Ryan hall - I don't get it.

I agree.

Training and workout results and competition results are 2 different animals.

Actually Ryan is nothing but someone that is part of the sports media, more that part of the sports elite.

Neither Jack Daniels coach or God can help him to regain world top class.

za za wrote:

Sarah has the same religious point of view, and yet she's had a pretty decent last 6-8 months even with the appendicitis in the middle of it all.

Right, it's not ALL the fault of a religious view. His erratic training and racing is the combination of a religious view, a personality, and his public persona (record-beater). Sarah may have the same basic religious orientation, but her public persona and her individual personality are quite different from Ryan's.

Every athlete has to contend with their body and its various issues, but on top of (or below) the physiology are these other factors

MessageThe problem with Ryan is that he has a spiritual / religious world-view that is very adolescent.

Maybe it's time for Ryan to become a Lutheran. We believe that God works through means. For example, God could work through a coach [even a secular coach] to make Ryan faster. Or not. It's really God's decision after all. The other thing Ryan may need to come to terms with is that God's revealed will is to save sinners and not to have Ryan run an unaided 2:04 marathon.

I shouldn't be surprised by the hatred and ignorance that gets spewed on message boards or social media, but the sheer animus at Ryan Hall is still a little shocking to me.

A list of the most moronic ideas/arguments I've come across:

Ryan is a mental midget.

He needs to grow a pair.

The God thing has messed him up.

What a loser. He ran like one good race.

For those of you too young to remember, his Houston half marathon win, which seemed to come out of nowhere, followed by his pretty astonishing, epic trials win the the following year, were just first-rate stuff. The trial especially made it seem like he poised to be a star who had crossover potential with the general public. It was possible to envision Ryan Hall on a Wheaties box, the general public actually caring about the Olympic marathon. Hall brought a lot of life and enthusiasm to the sport, and I'd argue he helped the other Americans at the time believe that it was possible to compete with the rest of the world.

Things unfolded not because he suddenly became mentally weak, or because he believes in God (insofar as this has guided his coaching choices, there is perhaps a small argument to be made on the merits), or because he is a loser.

Everything has unravelled because Hall was injured for so long that he lost his touch with his speed. He wasn't that far removed from being a 13:15 5k man during his breakthrough in 2007-08. When's the last time he's done anything even remotely at that pace? Coming back from his injuries, I would have liked to see him race some 10ks and get back in touch with his basic speed, which I think is important for his form, too. Compare his form now with his form in 2008. He's a completely different runner.

When you lose such a big block of training with repeated injuries, and lose your basic form, it can often be incredibly difficult to find your rhythm again. I think Hall, because he is so mentally strong-willed, can't own up to how big the gap currently is between where he wants to be and where he is, and his approach of running 14 mile tempos isn't going to close that gap anytime soon.

If I were him, I would go back to the track, spend a season rounding into decent 10k form, and then start in with the marathon work. I think he can find his form again on the track. At least, I think that's his only hope.

So enough of this mentally weak nonsense and loser talk. His issues are assuredly phyiscal. Was he always a little offbeat with his choices? Most definitely. But he produced big over the years, despite those choices, and I think he did a pretty good job of maximizing his talent. He had a significant career. All the piling on says more about you, Mr. Keyboard Commando, than it does about Ryan Hall.

za za wrote:

Sarah has the same religious point of view, and yet she's had a pretty decent last 6-8 months even with the appendicitis in the middle of it all. Who knows what yesterday means for her in terms of longer distances, but given the conditions, given that it was her first marathon, and given that she apparently had a lot of cramping going on, yesterday wasn't a bad debut at all. Maybe she should coach Ryan?

Magness coaches Sara (no h), she does not coach herself. Magness is kinda the last big name for Ryan to go to at this point. He's been with almost every other coach.

If he wanted god to be part of his training he should have gone with brother Colm O Connel.

runnerdave wrote:

But the thing is that Ryan Hall, above most any other American runner, commands a lot of attention - and indeed, makes his living off his image as "America's Great (caucasian) Hope". When Hall (or his handlers?) decides to run a race, that brings a lot of prestige and attention to the race, so when he bombs, people shouldn't be surprised that there's a lot of disappointment (and, unfortunately, ridicule) regarding his performance.

