HALL-2:08.24

Nope. No one knows.

Some Nerdlinger on this website will come up with it.

GW wrote:

Fastest marathon by potential US presidental candidate. Is this less racist?

haha, thank you. you made my day :)

I think that is an amazing result for Hall - esp. leading at 35k.

But, I personally wish he had run Boston and tried to become the 1st american to win there in a long time. The next American winner at Boston will get mainstream notoriety, not to mention a bit of extra cash

Spare me wrote:

"No racial undertones". What a crock of shit. The fact that you feel the need to mention it in the first place provides all the racial undertones needed. Because (like Abdi's performance) the fact is irrelevant in the first place.

Call it what you want, but it is inspiring to see a runner not of direct African descent be in the mix. If it makes you feel holier than thou to be able to say that you are non-judgemental and not racist, than go right ahead assuaging your precious little insecurities. Yes, Meb and Khannouchi SHOULD legitimately hold the ARs that they earned, but their performances are simply not as authentic or inspiring as Hall's. Hall's performance would say to me as a young aspiring runner that you CAN compete with the Africans of the world.

KK in 2:05

Saying that someone was not born in America not or not being an American is not a racist comment. It is more of a nationalist comment. If these foreign athletes were from England, Canada, Brazil or where ever they would still not be American born and the reception of their American records would be the same. but because meb, kk, and abdi happen to be black people like "spare me" think others are racist.

A racist comment would be what is the White American born record in the 100 meter dash.

People who call people racist over this issue are about as ignorant as the KKK and skinheads. He is not stating anything about color.

If you were truly into this issue and not just making stupid assumptions then you would say it is racist or prejudice to keep track of any national records because we are all humans.

I set my alarm, woke, and watched the last hour of the men's race. Before I went back to sleep (I'm on the West Coast), I said, "SOMEBODY on Letsrun will find a way of making Hall's performance out to be something less than spectacular--perhaps even a disappointment. Negative energy will somehow be attached."

Thanks for not disappointing me, guys.

Here are a couple of things that haven't been said and deserve to:

1) Hall not only hung with one of the greatest, if not THE greatest marathon fields of all time, but he LED THE RACE, albeit briefly, around the 22-23 mile point;

2) He did this on a day that was, weather-wise, not (particularly conducive to fast running;

3) He did this on a day when the great Geb was forced to drop out with a side stich;

4) Although he slowed slightly in the last several miles, he did NOT fade, as so many naysayers claimed he would ("The full marathon is nothing like the half," etc. blah blah blah) He was well-trained for the distance and ran his best race.

5) He finished what? 20 seconds behind the leaders? 10 second behind Tergat? I haven't perused the final stats--I've just fallen out of bed--but I'm sure this is about right. This is PHENOMENAL.

6) Needless to say, he beat KK

(For the record, I picked Lel several months ago, and asked about KK earlier this week.)

May we drop all the talk that has Hall vying for position with KK for fastest debut marathon by an American. That just distracts from what Hall actually did in this race.

He almost won it. That clearly wasn't in the cards, but still: he came close.

Given his age and inexperience at the distance, the strenght of the field, and the weather: an extraordinary achievement.

For the record (since I'm sure I'll be called on it): 43 seconds behind Lel and 18 seconds behind Tergat.

For the record: Hall led the race at the 35K (just before 22 mile) point.

He went through the first half in 1:03:45, which is 2:08:30 pace, so he finished the seconds half in 1:03:39, which is great pacing and a great performance on his behalf, but it makes me wonder if being smart by being conservative for his first marathon, if he could've been in the very front and maybe won it. Time will tell.

It was hot and guys dropped. Other guys ran tactile.Great race by Hall. He's not going to get in a race to put down a hot time for a couple years. Trials will be slow, then the Olympics will be slow, the fall of 2008 will be dicey. So either London/Boston or Chicago/Berlin 2009 look for Hall to take it to Salazar and maybe KK.

F-104 Starfigther Pilot 1966 wrote:

What surprises me is that a 2:08 is only good for 7th place. The Marathon is become ultra-competitive today.

NY Runner wrote:

It was hot and guys dropped. Other guys ran tactile.

I'd love to run tactile, but only if I'm running with some women. Sorry. That was a funny typo.

Maybe we'll see him get back to the track for the 2009 Worlds 10,000m? Then he could take the fall and winter to recover and train for a 2010 spring marathon.

irun wrote:

He went through the first half in 1:03:45, which is 2:08:30 pace, so he finished the seconds half in 1:03:39, which is great pacing and a great performance on his behalf, but it makes me wonder if being smart by being conservative for his first marathon, if he could've been in the very front and maybe won it. Time will tell.

1:03:45 is 2:07:30 pace.

Spare me wrote:

Seguru wrote:

People, Abdirahman ran SLOWER than Ryan Hall, so Abdi's performance is IRRELEVANT.

Ryan Hall is the FASTEST AMERICAN-BORN MARATHONER OF ALL-TIME. And that is a legitimate title, with no racial undertones.

"No racial undertones". What a crock of shit. The fact that you feel the need to mention it in the first place provides all the racial undertones needed. Because (like Abdi's performance) the fact is irrelevant in the first place.

It's definitely NOT racist! If you think so, you have racial issues you need to get cleared up.

It's simply a fact, nothing more. Hall is now the fastest debut marathoner for anyone who was born on US soil.

F-104 Starfigther Pilot 1966 wrote:

What surprises me is that a 2:08 is only good for 7th place. The Marathon is become ultra-competitive today.

9th went in a stunning 2:14. Unless ultra competitive only extends to the first 8 then you'd be wrong.

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But, always a "but", none of these comments would have been made if it were an ex-British, Canadian, Australian, or any of the lighter complected nations. It is only when the African continent is involved does the 'murcan born silliness start.

I forget....is he definitely looking at the Marathon for Beijing? I think he is but I am not 100% on that.

Great race by Hall though.