Ryan Hall
From WikiRun
| Ryan Hall | |
| Event | middle/long distance |
|---|---|
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Weight | 130 lb |
| PR | 1,500m - 3:42.70 (2001); 5,000m - 13:16.03 (2005); Half-Marathon - 59:43AR (2007); Marathon 2:06:17 (2008) |
| Born | October 14, 1982 at Big Bear Lake, Calif. |
| Current Residence | Palo Alto, Calif. |
| College | Stanford '06 |
| Coach | Terrence Mahon |
| Agent | Ray Flynn |
| Club | ASICS |
Ryan Hall is an American distance runner and current reigning US Olympic Marathon Trials champion. He is a former NCAA champion at 5,000 meters, a US Cross Country champion, and holds the American Record for the half-marathon (59:43). He represented the United States (along with Dathan Ritzenhein and Brian Sell) at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.
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Ryan Hall's High School Career
Ryan Hall grew up in Big Bear Lake, California. He started running in high school. He took to running and quickly rose to become a high school star.
Hall won the Division IV State Cross Country championships both his junior and senior years. He skipped the Footlocker Championships his junior year. On the track, he won the State two-mile race his junior year in a time of 8:55.03. He also won the National Scholastic Mile in a time of 4:06.15.
His senior cross country season saw Hall break the course record at the famous Mt. SAC course. He was the Footlocker West Region Champion and finished 3rd behind Dathan Ritzenhein and Alan Webb at the Footlocker Nationals meet held in Orlando, FL. On the track, Hall was equally successful. He won the 1600 meters in a California state meet record time of 4:02.62. He had the 2nd fastest time in the country for 1600 meters at 4:00.52, and he ran the 3rd fastest prep time ever for the 1500 meters when he clocked 3:42.70 at the Peregrine Systems U.S. Open at Stanford that summer.
Ryan Hall's Collegiate Career
Hall had an up-and-down career at Stanford University. He started off with a bang by winning his first cross country meet at the Murray Keatinge Invitational in Bangor, Maine. He finished 3rd in the short course race at the Stanford Invitational, and helped Stanford to win the PAC-10 Championship in his final race of the season. Hall red-shirted in track and field that year.
The 2002 cross country season saw Ryan win the 4k short course at the Stanford Invitational (11:49) and the Notre Dame Invitational Blue Race (24:10 - 8k). He placed 8th at the PAC-10 Championships and 9th at the NCAA West Regional, earning first team all-PAC-10 honors. He capped off the season by finishing 37th at the NCAA Cross Country Championships and being named All-American for the first time.
His 2003 track campaign saw him run a season best of 3:43.37, slightly slower than his prep best. He qualified to the PAC-10 and West Region finals in the 1500 meters.
Hall had a very successful cross country season in 2003. He won the Stanford Invitational short course, placed 2nd at the Pre-NCAA meet and the NCAA West Regional meet. He capped the season with a 2nd place finish at the 2003 NCAA Cross Country Championships (behind Dathan Ritzenhein), leading Stanford to a team victory. He was named the PAC-10 Cross Country Athlete of the Year and earned his second All-American designation.
Hall suffered from numerous injuries in his 2004 track season, but he did run a notable 13:45 in the 5000 meters at the Mt. SAC Relays.
In Hall's final cross country season, he started the year strong but finished with disappointment. He won the Pre-NCAA meet, took 2nd at the PAC-10 Championships, and won the NCAA West Regional. Unfortunately, he faltered to a disappointing 26th at the NCAA Cross Country Championships.
Hall finally broke out on the track in 2005. He finished 6th at the Mt. SAC Relays 5000 meters (13:31.58), and 2nd at the PAC-10 5000 meters (13:37.45). He then blasted a 13:22.32 school record to win the NCAA Championships 5000 meters by less than a second over teammate Ian Dobson. Later in the summer, Hall finished 3rd at the US Outdoor Track Championships 5000 meters in a personal best 13:16.03, qualifying for his first Track and Field World Championships meet. He finished the year ranked No. 5 at 5000 meters by Track & Field News.
Ryan graduated from Stanford with a BA in Sociology in 2006. He also met and married his college teammate Sara Bei while at Stanford.
Ryan Hall's Professional Career
Ryan 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. He said of the race, "It was probably the most fun race of my life. 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." The win qualified Hall to compete at the World Cross Country Championships in Japan, where he placed 43rd.
Later the same year, Hall won the Great Cow Harbor 10k Run in Northport, New York, setting a new course record of 28:22. Ryan then set his first American record when he ran 57:54 for 20k on October 8 at the IAAF World Road Running Championships in Debrecen, Hungary. The time was 48 seconds faster than the previous record, set by Abdi Abdirahman in 2005.
Hall set another American record and earned a national title on January 14, 2007, when he won the men's U.S. Half Marathon National Championship in 59:43, becoming the first American to break the one-hour barrier at that distance. His performance was 1:12 faster than the previous American record by Mark Curp that had stood for 21 years, and makes him the 13th fastest performer in the world at the half-marathon distance. The performance is the 15th fastest all-time, and the 9th fastest on a legal course.
Hall showed signs of becoming a future Olympic marathoner when he made his marathon debut, finishing seventh 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, and it made him the fastest American-born marathoner ever.
At the 2007 US Olympic Marathon Trials, 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. His second half time of 1:02:45 was also the fastest half-marathon ever recorded in New York's Central Park. He will be joining Dathan Ritzenhein and Brian Sell in the marathon at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Most recently, Hall finished 5th (35:50) at the 12k US Cross Country Championships in San Diego, California. He did not compete in the World Cross Country Championships, however, as he wanted to focus on preparing to run the Flora London Marathon.
On April 13, Hall ran a 2:06:17 to finish fifth in the Flora London Marathon. His time was a two-minute personal best. It also made him the 17th fastest marathoner ever, the second-fastest American marathoner ever (behind Khalid Khannouchi) and the fastest American-born marathoner ever. It was the 23rd fastest marathon performance of all-time.
Ryan Hall's Personal Records
| 3:42.7 | 1500m | Palo Alto | 2001 |
| 13:16.03 | 5000m | Carson | 2005 |
| 28:07.93 | 10000m | Palo Alto | 2007 |
| 57:54 AR | 20000m | Debrecen | 2006 |
| 59:43 AR | half-marathon | Houston | 2007 |
| 1:13:47 (unofficial AR) | 25,000m | London | 2008 |
| 1:28:38 (unofficial AR) | 30,000m | London | 2008 |
| 2:06:17 | marathon | London | 2008 |