Ryan Hall (runner)

Infobox_Person

---

caption = Ryan Hall
name = Ryan Hall
residence = Mammoth Lakes, California
height = convert|1.78|m|ftin
weight = convert|59|kg|lb
coach = Terrance Mahon
college = Stanford University
birth_date = Birth date and age|1982|10|14|df=yes
birth_place = Big Bear Lake, California, US
nationality =USA
occupation = Long Distance Runner
website = [http://www.usatf.org/athletes/bios/hall_ryan.asp/USATF Athlete Profile]

Ryan Hall (born October 14, 1982 in city-state|Big Bear Lake|California) is an American long distance runner. He won the marathon at the 2008 United States Olympic Trials and recently placed tenth in the Olympic marathon in Beijing. He also holds the American record in the half marathon with a time of 59:43, becoming the first and only American runner to break the one hour barrier in the event.

Hall was featured on the cover of the September 2008 "Runner's World" magazine and talks about his "run for glory" in the marathon in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing in the article [http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-239-473--12789-7-1X2X3X4X5X6-7,00.html "The Power And the Glory"] .

High school

Hall came on to the running scene as a high school junior. He graduated from high school in the same year as Dathan Ritzenhein and Alan Webb, behind whom he finished in the 2000 Foot Locker Cross Country Championships; the Class of 2001.

High School: Hall was the California state cross country champion during his junior and senior seasons at Big Bear High School. He finished third at the Foot Locker Nationals in Orlando during his senior season, also set the Mt. SAC course record in 2000. [http://events.mtsac.edu/ccinvite/top30individuals.htm] In track, he won the National Scholastic mile champion in his junior season at 4:06.15, [http://nikeoutdoor.nationalscholastic.org/results/2000.pdf] and was the California state champion in the 1600 meters during his senior season with a state record time of 4:02.62, [http://www.dyestatcal.com/rank/tr2005/June/30CaliforniaAllTime.htm] and won the state title during his junior season in the two-mile at 8:55.12. [http://www.dyestatcal.com/ATHLETICS/TRACK/2000/state_b.htm] Hall competed at the Peregrine Systems U.S. Open at Stanford in the 1500 meters, running 3:42.70, and at the 2001 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

College

His college years at Stanford University were initially marred by injury and inconsistent performances, but Hall emerged in 2003 to lead the Cardinal to the NCAA Cross-Country championship by finishing a close second place (to Colorado's Dathan Ritzenhein) in the individual results. His final year saw him win the individual 5,000m crown on the track over teammate Ian Dobson by less than a second with both runners clocking 13:22. His coach was Vin Lananna, currently Director of Track and Field at the University of Oregon. Hall graduated from Stanford with a BA in Sociology in 2006.

2004 Cross Country Season (Senior): Finished first in pre-nationals in Terre Haute, Indiana; Finished second in the Pac-10 Championships to Arizona's Robert Chesseret but came back in the West Regional to defeat him then. Finished a disappointing 26th at the National meet.

2003 Cross Country Season (Junior): The Pac-10 Cross Country Athlete of the Year... Led Stanford to victory at the NCAA Championship with a runner-up finish... Named All-American for a second consecutive year... Placed second at the NCAA West Regional and the Pre-NCAA's... The Stanford Invitational 4000m champion.

2002 Cross Country Season (Sophomore): Earned All-American honors by finishing 37th at the NCAA Championships... Finished first at the Stanford Invitational 4000 meter race (11:49) and the Notre Dame Invitational Blue race (8000m, 24:10)... Placed eighth at the PAC-10 Championships and ninth at the NCAA West Regional... Named first team All PAC-10 and earned honorable mention PAC-10 All-Academic honors.

2001 Cross Country Season (Freshman): Finished first at the Murray Keating Invitational at the University of Maine in his collegiate cross-country debut, leading the Cardinals to the team title... Was third in the Stanford Invitational short course while competing as an unattached runner... Ran at the PAC-10 Championships to help lead the Cardinals to victory and participated at the NCAA Championships.

2004 Track & Field Season (Sophomore): Ran a personal best and NCAA West Regional qualifying time of 13:45.00 in the 5000 meters at the Mt. SAC Relays, the eighth-fastest time in Stanford history... Hampered by injuries that ended his season abruptly.

2003 Track & Field Season (Freshman): Ran a season best of 3:43.37 in the 1500m at the Cardinal Invitational ... A PAC-10 Championship and NCAA West Regional finalist in the 1500m.

