Why did Hall run a "smart race"

Chino:

To answer your question: yes I would try to go with bekele... I think you go to the Olympics to win and push yourself to the limit....I know its something I'll never be fast enough to do but it applies to other aspects of life nonetheless. If you make it there that is the ultimate championship---there is no more qualifying (where it makes sense to run for top three) and it has nothing to do for money---it is about finding the champion....

Honestly the silver and bronze medals seem like PC nonsense to me...I guess I have the same mentality as the tennis coach at my old school. He made the tennis team leave any non-first place trophies (including state runner-up) in the parking lot of the tournament and drove the bus away because he believed that a championship is about winning...that takes nothing away from second place finishers, I respect them immensely and hopefully they gave everything they had. They get the thrill that comes with competing and knowing you poured out everything. But they didn't win.

An interesting thought is that the Greeks in the Ancient Games gave out only one laurel--to the champion. Everyone else went home (or not sometimes actually). Interestingly enough the Greeks also would probably have banned Bekele from competing anyway because he is so much better...

I'm not sure anyone mentioned this but you can't overlook the phsychology of a marathon race. Hall runs his best up front. I think he has proven that. It was a big time mistake to let the leaders get away...for his style. You can even hear some of this in his quotes after the race. He was beat up mentally after 25k which lead to his slower second half. He doesn't win gold regardless, and likely not silver, but I think he had a great shot at bronze if he doesn't over think the race. Hopefully he learns from this.

Earl wrote:

I am a fan of Hall, Ritz and Sell but when I read Hall's blog about getting over to Bejing and being amazed at how hot and humid it was and how much he sweat after a 30 minute run I knew he had no chance. Ritz prepared the best for the conditions...9th is pretty good considering his pr., for Hall 10th is not that great, and Sell did his best but can't be all that happy with his finish. At least we didn't have any DNF's or 2:30's...

Like Earl said, this, not tactics had everything to do with Hall's poor performance.

Freakin Lel couldn't hang very long with Sammy and some of you all expect Hall to go out at that pace? He wouldn't have finished if he tried given his lack of preparation for the humidity.

With 2:10 winning bronze, Hall "should've" been in contention. The conditions weren't easy, but far from impossible. He either faulters in humidity or had an off day.

He was quoted in our local paper as saying he wasn't as fit as usual. Does anyone know anything about this? Was he injured or something in the build up.

Hall should have showed up at the start of August and began "adjusting" to the conditions long before the Olympics came around. What was his milage even like during his stay in Beijing?

8 guy wrote:

He was quoted in our local paper as saying he wasn't as fit as usual. Does anyone know anything about this? Was he injured or something in the build up.

I don't know. But his pre-race blog (link on cover page) didn't indicate this, that I saw. To note, he spent a lot of that blog discussing the humidity and how tired he was, before tapering. Even before the race, I thought he was coming across negative, and not so eager like usual.

God has been pretty busy during the Olympics. I think he was passed out by the time Hall needed him. And he kinda dropped the ball on Lolo too. Come to think of it, maybe there is no God...?

He definitely dropped the ball on this one. He should have had the bronze. But he just looked in pain the whole time he was on camera. I agree with the posters who say he didn't do enough heat training.

One reason why Meb and Denna performed well in Athens is they prepared for the course and the conditions. Hall, by staying in the mountains, did neither.

If your goal marathon is flat at sea-level and more than likely going to be warm why are you running up mountains at altitude with ideal conditions?

I don't know Hall's exact training, but he would have benefited with faster training training at sea-level over flatter land - at least his marathon simulation runs, LT runs or other faster workouts.

Amen!!!!

Why is last better than second?

Incredible how one can dissect such an unpredictable event as the marathon. Did Lel blow it, being so far from first and way off his pr? Give me a break.

