FanPost

Making the marathon cool: Ryan Hall

Sometimes moments in history can feel far away yet close all at once. It was only nine years ago that Ryan Hall emerged as a champion with his 59:43 half marathon in Houston on that January morning in 2007. Hall became the first American to ever run sub 60 for a half marathon, and his potential seemed endless. With his retirement from running last week, Ryan Hall has officially hung up his running shoes after a spectacular career. Two Olympic games, a few records, and many memorable runs in Boston are his legacy, but how else will he be remembered? For a generation of runners, Ryan Hall will always be remembered for the potential, but he will also be remembered for choosing the marathon.
Prior to Houston, Ryan had won several races and had a standout career on the track while at Stanford University. He won the Great Cow Harbor 10k road race in 2006, where he set a course record. Like many runners of his age, the track, along with a few occasional road races, was where runners made their money and name. The marathon was an event reserved for the older, veteran runners and was usually not attempted until a runners was in their 30s and not fast enough for the track. Hall bucked the trend in the spring of 2007 when he ran the London Marathon at the young age of 24. The strange move paid off, as Ryan placed seventh and recorded the fastest debut time for an American runner. Suddenly, in the span of only four months, Ryan Hall had become a household name in the running community and was America’s great marathon hope.
The next move he made further solidified his spot in the mind of American runners. A win that fall at the Olympic Trials qualified him for the Beijing Olympics. Just as iconic as his fist pump at the end of the Houston Half Marathon was his point to the sky as he finished the Marathon Trials. Asics went on to put that image on posters, and send it out to running stores all across the country. For high school cross country and track runners, few running heroes were as big as Ryan Hall after the trials.
All of this occurred before Ryan Hall turned 26. In one calendar year, Hall had turned the running world upside down and made the marathon popular again. He had a few highs after the Olympic trials, Boston 2011 and the 2012 Olympic Trials, but Hall was at his best, and most influential during 2007 and 2008. His talent and accomplishments were legendary, and his unorthodox decision to focus on the marathon challenged popular wisdom. He would have no doubt been successful at shorter distances, but his decision to focus on marathons changed his career, and the running world, forever.

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