Ryan Hall Looking Good For New York
Hall Hammers 4:27 13th Mile To Win 2009 ING Philadelphia Distance Run in 61:52.

By: LetsRun.com
Sept 20, 2009

Ryan Hall's final race prior to the 2009 ING New York City marathon was a successful one as he hammered the final 1.1 miles to break away from three Kenyan competitors and win the ING Philadelphia Distance Run in 61:52.

For the entire first 12 miles, Hall ran with three Kenyans - Ben Limo, Samuel Ndereba and Valentine Orare -  as the foursome banged out mile after mile in the 4:40s. No one really made a move and as the field approached the 12 mile mark the question was, "Who felt the best and wanted to shake things up?"

4:27 13th Mile Seals The Deal
The answer. Ryan Hall. After he hit his watch to take the 12 mile split, Hall immediately threw down and powered home to victory thanks to a stellar 4:27 13th mile according to the internet broadcast (although we had him in 4:28).

As Hall accelerated, the race instantly became a three person affair as Orare (61:33 pb in Philly last year) had no response and instantly fell off. Hall kept the pressure up and 2:30 into the 13th mile, it was down to Hall and Samuel Ndereba - the brother of former marathon world record holder Catherine Ndereba (who incidentally won a close women's race in Philly today by 3 seconds - 69:42 to Limika's 69:45) - as 2005 world 5k champion Benjamin Limo, a 2:12 marathoner, was dropped. But Ndereba (61:50 last year in Philly) could only say with Hall for another 30 seconds.

The final 2 minutes belonged to Hall who was powering home for the win. 

Minutes after finishing the race, Hall said that he was pleased with the way things went.

"Those guys were tough out there today. The course was beautiful. I had a really good time out there  I (kind) of wish my legs were under me as I definitely think I could get a record on this course. (But) with marathon training, it’s hard," said Hall.

Hall was then asked what his 4:27 slightly uphill 13th mile split meant for his New York chances.

"That’s good news for me," said Hall. "This is an awesome run for me. I was really pleased with it."

Things Looking Good For New York
Hall's victory does show what we'd been hearing all fall - that Hall's preparations for the 2009 ING NYC Marathon are going well.  Hall's American record is 59:43 and the announcers on the broadcast of the race at competitor.com seemed surprised and a bit dismayed at times that Hall wasn't running faster and wasn't involved in a solo time trial type affair.

In reality, Hall knows that one doesn't need or necessarily want to run super fast in a half-marathon prior to one tackles the marathon. Both before and after to his 3rd place showing in the New York Half Marathon last month, Hall repeatedly cited how Marilson Gomes dos Santos won New York last year after a 63:14 half marathon just 3 weeks prior to New York whereas the year before dos Santos was only 8th in New York after running 59:33 in a preparatory half marathon.

Moreover, after his 62:35 clocking on a warm day in New York, Hall told LetsRun.com, "Even if I don't run any faster (in Philadelphia on September 20th), I'll be confident going into the marathon."

Well Hall clearly ran faster today in Philadelphia. And while the odds certainly aren't in his favor for a win in New York (in this day and age of global marathoning, the odds of winning have to be less than 50% for almost every runner) Ryan Hall certainly should be in the mix.

Editor's Note: It should be pointed out the conditions were much better today (mid 50s temps, next to zero wind but with high 70% plus humidity) than they were in NYC. Also New York Cith Marathon entrant Martin Lel ran 59:38 today in the Great North Run half-marathon which is point-to-point and net downhill.

It also should be pointed out that half-marathon world record holder and World Marathon Major leader Sammy Wanjiru ran just 61:08 last week for the half-marathon in the midst of his fall marathon buildup.

ENDS: More info including top results appear below.

More: *Photo Of Ryan Hall Crossing The Finish Line
*Ryan Hall Wins His 1st And Catherine Ndereba Her 7th Philadelphia Distance Run Race Press Release
*Ndereba Sibs Almost Pull Off Double Win Philadelphia Inquirer
Olympic Marathon champion Constantina Dita finished 10th on the women's side while Josh Cox nabbed 6th for the men.
*Mboard Thread On Race

Top 5 Results below. Note Josh Cox was 6th in 65:09. Full results can be found here.