I've run 16 marathons to date and any of you posters who have actually run marathons know that the majority of the truth lies in the fact that Ryan Hall had an "OFF DAY", even if he went out faster than he should have, or if as some have claimed, he didn't go out hard enough. It's irrelevant, he had an OFF DAY and still finished 10th, which is pretty damn good when you're having an OFF DAY, in my opinion. Elite marathoners have off days even in great weather, let alone running in Beijing in the summer.

Who has run at least 5 marathons and can say that they've felt great in every one they've run? Step forward, because you are in the minority.

Ryan Hall's 2:06 plus is no fluke or lucky run. He's run one Olympic Marathon and didn't fair better than 10th place and many have labeled him a choker. I'm stunned at some of the responses. So then, his 2:08, then 2:09, then 2:06 are lucky races on dead flat courses with perfect conditions in every race. Let it go and give both Ritz and Hall a break. What the winner did was unreal, face it! I don't believe the other runners believed he could keep that up, let alone the Letsrun crowd, and we aren't elite marathoners.

He shoulda, he coulda, whatever, the guy ran 2:12 plus in not ideal conditions on an OFF DAY! If he had dropped out, some of you guys would have lynched him. Put things in perspective. Sure, I was hoping for a better finish for him too, but he gave it his all and ran the best race he could on that day. Who can ask for more? Good night.

Hall could have ran with the big dogs and perhaps DNF. Instead he ran conservatively and still ran out of gas.

Him and Ritz picked it up a lot on the last lap on the track they both ran great times and the races of their lives but I believe they could have done better if the pace was slower the first half they may have been a couple of places higher and had a P.B.s. I think they are both capable of 2:07 in years to come.

2:06 was certainly a surprise, but I don't think it was a stretch at all to expect someone to break the Olympic record at 2:09. After all, the record was 24 years old. Especially since 2:10 won in Athens where it was not only hot and humid, but hilly, too. Times in the marathon have come down a lot over the last 20 years. Also, the depth of international marathon running has improved.

Hall said he gave it all he had, but his conditioning was not good enough to hang with the leaders. This is what surprised me. He did such a good job of peaking for the trials.

In 2007, he nearly disappeared after London before blowing away the trials. I thought he was doing the same for Beijing this year after a good showing in London. Why wasn't he better prepared? This was the race of his life. Anyone who has ever run a marathon knows it's all about preparation - not only for the distance but for the course and anticipated conditions.

If Hall had run the first half of the marathon 1 minute faster, he would have run the second half 2 minutes slower, if he finished at all.

If he had run the first half 1 minute slower, he would have run the second half 2 minutes faster.

In either case he had no chance to win, given that Wanjiru is god.

At best he might have been in contention for the bronze.

Hall and Ritz had decent results on a damn tough day.

Why does everybody go on about Hall disappointing? OK, so he didn't run a PR - but if I remember correctly there was only one PR in the entire field. The reality is, 10th place in an Olympic marathon is about where he should be. When the African nations march out their top 3 in peak shape and it turns into a drag race, Hall never stands a chance. It doesn't matter by how much he dominated the US Trials.

Sure, in a slow tactical race he might have had a shot at something bigger, but so would 25 other non-favorites. The difference is that Wanjiru had the shape and balls Tergat didn't have 4 years ago.

I don't usually defend Hall because I don't like the guy, but in this case I'll stand up for his performance. Top 10 in the Olympics is respectable and near the top end of his range.

ahhhh wrote:

Honestly the silver and bronze medals seem like PC nonsense to me...I guess I have the same mentality as the tennis coach at my old school. He made the tennis team leave any non-first place trophies (including state runner-up) in the parking lot of the tournament and drove the bus away because he believed that a championship is about winning...that takes nothing away from second place finishers, I respect them immensely and hopefully they gave everything they had. They get the thrill that comes with competing and knowing you poured out everything. But they didn't win...

That's fine if that's your opinion, but there's no reason that it should be anyone else's, least of all our own Olympic athletes who have achieved more than you or your tennis coach ever will.