Running: Hall makes U.S. history in marathon debut

Tuesday, April 24, 2007 - 11:37 PM

LONDON -- Ryan Hall made his marathon debut in style Sunday -- and nearly upset some of the sport's top athletes.




One of Running USA's next living legends...?

Hall, 24, Bear Lake, Calif., ran the fastest time for an American making his first appearance in a marathon, finishing seventh Sunday in the London Marathon in 2 hours, 8 minutes, 24 seconds.

Hall was in the lead group until the final 1 1/2 miles. Only then did his inexperience show, missing out on a four-man sprint finish won by Martin Lel, Kenya, in 2:07:41. Hall finished 18 seconds behind marathon world record holder Paul Tergat and 30 seconds behind two-time world champion Jaouad Gharib.

"I dreamed about being with those guys for 23 miles and I did that today and I took my swing," Hall said. "Hopefully I'll be a bit stronger next time and run a bit smarter."
Hall led the field past the 35-kilometer (21.75-mile) mark.

"They surged and got a gap on me," Hall said. "For a while, I thought I was going to catch back up. But then my legs started tightening up and it started to get tough. I was just trying to make it to the finish."

Hall beat the previous American debut best held by Alberto Salazar and Alan Culpepper. Salazar won the New York City Marathon on his debut in 1980 in 2:09:41, at the age of 22. Culpepper matched that time when he finished sixth at the Chicago Marathon in 2002 when he was 30.

"It's pretty exciting," Hall said. "I always wanted to be compared to these guys."

China's Zhou Chunxiu won the women's division in 2:20:38 with Ethiopia's Gete Wami second in 2:21:45.


Here is an excerpt from Ryan's diary in Runner's World:

April 18, 2007

It's Time To Slay The Dragon

What a week it has been! So much has happened it feels like it has been two weeks since I last wrote. I am writing from a beautiful flat just outside of London overlooking Bushy Park, where Meb and I have been doing all of our training since our arrival on Thursday. What a trip it was getting over here. To make a very long story short I basically went from thinking I was going to miss my flight to reclining in first-class after being bumped up when all the seats were taken in coach after my late check-in. What a blessing that was! It was funny because I was just talking with Deena about what it is like to fly first-class and I was telling her that I always wanted to. It is a different world in first-class. After dinner I slept until breakfast. I hardly missed any sleep at all. So I arrived in London well rested and ready to go.

My adjustment to the time change is taking longer than I remembered, so I am glad that we made the effort to come over about 10 days early. I am also reaping the benefit of Deena's experience here last year. I am staying at the same place she stayed before going to the meet hotel, training in the same parks, and eating at the same restaurants. It has been really nice to simply walk into a good training situation.

My legs have been feeling good. I am ready to go. Now it is just a matter of getting to the line. I have never anticipated a race as much as the London marathon. I love the whole marathon experience. I love that you pour yourself into something, beating your body until it can't take any more, and then you rest, and wait, and wait, until you are completely recharged and then there is just one final 26.2 mile trial ahead. I feel like I am about to slay the dragon that I have been preparing the last four months to fight. And then in the end you just get out there and take your swing.

It has been hard to not think too much about the race. I lay awake at night and picture myself running out there. I know that it is going to be the hardest thing I have done at this point in my running career. But I am not thinking about Tergat, or the pace I will have to run, or the pain that I must endure and overcome, what I am attempting to do is focus completely on running with passion and joy.

Anytime I have had a really great race I wasn't thinking about overcoming some seemingly insurmountable obstacle, I wasn't thinking at all, I was just doing. In Mammoth, when I do my tempo runs early in the morning, with the mountains majestically shooting up all around me, I find the peace that's so important to success in this sport and in life.

Highlight of the week: Being surprised by my wife who arrived a day early in London. It makes a world of difference having her here.

Low-point of the week: Trying to stay awake in the middle of the day and then sleep through the night, especially the first couple of days. I must admit that I have been pretty moody as a result.