Where Your Dreams Become
Reality
Where Your Dreams Become
Reality
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The New York Road Runners held a teleconference on Thursday, during which it was announced that Ryan Hall will be competing at the 2009 ING New York City Marathon on November 1, as well as at the August 16th New York City Half Marathon. Below, we give you our take on the call. With His Fitness Coming Around, Ryan Hall Is Excited About Running 2009 ING New York City Marathon (he'll also run the New York Half Marathon)
by LetsRun.com July 24, 2009 - Given the fact that the two previous times Ryan Hall has raced in New York, he has been victorious, once at the 2006 USA Cross-Country Trials (although he didn't win the 4k that year) and once at the 2008 US Olympic Marathon Trials, it was no surprise to learn that Hall is excited about the concept of racing in the Big Apple once again. "New York has a special place in my heart. I've had good results out there in cross-country and obviously at the Olympic Trials," said the 26-year-old. "I'd love to have a repeat of (the Trials) this year." Racing on US soil definitely excites Hall, who said the crowd in Boston in April carried him through the last 10 miles at the Boston Marathon when he was able to rally to a third-place finish. Hall also thinks that having run and won the 2008 US Olympic Marathon Trials in Central Park will help him prepare for the 2009 ING New York City Marathon. "From the Trials, I gained a lot of confidence that I can run a fast last half off of a slow first half over rolling terrain," said Hall. He also thinks the mental component of having won in New York will help him train better. As Hall said, "The ability to visualize is huge (in training)."
That being said, Hall admitted the decision between Chicago and New York for 2009 was a tough one. "It was really a difficult decision because I am very motivated by time," said Hall, whose 2:06:17 PB from the 2008 London Marathon is the fastest by an American-born athlete. Khalid Khannouchi's 2:05:38 from the 2002 London marathon is the American record. As for what to expect this fall, the good news is that Hall seemed to be very optimistic. Unlike last year, when Hall rushed things after his 2:06:17 showing in London to get ready for the Olympics, he hasn't rushed back into training after London. Last year, Hall only took one week off after London and when he started training for the Olympics, he felt like he was in very good fitness but his body was still tired from London and it never responded to the training. Hall actually felt he got less fit as time progressed. This year, Hall made sure he didn't make the same mistake twice. He took two weeks totally off after Boston and then did two weeks of cross training/running. When asked by LetsRun.com co-founder Robert Johnson about his current fitness and what he's been doing in the three months since Boston, Hall said the following: "Right now, I'm just starting to come into fitness. I'm starting to get into pretty good shape right now. I'm back in the mountains at elevation, a place I love, a place where everything clicks for me and I really feel like my body is just absorbing all the training like a sponge. I'm seeing improvement from week to week and am feeling better and better with more and more snap in my legs and just really building a nice momentum right now. Whereas last year, like I said, I came back in decent shape, but it was almost like I was detraining myself. I was kind of struggling as time went on. This time around, things are going to be a lot better as a result of the two weeks off and having the two weeks of cross training slash running." Hall also stated that in addition to the New York Half Marathon, he is also looking to run another race at the end of September but hasn't chosen one quite yet. Hall also gave his impressions on Galen Rupp, but for that and more, you'll have to listen to the audio recording of the last 30 minutes of the teleconference. The LRC questions come at the 20-minute mark.
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Runner's World &
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