Ryan Hall out of Mammoth

I'm not sure about that. I think it might be mahon. i listened to an interview of hall on competitorradio where he discussed his excitement about racing on the track last summer. (He did do a couple of races, but not as many as he planned)

Does anyone know if Mahon's other marathoners are trackless? Maybe that's why he needed to change, to get some speed back.

@niarun, I'd take anything Ryan Hall says with a large grain of Salt. 1-2 weeks before Philadelphia, Hall bragged to reporters about how awesome his training was going and how excited he was to run fast. We all know what then transpired in the race and withdrawing from Chicago, and then last week he was interviewed by I believe Universal Sports, and the journalist asked him to clarify his Philadelphia interview with his new rationale of 3+ week of bad tempo training led to his poor form and Chicago DNS. All Hall could say was he doesn't ever remember saying that pre-Philadelphia.

So while Hall may now say he likes track racing (especially in light of the enormous amount of criticism he's received since the Chicago DNS), I wouldn't put money on the fact that he always has liked it....

And yes, other than Mahon's middle distance people like Sara Hall and Anna Willard Pierce, his long distance runners don't do much track work.

Take a look around wrote:

The coach is not the problem. Ryan Hall is a friggin headcase. He is an incredible talent, but he is a headcase. I hate when athletes can't look in the mirror.

If it were just X's and O's, I would want him to get a hold of whoever sets up the workouts for Hansons. Alberto couldn't work with an Asics athlete but Hansons sell all brands in their store so I am sure they could work with anyone. Seeing what happened with Brian Sell, I would love to see these guys work with some real talent. They have kicked the shit out of 28 flat 10k guys with 29:30 guys in the marathon.

You're an idiot. RH is not a headcase.

He should move to Boulder and train under Jay Johnson. Track in the summer, USA Running Circuit when he can, 'thon or 2 a year.

Ryan has arguably gotten slower at the marathon since distancing himself from the track. This is why he did okay at Boston, because he didn't have to go at fast, so it was a bit hidden. All of those tempos were good back when he still had speed in his legs, but he's been beating a dead horse with all those tempos and needs to go back to the drawing board for some better adaptive training (woot, Hudson).

While I'd love to see an American nab an Italian coach and go train with the Kenyans (Renato, give him a call!), Hall is as American as apple pie and I don't see him doing that.

Whoever said Larsen has a good chance of being proven correct. Meb has done quite well with Larsen. Also, you have to see that as a competitive move that bodes well, because Larsen knows how to get medals when it matters.

It's interesting that he went to "Central America." Didn't Salazar and Ritz take a trip south to do some training? John Cook even has people who go down there (just saying, I know that'd never happen). He might say he's on vacation or getting a break to be with God and pray, but don't be surprised if he was down there meeting with people, even if that just meant being on the phone where others weren't around to hear him negotiating.

He's a good kid and this change bodes well for him. No matter who he goes with, he has a decent shot of improving, because just the fact that he's changing it up shows that he's ready to do some different kinds of workouts. What will we see in the spring? A marathon or some shorter distance races?

Has any US runner ever thought of going to Kenya for maybe 6-8 months out of the year to train there? Maybe go over there, learn the language, and see if you can figure out what is in the water and get back to 2:06 level or even better.

If you're a great European basketball player, eventually you're going to have to come to the US if you want to elevate your game to the pinnacle. I rememeber reading Toni Kukoc saying that his gf did not want him to come to the NBA; he had it all in Europe. But he said he wanted to find out if he was really a world-class basketball player, so he went to the NBA.

If you're a great US runner, why not go to Africa?

Take a look around wrote:

The coach is not the problem. Ryan Hall is a friggin headcase.

Hall's a headcase? Alan Webb went from having the fastest 1500 in the world in 2007 to failing to make the US team in 2008. That, my friend, is a headcase. Hall is an also-ran in the Headcase Olympics.

renato gigliotti wrote:

renato canova maybe in kenya

That would equal world record in the marathon.

