Ryan Hall picks London

I don't think it's the wrong decision, he's gonna crack if he goes out with Gebre and friends at 2:04 pace but if he stays with guys like Baldini, 63:30-64min at the half, he is gonna make a decent debut.

Let's say he's in 59:40 shape on race day, he's not gonna burn much glycogen running 2:08 pace, if he is not doing any stupid acceleration too early(like Ritz did in NY), i believe he's gonna finish atleast in sub 2:10 and with good preparation sub 2:08.

The key in Marathoning is to keep your ego in check, if Hall can manage that...sky's the limit.

I hope you are right. I also will be cheering for him. I will be in the lead vehicle, so hopefully I will see a lot of him. I am sorry you misunderstood my tone.

Just wanted to register my vote of confidence in Hall. I think he'll run fast but even if he fades, he'll learn a lot from this experience. There are so many variables to running a great marathon. One of which is mental toughness. Hall just showed us that he has that part down. Another is the willingness to stick to the game plan. I think he is smart enough to go with what he and his coach come up with.

I can't see why so many here can't put their confidence in Hall and the people around him!

i still wish he would stick with track and maximize his potential there before he moved up, however if he is going to run a marathon London is a GREAT choice. The field is sick (as always) and he just adds more. On the other hand the field is great for him to have a big debut.

But, we'll remember a marathon debut isn't always the prettiest thing ever.....so we shall see!!

The guy ran a solo 59:43 half marathon, there isn't a road race on the planet he couldn't "stick his nose in." This is the marathon for him.

Remember last year when Ryan looked great (unbeatable) at the 12k in the World Cross Trials. Then Ray Flynn thought that he was ready to run with the BIG BOYS so he sent him to the "worlds Greatest 10k" and he lost by 2 minutes? Why did that happen? hmmmmmmmm

remember to...go real slow wrote:

By sticking his nose in it do you think he implies that he's going to go out wth the lead pack with geb, tergat etc. That'd be ballsy for a debut marathon.

Is Tergat in better shape than he was in New York? If not, then he will not be going out at world record pace. We as fans like to think that our heroes are always as good as they were at their best. I think Tergat will never see sub 2:07 again. Same with Khalid. Don't get me wrong, 2:07:15 is great, but these guys are a long way away from being sub 2:05 guys now.

no such thing as an equivalent performance until you actually run the equivalent performance, so i wouldnt even waste my time saying hall is that much better than ritz, especially until he hasnt beaten ritz yet...

13 miles is totally different than 26, and if you are gonna bash ritz for being 1 30 slower than hall over the 1/2 especially since hes only run it once, than you might want to bash hall for being 45 sec slower than ritz over 10k as well.

i wouldnt spend your time bashing me for this board unless you are willing to put out your name, email, and are willing to say these things to my face. keep your mouth shut kid and well see how these guys fare in the next few races.

and last i looked ritz has a top 3, and a top 15 performance at world cross, hall does NOT. they are both studs, so i give props to both of them

Since he already decided to run a marathon this spring, I can't think of a better one for him to debut on than London. Yes, he is sticking his neck out a little, and will probably try to run with the big dogs, good for him. Maybe it'll work out well, maybe it won't, either way, I'm glad that isn't isn't holding back and is really testing himself. I hope he succeeds, and if he is in the same shape as he was for the HM, I can see him running 2:08:30-2:09:00, going through the half in 63 and change. Hopefully the weather cooperates.

Disappointed Fan... wrote:

It is fairly obvious that they are chasing the dollar, which there is nothing wrong with, except Ryan doesn't know anything about the event. That means that he will be running in a race that is more competitive than the Olympic Games in his debut. His learning curve had better be huge. I would have loved to see him run his debut in an event where 2:12 was going to win and that he could learn a little about the event. In London there will be NO ONE that will be out slower than 64 minutes. That means that if Ryan runs slower than 2:07:59 he will be practicing fading. Much like Dathan, I think this is mis management.

Well, good thing you aren't his coach. So he's chasing the dollar by competing against arguably the 3 best marathoners of all time? This is about the stupiest post I've read in a long time.

Disappointed fan's point is that there often isn't a pack going through at 63.30 at London - may be a few people who have dropped off the early fast pace but not a pack targeting that time. The field just isn't put together like that.

There are years when you don't see much at half way between 63min and 66min other than tumbleweed.

