Ryan Hall
UNITED STATES
BIRTHDATE:
October 14, 1982
PERSONAL BEST:
2:06:17 (London, 2008)
WORLD MARATHON MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS:
13Apr08 Flora London Marathon 5th 2:06:17
22Apr07 Flora London Marathon 7th 2:08:24
ADDITIONAL CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
03Nov07 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials 1st 2:09:02
CAREER NOTES:
Ryan Hall ran his first 26.2-miler at the 2007 Flora London Marathon but he did not run like a novice. He was at the head of the lead pack past 35 kilometers and even though he could not hang with the Africans down the final stretch, his 2:08:24 finish time shattered the American debut record of 2:09:41 that was jointly held by Alberto Salazar (New York City, 1980) and Alan Culpepper (Chicago, 2002).
Tabbed as the favorite at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in November, Hall delivered with arguably the greatest negative split performance ever in a major marathon. After a conservative 1:06:17 opening half, Hall blitzed the second 13.1 miles through the rolling hills of New York City's Central Park in 1:02:45. His 3:32 differential topped Ronaldo da Costa's 3:19 at the 1998 Berlin Marathon.
Hall returned to London in 2008 feeling he was in the best shape of his career. While he couldn't stick with the leaders in the final miles he none-the-less chopped more than two full minutes off his personal best. His fifth place gained him his first World Marathon point.
He began 2007 with one of the greatest road running performances ever by an American when he pierced the one-hour barrier with a 59:43 clocking at the Aramco Houston Half-Marathon on January 14. In becoming the fastest non-African of all-time he obliterated the 21-year-old U.S. record (1:00:55) and his splits of 42:21 at 15-K and 45:33 at 10 miles were faster than the official American records at those distances.
Hall gave a preview of just how good a half-marathoner he could be when he set the American record of 57:54 at the 2006 IAAF World Road Running Championships 20-K. Earlier in the year he won national titles at 20-K and 12-K Cross-Country. He also took down another long-standing record with a 28:23 victory over the rugged Cow Harbor 10-K course in Northport, N.Y.
His only competition so far in 2008 has been at the U.S. Cross-Country Championships when he placed fifth.
After a sensational high school career where he recorded a time of 3:42.70 for 1500 meters (third all-time behind Alan Webb and Jim Ryun) and 4:00.52 for 1600 meters, Hall went to Stanford University. He was the runner-up at the 2003 NCAA Cross Country Championships, earned three All-American honors for cross-country and won the 2005 NCAA championships at 5000 meters. He followed that with a PR 13:16.03 at the U.S. national championships.
PERSONAL NOTES:
Hall is originally from Big Bear Lake, California. He trains at the high-altitude Team Running USA camp in Mammoth Lakes, California, and is married to Sara Bei, a national-class middle-distance runner who was 26th at the 2006 short course World Cross-Country Championships. Another family member, brother Chad, won the 2006 Foot Locker national prep cross country title.