PED use is against God. Hall would object to Canova's greasy Italian methods.

Would Canova allow him to train alone in Kenya? Because Ryan does not want to train with partners. So what would the advantage be in moving to Kenya? Remember that training partners or learning from others is not in the mix.

"And yes, other than Mahon's middle distance people like Sara Hall and Anna Willard Pierce, his long distance runners don't do much track work."

Hmm... I think you should look at his athletes again... most of them are on the track: Anna and Jon Pierce, Uceny, Rhines, Hastings, Cragg, Scott Bauhs, Smyth, Sara Hall

Athletes not on the track: Deena, Josh, Ryan

I am a big fan and hope Ryan doesn't give up and continues to compete. Good luck Ryan!

I'm not saying Mahon isn't a great guy and coach, but I don't think his credentials are all that great in the marathon. What got him sub-2:20 (I think?) won't necessarily get Hall to 2:05. Mahon and Hall came up with a plan or two, it worked when Hall had a different base, and then they didn't change it any for the next few go-arounds. Boston's slower course (the way Hall ran it) and New York hid his declining speed over the distance.

Now, I hope Mahon isn't an idiot. I hope he realizes they can't just keep doing tempos all day long (and I'm sure they haven't been). Maybe Mahon could come up with some ideas and Hall could improve, but Hall has to be frustrated that he's gotten slower when a guy like Ritz went out and set the AR in the 5k after beating Hall at the Olympics. Hall is probably ready to try another coach who might have it more together, because Mahon will always be one step behind if his training plans are using hindsight as a guide.

Ryan Hall just needs to take a year off from the roads and run a season or two of xc. It's the best possible way for him to just get out and race. Not just go out and time trial in a marathon. Not to mention the shorter distances will be good for his speed and the soft surfaces will give his legs a rest.

Oh, and he should absolutely join the Aggies. They'll whip him into shape.

Whoever said Hall should be coached by Hal Higdon, I absolutely agree. My grandma improved from 5:30 to 4:58 in the marathon after following his Runner's World Just Don't Totally Suck (TM) training plan. (Granted, the first time she ran it, she walked most of the way, got lost, literally died but then was resuscitated, and then she finished.) Following this improvement curve, Hall will go sub 2 hours the next time out, guaranteed.

Do you think Josh Cox would agree to coach Ryan and Sara? godtube for everyone!

Excellent idea because Josh has a real grasp of the sport....NOT.

Googling about Hall and came across this quote from 2009; seems this guy saw this coming about a year out...

"A good example is Ryan Hall, what can I say, I like the guy because he's dedicated to something, don't have to agree with him, but at a basic level he's dedicated to something and that's something that's rare for my generation. I was watching an interview he was doing after the NYCM and he was saying that maybe he just needs to go faster in his training

to get better and have consistent results, but I think that's the wrong approach, I think he needs to slow down during training and cut like 3/4ths of his weight training out. Honestly after listening to him speak several times about his training, I don't think he knows what he's

doing, by that I mean, I think he's just repeating what his coach is telling him. Personally his coach I think is a dick, I've heard him talk and the types of training he has his athletes do and it's almost as if he's experimenting on them. But hey it's possible I'm missing something, after all I'm still a fairly new runner, so it's just an opinion. One day if I'm ever able to run that fast maybe my opinion

will hold some water, till then don't take that like I think I know everything."

How come the LetsRun home page isn't even reporting this yet? It's been awhile.

towhee wrote:

Has any US runner ever thought of going to Kenya for maybe 6-8 months out of the year to train there? Maybe go over there, learn the language, and see if you can figure out what is in the water and get back to 2:06 level or even better.

If you're a great European basketball player, eventually you're going to have to come to the US if you want to elevate your game to the pinnacle. I rememeber reading Toni Kukoc saying that his gf did not want him to come to the NBA; he had it all in Europe. But he said he wanted to find out if he was really a world-class basketball player, so he went to the NBA.

If you're a great US runner, why not go to Africa?

Josh Cox #fail