2002 Track & Field Season: Red-shirted outdoors and indoors.

Professional

In 2006 he won his first national title in the 12K cross-country championships, winning by 27 seconds.

On September 16, 2006, Hall won the Great Cow Harbor 10K in Northport, New York, setting a new course record of 28:22. [cite news|url=http://start2finish.com/2006/r091606.htm|title=Great Cow Harbor 10K Run: Overall 2006 Results: New Course Record|publisher=start2finish.com|date=17 September 2006] Hall's road-running success continued when he broke the U.S. 20k record on October 8, 2006, running 57:54, 48 seconds faster than the previous record run by Abdi Abdirahman in 2005. [cite news|url=http://www.usatf.org/news/view.aspx?DUID=USATF_2006_10_08_10_54_24|title=Hall sets American 20 km record at IAAF World Road Running Championships|publisher=USA Track & Field|date=8 October 2006]

On January 14, 2007, Hall won the Aramco Houston Half-Marathon in a time of 59:43, [cite news|url=http://www.thefinalsprint.com/2007/01/ryan-hall-sets-new-north-american-record-for-the-half-marathon/|title=Ryan Hall sets new North American record for the Half-Marathon (59:43)|publisher=TheFinalSprint.com|date=14 January 2007] both the 15th best performance of all time at the distance and the 9th best performance on a legal course. The performance also broke the previous American record of 1:00:55, set by Mark Curp on September 15, 1985, in Philadelphia.

On April 22, 2007, Hall placed 7th in the Flora London Marathon. His time of 2:08:24 was the fastest marathon debut by any American, and the fastest marathon ever run by an American-born citizen. [cite news|url=http://www.thefinalsprint.com/2007/04/impressive-debut-for-americas-ryan-hall-in-london/|title=Impressive debut for America’s Ryan Hall in London|publisher=TheFinalSprint.com|date=23 April 2007]

On November 3, 2007, Hall won the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials Marathon in a Trials-record 2:09:02 [cite news|url=http://www.thefinalsprint.com/2007/11/ryan-hall-makes-history-in-olympic-trials-marathon-07/|title=Ryan Hall Makes History in Olympic Trials Marathon ‘07|publisher=TheFinalSprint.com|date=3 November 2007] in New York City, New York. With this win, he, Dathan Ritzenhein, and Brian Sell qualified to run the marathon at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. [cite news|url=http://www.thefinalsprint.com/2007/11/hall-puts-on-stunning-display-wins-olympic-trials-in-mens-marathon/|title=Hall puts on stunning display, Wins Olympic Trials in men’s marathon|publisher=TheFinalSprint.com|date=3 November 2007]

On April 132008, Hall placed 5th in the Flora London Marathon. Hall, 25, competing in only his third marathon, finished in 2:06:17 [cite news|url=http://www.thefinalsprint.com/2008/04/ryan-hall-takes-fifth-at-2008-flora-london-marathon/|title=Ryan Hall Takes Fifth at Flora London Marathon|publisher=TheFinalSprint.com|date=14 April 2008] . The only American to run faster is Morocco-born Khalid Khannouchi, who in 2002 ran 2:05:38 in London and 2:05:56 in Chicago. [cite news|url=http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/2008-04-13-london-hall_N.htm|title=American Hall strides to fifth in London Marathon|publisher=Usa Today|date=13 April 2008]

On August 242008, Hall was the second American to cross the finish line the 2008 Men's Olympic Marathon, placing 10th with a time of 2:12:33. He ran at a much more conservative pace than the lead pack did, and gradually moved from 21st place at the 15k mark up to 10th at the 40km mark. His teammates Dathan Ritzenhein and Brian Sell finished 9th and 22th respectively.

Ryan Hall is coached by Terrence Mahon, a former runner at Villanova University.

