Country runner-up; three-time NCAA Cross Country All-American; USA 20 km and half-marathon record… + See More +
.S. Half-Marathon champion; 2006 USA Cross Country champion; 2005 NCAA 5,000m champion; 2003 NCAA Cross Country runner-up; three-time NCAA Cross Country All-American; USA 20 km and half-marathon record… + See More
- See Less - .S. Half-Marathon champion; 2006 USA Cross Country champion; 2005 NCAA 5,000m champion; 2003 NCAA Cross Country runner-up; three-time NCAA Cross Country All-American; USA 20 km and half-marathon record holder
At the 2007 Olympic Trials – Men’s Marathon, Hall tamed what had been thought of as a slow and very difficult course, breaking the Olympic Trials record with his winning time of 2:09:02. He posted the second-fastest marathon time ever by an American of 2:06.17 from his fifth place finish at the 2008 London Marathon. Hall showed signs of becoming a future Olympic marathoner when he made his marathon debut in style, finishing seventh in April at the 2007 Flora London Marathon in 2:08:24. Hall's time was the fastest ever debut marathon for an American man by 1:16.Hall has gone from high school prodigy to national record holder in the span of just a few years. Hall set a U.S. record and earned a national title on January 14, 2007, when he won the men’s U.S. Half Marathon National Championship in 59 minutes 43 seconds becoming the first American to break the one-hour barrier at that distance. His performance bettered the previous American record by Mark Curp that had stood for 21 years by 1:12, and makes him the 13th fastest performer in the world at the half marathon distance. Hall won his first major cross country title when he captured the men’s long course national crown at the 2006 USA Cross Country Championships at historic Van Cortlandt Park in The Bronx, N.Y. Hall won going away with a 27-second margin over the rest of the field. "It was probably the most fun race of my life," said Hall. "It's my first 12k. I thought that I would make a move and see who would go, and maybe if I get a gap, then keep going.” Hall was the fastest American in the long course race at the 2006 World Cross Country Championships in Japan, placing 43rd. Also in 2006 Hall set an American record in the 20 km of 57:54 on October 8 at the IAAF World Road Running Championships in Debrecen, Hungary. Hall enjoyed a strong season in 2005 that included winning the NCAA Outdoor 5,000m title, placing third at the USA Outdoor Championships, where he set a new personal best of 13:16.03, and competing at his first World Outdoor Championships. As a prep standout, Hall competed at the Peregrine Systems U.S. Open at Stanford in the 1500 meters where he ran 3:42.70, the third fastest high school performance ever for the metric mile ... California state champion in the 1600 meters during his senior season with a state record time of 4:02 ... had the #2 high school time in the U.S. in the 1600 meters at 4:00.52 ... The National Scholastic mile champion in his junior season at 4:06 ... Also won the state title during his junior season in the two-mile at 8:55.03 ...the California state cross country champion during his junior and senior seasons at Big Bear High School ... Finished third at the Footlocker Nationals in Orlando during his senior season. Wife Sara Bei-Hall is also a competitive runner, who placed 26th in the 4 km race at the 2006 World Cross Country Championships. The Halls are active with charitable groups such as Team World Vision. They worked on a campaign in 2008 entitled, “More Precious than Gold,” that raised nearly a million dollars to help bring clean water wells and irrigation systems to poor communities in Zambia.
#43
Ohyah February 8 at 7:49pm
What a douche. This guy was so y going into that race. "In some ways I'm glad I'm not gonna win this marathon,"...sure buddy...sure.
Ryan's example of grace and perspective in this video is a testimony to his faith! I was very curious to see his "real" posture and thoughts after finishing only 10th in the biggest race of his young career. Nada, you could learn from a person like Ryan whose confidence in his faith and illustration of how he follows Jesus is his #1 priority versus his place in a race. Ryan, you will be an inspiration to millions over your lifetime! Keep it up!!
Ryan gave us hope and has many more Olympic golds to persue. It is refreshing to see a young man so well rounded in the Faith and his caring for others.
Nada, So what if he has his beliefs? Have you ever considered Jesus yourself? Why would you be glad for his loss. That's a mean thing for you to say and quite pointless. Get over it and move on.
Ryan you are inspiration to the sport, and a inspiration to ones faith in God. I really enjoy watching you, and I'm looking forward to seeing you win the next Marathon. Great job in Beijing!
