Ryan Hall's post-LA facebook statement

Ryan is starting to sound like a shady evangelical minister. Absolutley no accountability or self awarness. It really bums me out that so many good pro runners live below the poverty level and Ryan is living large due to a handful of races from 4 years ago or longer. In my opinion it comes of as ego, lack of preparation and no motivation. And would Sara pick a damn event already. In 3 years she has been a miler, a steeplechaser and a marathoner. Must be fun to have so much money you can have zero focus as an athlete.

Sorry- the truth comes out wrote:

hagster wrote:

Once you get use to DNF's and it doesn't bug you, its over.

Tell that to Blake Russell.

Bingo. As we talked about here:

I think the post is an admission by Ryan that he shouldn't try to necessarily run 2:04 every race. that may never come again. it shows he's progressing and isn't happy with his DNF.

That leads me to be bullish on his 2016 Olympic team chances. I think he'll make the team if he's on the start line.

rojo wrote:

I think the post is an admission by Ryan that he shouldn't try to necessarily run 2:04 every race. that may never come again. it shows he's progressing and isn't happy with his DNF.

.

No. He said things happen that you can't control and all you can do is your best. Essentially, he's saying he tried his best, but things happened that were beyond his control. The good news is, it doesn't matter because god loves him and it's all he needs.

That is the attitude of a loser. You win when you are hungry to win. When all you want to do is win. He is indifferent; as he already has all that he needs. Which is why he can - not show up for races, finish poorly in races, DNF - it's all the same thing as winning to him. Which is why he will not, and every american should be thankful for, make the american team. You want people on the team who will go all out and leave nothing behind; where the idea of losing is offensive and if they do lose, they are dissatisfied and it makes them want to win even more.

No -- he clearly says that he "fell short." I think he sees the reality of his present capabilities or "gifts." For instance, in January he ran a 1:04:16 half marathon. Plug that into Jack Daniels VDOT calculator, and you see a predicted marathon time of 2:14:32. On a hot day in LA, if he paces himself and runs a 2:16, he's the second or third American to finish. No shame in that goal, no shame in letting the Kenyans go, especially if (since) that's just where he is as a runner right now.

Has he or anyone for that matter confirmed why he DNF'd? We all think it was because he gave up once the top Americans passed him but has it actually been officially verified? I suppose I'm asking is he healthy and gonna rock up to Boston on the back of his longish tempo run in LA.

sellerdore wrote:

Has he or anyone for that matter confirmed why he DNF'd? We all think it was because he gave up once the top Americans passed him but has it actually been officially verified? I suppose I'm asking is he healthy and gonna rock up to Boston on the back of his longish tempo run in LA.

Or Bill Rodgers, who had his share of them. Sometimes it really doesn't make sense to finish a marathon; you people who are acting like a DNF in one is a crime against humanity or something probably haven't run one, or, haven't run enough of them to see the other side of them.

Really why should he have crawled to the finish in 2:40 or something and, thus, doubled his recovery time.

And we don't know that he's not hurt. Based on what I saw of him in the race, he's not entirely healthy right now.

^ Not sure if anyone can generalize from the range of comments here about RH's DNF performance, but I don't think most most who have commented have stated that he should have hung in there with his rapidly deteriorating pace just to finish in God-knows-what of a lousy time. Rather, most seem to have taken RH to task for the apparently foolhardy opening pace that seems to have guaranteed the rapidly deteriorating pace, etc. Beyond this is the larger pattern of DNS, etc. of the past couple of years, of course.

Hard to see what ASICS is getting from this particular employee, at this point in his career. I would assume that he will remain with them through the next OT marathon, but if he does not perform there, I would guess that would likely be the end of that contract.

I probably phrased that badly, I'm not knocking the DNF I was just asking in admittedly a roundabout way if he is uninjured and capable of making Boston. Seems like it's still unknown.

It's sad when there are this many posts trying to figure out, just what exactly did Ryan Hall mean with his vaguely-worded post? Are there any hidden meanings in there? What does this part mean, and that part?

He's a nice enough guy and all that, but he's an airhead and a religious nut. There's no need to go searching for profundity in his facebook quotes.

Ryan Hall wrote:

Nutella1 wrote:

He needs to analyze his training and what went wrong. Get back to the drawing board and make changes.

Thanks, Nutella1! This never once occurred to me! You're a genius. Maybe I'll change coaches again, to YOU. What do you say?

You should let the letsrun people coach you. We coached wejo to a sub 3; surely we can get you to 2:06 or so.

rojo wrote:

That leads me to be bullish on his 2016 Olympic team chances. I think he'll make the team if he's on the start line.

I recall similar optimism about Webb's chances a couple years ago vis-a-vis "talent never goes away." It does. And it's as much a mental issue as it is a physical one. Hall has been WAY out of the game for several years now. Whether we still cling to the "big three hype" from the early 2000s or not, the real deal is that Ritz is the only remaining competitive runner from that bunch. And even he will have to work his butt off to make the 2016 team. Ryan has almost no chance, especially given his delusional mindset which is entirely detached from reality, deluded by the fanciful notion that he rides on angels wings or has a secured phone line to the sky or is some special ingredient in this grand primordial carbon soup. 'Cos he doesn't, he doesn't, and he isn't.

ofsaa silver wrote:

Bible thumping idiot with no heart. Probably doesn't beleive in evolution and hates non believers. Washed up and boring. Can't stand this preachy little prick.

Has Hall ever come across hateful? Or mean spirited? Or calling people names like you just did? Or "preachy" towards others? Sure, he says a lot about his faith, but from what I've seen it's always just the way he seeks to understand his own life, not preaching this *at* anyone else. Stop embracing the hate.

23434 wrote:

Princess Jasmine wrote:

Apart from needing income, why does he bother to compete if he's going to be content with that kind of nonperformance? Religious stuff aside, the dude is a joke - not because he's slow (he's faster than I'll ever be) but because he has no heart.

Hey knucklehead: He's saying that from now on he's going to start having more heart and doing his best no matter what hand he's dealt in a race. That "has become his goal."

This bodes well. I suspect Ryan's going to be finishing some marathons.

From now on???lmao-whats he been doing till now. He's alienated every relationship with his coach due to a higher calling....well retirement is calling now. Give that Asics sponsorship to someone who is really deserving and do your missionary work.

Sorry- the truth comes out wrote:

hagster wrote:

Once you get use to DNF's and it doesn't bug you, its over.

Tell that to Blake Russell.

Tell that to Alistair Cragg.

Let God's grace bless us with grace and blessedness. Let him shine magical beams of rainbow into our grace for my running talent is more important to God than the billions of people that suffer from atrocities and illness.

His post is complete nonsense. Wake up. Just thank your fans and go train.

" I'm thankful to God and others for giving me grace when I fall short in the process. And I'm

thankful for God's love that is always enough no matter what"

The fact that this is part of his statement shows such humility and unwavering faith. That is neat to see.

Dear rude guys

Ryan Hall has run better times than...well, anyone here.

And, you guys are ridiculing him?

Ryan Hall has become a hobby jogger. Time doesn't matter. Just give it your best and you're a winner too.

Ryan's post LA Facebook Statement is quite a "post-event" rationalization compared to an explicit goal stated in one of his previous Facebook posts:

"One of the goals I have for LA Marathon is to bring clean water to 100 people in Ethiopia. For each person you fund, I will fund one as well.

Clean water prevents disease, allows young girls to go to school (rather than walking miles to fetch water) and increases life expectancy 10 years.

Will you join me?"