I disagree. I think this was the case a few years ago, but that time is long since past. I don't mean anything disparaging by this, but I honestly don't even think of Hall anymore. There are so many more exciting stories even just at the national level. I wish Hall well in whatever he goes for, and I'd smile if he comes back to a decent time one day, but overall he's just not interesting to me anymore.

dsfasfadsf wrote:

za za wrote:

Sarah has the same religious point of view, and yet she's had a pretty decent last 6-8 months even with the appendicitis in the middle of it all. Who knows what yesterday means for her in terms of longer distances, but given the conditions, given that it was her first marathon, and given that she apparently had a lot of cramping going on, yesterday wasn't a bad debut at all. Maybe she should coach Ryan?

Magness coaches Sara (no h), she does not coach herself. Magness is kinda the last big name for Ryan to go to at this point. He's been with almost every other coach.

I´m impressed that America, a country with several hundred million citizens, only have something like half a dozen good coaches.

Steve Jones ran 2hrs 8mims after numerous crash and burns including the spectacular one at Stuttgart, so it's not impossible that Ryan will come decent again (careful not to use the term good).

I was last on this forum a decade ago and Hall was a big thread item. He has been around for a long time. Father Time is tapping him on the shoulder.

It does not seem like a long time ago when he ran a 4:01 as a high school senior.

When I was here in 05 the big names were krummenacker, webb, ritz, and hall. Just about of them are gone now. Go back even further and names like Gabe Jennings appear. Like Webb he was always getting mention here. I am sure Gabe is not running competitively anymore, but he is certainly playing the drums somewhere.

What you haters seem to be blond to in your blind hatred is that thefirstmile is down hill.

If you read a Ryan hall interview from way back when he was in high school it's obvious that the biggest thing that would ever hold him back is his own brain. I'm the same class as him and even an 18 year old me said how mental this kid is. He's a head case, mind in clouds kind of guy with little sense of reality and that's catching up with him. I'm assuming now he understands the weight of how his performances and inconsistencies might mean his running career is over. I want him to run consistently because he's an American runner, ideally the 2:05 was his level, but would settle for anything now. Admittedly though, I could care less about Ryan hall as a person. I wouldnt cross the street to shake his hand. BUT, I'm annoyed by his situation because it seems like he's running to get these appearance fees other runners could be getting. I have friends with full-time jobs that have run faster than him in the last 2 years!

Off with his head.

What you haters seem to be blonde to on your blind hate is that the first few miles are down hill

I AM SOOO EMBARRASSED.

sfdasf wrote:

….

So enough of this mentally weak nonsense and loser talk. His issues are assuredly phyiscal. Was he always a little offbeat with his choices? Most definitely. But he produced big over the years, despite those choices, and I think he did a pretty good job of maximizing his talent. He had a significant career. All the piling on says more about you, Mr. Keyboard Commando, than it does about Ryan Hall.

Well, you just finished describing his problem as a mental one;

"I think Hall, because he is so mentally strong-willed, can't own up to how big the gap currently is between where he wants to be and where he is, and his approach of running 14 mile tempos isn't going to close that gap anytime soon. "

That's not a physical thing, it's a mental approach that's the crux of the problem.

If this guy were darker skinned and from any other country than the U.S., the howls of 'doper' would be overly loud on this site, yet not a peep here. Weird.

Frank Shorter said once that an elite marathoner has about five quality years. After that the body begins to break down because of the stress of the event.

Ryan Hall had a great five year run. He's probably the best American-born male marathoner after Shorter and Bill Rogers.

What I don't understand is how he escaped LA without a single interview being done. His DNF was a hot topic of the day, and no one can get a comment?

Thats the problem with our sport. No post race interviews of runners who fail or disappoint. That aint happening in the nba oe NFL . No updates on Rupp or other runners who you don't see in a while. Needs top be regular press conference with the top runners

However, by that time the window of opportunity to perform at an ELITE level will have passed him by....it is nearly passed him by already...a few more years and it will have closed..