Achievement Chronology

*2000 - 3rd place at Foot Locker National High School Cross Country Championships
*2003 - 2nd-place at NCAA Cross-Country Championships
*2005 - NCAA 5000m champion
*2005 - 3rd-place at the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in the 5000m
*2006 - USATF 12K cross-country champion
*2006 - U.S. Half Marathon Champion
*2006 - 1st place, Great Cow Harbor 10K (Northport, NY); course-record time of 28:22 shattered previous mark of 28:44 set by Jeff Jacobs in 1991
*2006 - U.S. 20K Record Holder (57:54). Inaugural IAAF World Road Running Championships in Debrecen, Hungary.
*2007 - U.S. Half Marathon Record Holder (59:43). Aramco Houston Half Marathon in Houston, Texas.
*2007 - 2:08:24 at the London Marathon in London, United Kingdom.
*2007 - 1st Place, 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials Marathon (2:09:02) in New York City, United States
*2008 - 5th Place. 2008 Flora London Marathon (2:06:17) in London, United Kingdom
*2008 - 10th Place. 2008 Summer Olympics (2:12:33) in Beijing, China

Personal Best Times

Personal life

Hall married his college girlfriend Sara Bei, also a professional runner, in September 2005.

Hall's younger brother Chad won the 2006 Foot Locker National Cross Country Championships, the de facto national championship for high school cross country runners. Chad was following in his sister-in-law's footsteps, as Sara Hall (née Bei) won the girl's championships in 2000. Chad attended the University of Oregon. In 2008, Chad transferred to University of California, Riverside.

In 2008, Ryan and his wife Sara joined Team World Vision, a program of humanitarian organization World Vision that encourages marathon runners to raise awareness and funding for children and communities in Africa. Coinciding with the 2008 Olympics, Ryan and Sara launched the fundraising campaign [http://www.ryanhall.org "More Precious than Gold"] to help bring clean water wells to communities in Africa.

Ryan's home town of Big Bear Lake created the [http://www.moveamillionmilesforryanhall.com "Move a Million Miles for Ryan Hall"] campaign to support Ryan's quest for 2008 Olympic Marathon gold by collectively logging 1,000,000 exercise miles. This historic effort is the first time anyone has ever pledged this kind of support for an athlete and Ryan has said he thinks this campaign will help give him a distinct advantage in Beijing.

References

External links

* [http://www.ryanhall.org RyanHall.org]
* [http://ryanhall.thefinalsprint.com/ Ryan Hall's Official Blog]
* [http://www.usatf.org/athletes/bios/Hall_Ryan.asp Ryan Hall's U.S.A. Track & Field Bio]
*usoc profile|sport=trackfield|id=1640|name=Ryan Hall
* [http://www.worldvision.org/teamhall Ryan Hall and Team World Vision]
* [http://www.runwiththebest.com.au/ Ryan Hall's Junior Training 'Run with the Best']
* [http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/08/11/080811fa_fact_hessler Biographical article from the New Yorker]

Audio interview

* [http://www.thefinalsprint.com/2008/04/tfs-running-podcast-132ryan-hall-takes-on-the-london-marathon-part-deux/ Interview: Ryan Hall Takes on the London Marathon: Part Deux]
* [http://www.thefinalsprint.com/2007/11/podcast-102-post-olympic-marathon-trials-teleconference-with-ryan-hall/ Ryan Hall teleconference interview after his record-setting victory at the 2007 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in NYC]
* [http://www.thefinalsprint.com/2007/04/podcast-43-post-london-interview-with-ryan-hall/ Interview with Ryan Hall after he crushed the American debut record at the 2007 London Marathon]
* [http://www.thefinalsprint.com/2007/01/podcast-6-interview-with-ryan-hall/ TheFinalSprint.com's interview with Ryan Hall; the new American half-marathon record-holder]

Video - Race/Interviews

* [http://www.letsrun.com/2008/ryanhall0413.php Ryan Hall, His Coach Terrence Mahon, His Dad, His Grandfather, and Martin Lel Give Their Reaction After His Amazing 2:06:17 at the 2008 Flora London Marathon]
* [http://www.flocasts.org/flotrack/coverage.php?c=8&id=612 Ryan Hall Breaking the American Record for Half Marathon by Flotrack.org(59.43)]
* [http://www.flocasts.org/flotrack/search.php?q=ryan+hall Track and Field videos of Ryan Hall on Flotrack.org]
* [http://www.foxbusiness.com/video/index.html?playerId=videolandingpage&streamingFormat=FLASH&referralObject=62244aad-4c7e-4bae-8bb8-2cb533523893&referralPlaylistId=5f186d43d92f1ce95e5db8f8595f1fb0893a29b6 Ryan Hall on calls for an Olympic boycott on Fox Business Network's "Cavuto"]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrNwdjKOKBs "26.2 for Africa" A short film with Ryan Hall]
* [http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=e593f8eba239bada1a0c The Ryan Hall Story at GodTube]