The optimum temperature for a marathon is about 47F. This marathon was at 87F!. This is the fastest hot weather marathon and is the best marathon ever run, when temp and humidity are factored in. As I watched the first 10 miles I would have given 10 to 1 odds that none of the first pack would finish on the podium. Even Ed Eyestone, as a commentator, predicted the same as I. The Americans ran a smart race, but the fact that some ran faster on that day could not have been predicted. The workouts had nothing to do with the result. The Kenyans. morrockans and Ethopians all weigh between 108 and 115. If you have ever seen one of them you would see that their legs look like a polio victim. Theat why the can run so fast and disapate heat better tah heavier body types. Ryan did great!!!
Just because Ryan's race plan didn't work out doesn't mean he needs a new coach. No one, not even the runners in that race expected Wanjuru to run as fast as he did, especially in the conditions. Any other Olympic marathon, Ryan's time would of earned him a medal. Ryan and his coach obviously knew what they were doing. Ryan probably didn't want to go out too fast like in London and end up falling off the pace the last 8-10 miles. Their race plan was well thought out. Ryan just didn't have his best day. That's all there is too it. London '12 will be very exciting for Ryan. By the way, Ian Dobson did not make the 5,000m final in Beijing.
His coach Terrance Mahone coach had 4 Olympians this year, including Deena Kastor, a bronze medalist from Athens. A very impressive resume.
He coached Ryan to a 59 minute half marathon (american record), 3 sub 2:10 marathons (olympic trials victory and olympic trials record) and a 10th at the Olympics. He coached Deena to a 2:19 and numerous other records. He also had Jen Rhines & Ian Dobson in the finals of the 5000m in Beijing.
Plain and simple, Ryan just didn't have his best day out there. It's not his coaches fault. Bad or mediocre days just happen, and it hurts really bad when you know what you are capable of and it's not coming together in the race you trained for. On a good day, Ryan would have been in the hunt for a medal, on a day like he had, he came in 10th.... 10th at the Olympics, still a stellar achievement.
I commend coach Mahone on his success. Producing 4 Olympians is amazing.
Since Ryan's coach has never trained a gold medal winner, who has done so in the USA? The last medal in the marathon for men outside of Meb's fantastic silver in 2004 was way back in the 70's. I don't think you can do much better than Mahone...personally.
RYAN YOUR STILL YOUNG YOU DID THE BEST YOU COULD EVERY DOG HAS HIS DAY IN THIS SPORT READ ROMANS CHAPPTER 5 VERSE 3 IN THE BIBLE WHEN EVER I GOT
BEAT IT INSPIRED ME TO GO ON IF I WAS IN YOUR SHOES ID TRY THIS FOR TRAINING LONG HILL INTERVALS AT 9000 FT AND LIFT WIEGHTS SWIMMING
ON YOUR EASY DAYS FIND OUT WHAT TYPE OF DIET THE AFRICAN RUNNERS EAT THERE HAS TO BE SOMETHING THEY EAT BESIDES THE HIGH
ELEVATION I ALSO BELIVE THE WINNERS WERE HUNGRY THEY LIVE IN POVERTY BIENG HUNGRY FOR THE GOLD MAKES THEM RUN FASTER TO GET OUT OF POVERTY RYAN HANG IN THERE YOU WILL BE IN LONDON
A MORE SEASONED MARATHON RUNNER GET HUNGRY EMAIL ME WHEN YOU GET A CHANCE ROLLIE WINGO
You maybe felt like you didn't live up to your standards ryan, but you definitely didn't let anyone down with a 10th place finish. We're all here supporting you and Dathan no matter what happens. You guys are the future of the American Marathon and I hope you understand how badly we want to see you succeed on the Olympic stage.
Ryan you did great. You need a new coach though. Clearly the strategy did not work and that is not your fault. Your coach has never trained a gold runner. So if you want to run to win big marathons get a coach with that expirience. good luck too you.
everytime now that sammy competes he is expected to kick ass..now that he has won gold if he doesn't dominate each time he is going to consider his races a disaster and be criticized...maybe its a good thing hall didn't place so high...2012 is the time to shine.
He's a wonderful runner and a wise young man. Of course, I couldn't help but think that Sammy Wanjiru, age 21, has just fallen into the trap that Hall avoided: winning the gold at a young age. I hope Sammy can recover from this! :)
Ryan Hall is my hero and I'm proud of him for representing the USA at the Olympics. I was so sure that he could medal before the race, but you know what, he ran the race his way and you can't ask for more than that. At least he has learned that anything is truly possible in a marathon, i.e. Sammy Wanjiru running everybody else's guts out in spite of the insane heat and humidity. You could say that it was Wanjiru's destiny to prove to the world that the Olympic Marathon could be run so insanely fast from start to finish in such unfavorable conditions to show it could be done. If the vision is big enough then the facts don't count. I look foward to see Ryan Hall back in action against the world's best!
very nice interview. however, i don't agree with his statement that if he won, he wouldn't have anything left to work for. that doesn't make sense. great athletes are able to reach the top multiple times. look at any sport and you will find them - tom brady, muhammad ali, gebresellasie, lance armstrong, etc, etc, etc.