The fact his half was a solo could be significant. He may have decided to go out to run his own race and start picking people off from halfway - at London there will be people to pick off. That's where it could be a more considered move than some people are giving credit for.

However he won't get much BBC coverage/exposure going through halfway in that kind of time. You have to go out in sub 63 or be dressed as a panda.

Pamela Anderson's Left Nipple wrote:

I agree. I think Salazar's debut was an anomoly. Hall would be do better getting a 2:12 under his belt, and then going for it.

I suppose you are right. In fact, if he's at 2:06 with 400 meters to go, he should stop and stretch for 5 minutes, just to make sure a fast debut doesn't spoil his career.

A lot of great marathons have been run in first, second or third attempts. And a lot of runners, truly great runners, don't improve much after that time. And 24-year-olds have won major races more often than 35-year-olds.

Bill Rodgers is a good example. I know he had run a couple of marathons already, but his big bust-out performance was at Boston in 1975, a 2:09, which was pretty fast running back in the day, about a minute off the WR, and he stopped to tie his shoes and also stopped and walked to drink water at the aid stations. BR never got much faster than that day. He may have been a couple years past 24, but he was a baby compared with Hall in terms of competitive running and years of consistent training.

I believe Hall will run 2:07:45 to 2:08:30 and a top-five in London.

I'm pumped for this race. I hope the kid goes out there and runs a 2:06. However that being said...

Just thinking off the top of my head, maybe Rotterdam would have been just as good of a choice. Wasn't it a debut race last year and weren't there a few guys in the 2:06 range and a good 10 or so under 2:10? Now give it a year, some more cash, and the field may have grown.

I just think that the trials are going to be a race...not a time trial. Running London will be a time trial. Why not go someplace quick (give him a good time, a good and fast experience) but someplace where he can run for the win as well? Gain some experience in not just running 26.2 miles but in racing 26.2 miles?

As I said, London isn't a bad choice. Hell, it's a great choice! But, maybe there was a better choice out there.

Just some food for thought.

Andy Barber wrote:

However he won't get much BBC coverage/exposure going through halfway in that kind of time. You have to go out in sub 63 or be dressed as a panda.

In fact significantly greater TV coverage if dressed as a panda, or 'running' at 10min miling

but he did much better at the olympics than salazar ever did.

Pamela Anderson's Left Nipple wrote:

... and then he has never run faster.

... and then he has never run faster.

heres a question?

Do you think he will do stanfrod 10k before in preperation (3 weeks before)

shorter ran two 10ks before his olympic races.

Is it smart to do that for hal?

a better question is - with Culpepper, Abdi, Meb and now Hall and Fasil running great now, are Sell's olympic chances diminishing? people were picking him as solid chance, now i dont think that is so sure anymore.

Flora London Marathon 2007

Elite men Fastest times

Paul Tergat (KEN) 2:04:55

Khalid Khannouchi (USA) 2:05:38

Haile Gebrselassie (ETH) 2:05:56

Felix Limo (KEN) 2:06:14

Martin Lel (KEN) 2:06:41

Hendrick Ramaala (RSA) 2:06:55

Jaouad Gharib (MAR) 2:07:02

Stefano Baldini (ITA) 2:07:22

Benson Cherono (KEN) 2:07:58

Hicham Chat (MAR) 2:07:59

Marilson Gomes dos Santos (BRA) 2:08:48

Jon Brown (GBR) 2:09:31

Meb Keflezighi (USA) 2:09:53

Ryan Hall (USA) Debut –

Juan Carlos De la Ossa (ESP) Debut –

400 meter splits will/should be given for this "scorcher"!

http://www.london-marathon.co.uk/site/media_centre/index.php?page=62

[/quote]

student of the sport wrote:

heres a question?

Do you think he will do stanfrod 10k before in preperation (3 weeks before)

shorter ran two 10ks before his olympic races.

Is it smart to do that for hal?

Yes, it's brilliant. A 10k won't hurt a marathon-trained runner. It would not be like Webb's experience last year. Many marathon training schedules include a tune-up race about 3 weeks out. He should begin tapering 7 days before Stanford, run the 10k, recover for a few days, get in a last long run, and then a proper 2 week taper with a few short race-paced runs. Running 4:28 mile pace on the track should make 4:50 in the marathon seem easy for the first 30k.