If you were Ryan Hall, would you start the trials at 2:08 pace?

My goal, and this is only MY goal...not my coaches or anyone elses is to get in front and stay in front, absorb tv time and then see what I can do. I only get to try once, so why not go for broke?

I hope he does it Filbert Bayi style and goes out in 61.

nope id run 2:02 pace go for the record no guts no glory

All our speculation means nothing! It never weighs into the performance of any of these guys. Hall couldn't care less about what we think he should do to punch his ticket to London. Sure, we want to give Hall and Meb the respect they deserve and Ritz automatically gets the sympathy vote but I would much rather see a complete unknown, a dark horse rocket to the front, run the race of his life and make the team! That's what will truly make it an exciting day for the sport!

Why should he? 2:11-2:12 will win him the race easily.

I don't think this is quite right. In 72, Shorter and Kenny Moore tied for first. So, if the question is whether there has ever been a two-time outright winner previously, the answer is no.

Hodgie-san wrote:

Has there been a two-time trials winner previously?

Shorter 72&76.[/quote]

It depends what Jesus tell him to do.

Who thinks Dathan will fall apart near mile 20?

You cannot say that if the run were 2:11-2:12 is the winning time that Ryan Hall would even make the team not to mention win. When running a time as to were five or six guys are capable of running allows individuals who may be having a stellar day into the race.

No doubt Ryan is the fastest in the field and definitely has heart; however, in the past several fast marathoners have had terrible runs and stated, "the pace was too slow and their bodies didn't respond well or when the pace picked up they couldn't changed gears off the slow pace."

Why take a chance? If Hall stated last month he think he could run 2:05-2:06 on Houston course and I don't see why he would want the pace to go out slower then 2:08. Even at that pace he would have alittle company definitely Meb, Galen if he runs, and Dathan to keep him from running solo.

Going out in 1:04:00 would probably be the best strategy for both Ryan Hall and Mebrahtom Keflezighi. As both are capable of running that on a course such as Houston.

Hall will not let the pace stay slow past 10k. He's shown before that he doesn't like to let things get slow, and might not even be all that confident that he can beat people off a slow first half.

What makes things interesting is that Meb apparently had to take three weeks completely off because of his infected foot.

I doubt the pace would start slow either. It lets too many people into the race and as many people have mentioned Hall likes to go out fast and set the tone. He's not going to want to muddle around at 2:12 pace.

if you think the Olympic Marathon is going to be slow think again; therefore, I sure hope the top 3 men in our Olympic Trials who make the Olympic time run at least 2:09:05 or faster.

Hall should try for a PR

It will probably be in the 60s which is a little warm so that might make it tough to go hard from the gun. I imagine Hall will do the same thing he did in '08 and make a big mid-race move, forcing people to either go with him or risk being left behind and never catching up.

It all depends in what kind of shape Hall is. If he is in PR shape, that is 59min HM or 2:06M, then he doesn't need to fear anyone. He can run 30k at jogging pace and the only one who may be able to drop him his G. Rupp.

However, if he is not in good shape then I think an even pace is best for him and maybe even leading the whole way if that's what it means.

I am still doubtful of his less is more approach for his training. I think this may work well for a season when the benefits of years of high mileage training are still in the bank.....but this may fade away.

Les wrote:

It will probably be in the 60s which is a little warm so that might make it tough to go hard from the gun. I imagine Hall will do the same thing he did in '08 and make a big mid-race move, forcing people to either go with him or risk being left behind and never catching up.

He's in different shape then from where he is now, though. In '07 he ran a 59:43 half, but he hasn't shown that kind of speed since, so I predict he'll need a different strategy.

Yes

Let us not ignore history. In the past, sub 2:11 has gotten on the team every time (or maybe one year it was high 2:10.)

The smart thing is to go out in 65, and see who's still there. If it's already down to 3 or 4, hold steady until 30 or 35k. If it's bigger, try to run the second half in 62 again.

Now that Rupp is out there's no need for Hall to push the pace. I'm still picking Ritz for the win since he's faster than Hall over 5K and 10K.