As for why he, Ritz, and Sell didn't run together, there was a great article in the New Yorker about Hall. Turns out he doesn't train well with others. Maybe he's changed since then, but the article said in in college he didn't do that well with the whole runnin' with the team thing. Read the article. It's excellent.
Also, I don't know why on earth he was at elevation training when he should have been in the Midwest for some real heat and humidity. Humidity is tougher than elevation to get used to. Training out west, no matter how you slice it, doesn't prepare anyone for the kind of humidity a person faces in place like Beijing.
It seems like Ryan is a bit disappointed, but I'm certain he will bounce back and build on the lessons learned. I am proud of all three of our marathon runners, I think they did a great job. Four years from now I wouldn't be surprised to see Ryan and Dathan back in the mix and running for medals.
That china man that stomped through at 2:45 really cracked me up. Great race, I was at first surprised because I didn't see the race on TV, but after watching it online Ritz and Hall really ran a smart race. Guys in front were sick. As Ryan said, Great learning expeirence.
10th in the world is not a bad place to be!!! London has your name written all over it. This performance, like you said, will only light the fire underneath your goals.
Like my grandfather always said, "Stay in your lane and keep your shorts on!!!" - Woody Greeno
How come Hall and Ritzenhein didn't try to work together instead of running solo in no-man's land? It really seems like both guys wore themselves down trying to run solo/
Very cool interview; it seems people have expectations of what/how a race should go-such a huge mistake when it comes to the Olympics-it is who's ready for everything that normaly wins. Carlos Lopes and others have said the same thing-they train for any possibility. Granted, no one was going to beat Sammy W. But i think that Ryan needs to not prepare for one tactic but be ready for all. Great-run Ryan, you learn more in death/loss than in a win.
Ryan Hall after the Olympics
He coached Ryan to a 59 minute half marathon (american record), 3 sub 2:10 marathons (olympic trials victory and olympic trials record) and a 10th at the Olympics. He coached Deena to a 2:19 and numerous other records. He also had Jen Rhines & Ian Dobson in the finals of the 5000m in Beijing.
Plain and simple, Ryan just didn't have his best day out there. It's not his coaches fault. Bad or mediocre days just happen, and it hurts really bad when you know what you are capable of and it's not coming together in the race you trained for. On a good day, Ryan would have been in the hunt for a medal, on a day like he had, he came in 10th.... 10th at the Olympics, still a stellar achievement.
I commend coach Mahone on his success. Producing 4 Olympians is amazing.
Since Ryan's coach has never trained a gold medal winner, who has done so in the USA? The last medal in the marathon for men outside of Meb's fantastic silver in 2004 was way back in the 70's. I don't think you can do much better than Mahone...personally.
BEAT IT INSPIRED ME TO GO ON IF I WAS IN YOUR SHOES ID TRY THIS FOR TRAINING LONG HILL INTERVALS AT 9000 FT AND LIFT WIEGHTS SWIMMING
ON YOUR EASY DAYS FIND OUT WHAT TYPE OF DIET THE AFRICAN RUNNERS EAT THERE HAS TO BE SOMETHING THEY EAT BESIDES THE HIGH
ELEVATION I ALSO BELIVE THE WINNERS WERE HUNGRY THEY LIVE IN POVERTY BIENG HUNGRY FOR THE GOLD MAKES THEM RUN FASTER TO GET OUT OF POVERTY RYAN HANG IN THERE YOU WILL BE IN LONDON
A MORE SEASONED MARATHON RUNNER GET HUNGRY EMAIL ME WHEN YOU GET A CHANCE ROLLIE WINGO
Also, I don't know why on earth he was at elevation training when he should have been in the Midwest for some real heat and humidity. Humidity is tougher than elevation to get used to. Training out west, no matter how you slice it, doesn't prepare anyone for the kind of humidity a person faces in place like Beijing.
Best lesson learned- for humidity racing, GO TO HOUSTON IN THE SUMMER. No Big Bear, altitude is nothing for those conditions.
Like my grandfather always said, "Stay in your lane and keep your shorts on!!!" - Woody Greeno