Breaking: Ryan Hall Retires at Age 33

They live in Redding because that's where their church (Bethel Church) is located...and the Bethel's School of Supernatural Ministry. I think enough people have said all that needs to be said about all of that.

rojo wrote:

I think we should start a petition to get Hall to run the marathon Trials 1st loop. Run the first loop as a going away party. Sort of like how NFLers come back on the field to have their jersey's retired. Have hall run loop with the leaders and then when he comes by the finish line take his jersey off and throw it into the stands.

Can we please find a way to make this happen as a way to show him how much he meant to the fans. I don't want my last memory of him to be ripping his number off in disgust in LA this year. He'll be there anyway for Sarah. Maybe not even run the first loop, just a standing O before the start.

Uused wrote:

sanchobaile wrote:

My thoughts exactly. I guess the lesson is, if you try to burn the candle too hot, you risk putting it out. Lucky for Ritz, he has been so injury-prone, he didn't have the chance to ramp up training as much as Webb and Hall did. And his injuries gave him recovery time the other two perhaps would not give themselves.

Unlike the other two, has Ritz ever won a major race? If not, maybe he should have burned the candle a bit hotter.

That's kind of beside the point, which was that the risk of injuries may have prevented Ritz from training with the same notorious intensity as Hall and Webb. The latter two are known as being workout heroes, whereas Ritz is more known for getting hurt when he tries to push the envelope and doing his best when he's able to train just hard enough to stay healthy. He didn't have the option of "burning the candle a bit hotter."

This is a great interview - he talks well & comes across as a real nice guy.

The Big Three from 2001 down to one. Dathan Ritzenhein.

Galen Rupp Number on Fan wrote:

...

(2) Why did the Hall's go to Africa to adopt? Were there no American kids awaiting adoption and in need of a nice family?...

Why shouldn't he go to Africa to adopt?

Not sure if this has been mentioned but I seem to recall that Hall was a patient of Dr. Brown in Houston and presumably on thyroid medication. It seems entirely plausible that you would mess up your body chemistry doing this, making it impossible to train/recover properly. I would not be surprised to see more of this from athletes who have been treated with thyroid medication. It makes sense that over-training leads to low thyroid, thyroid medication allows you to train at that elite level, but at what cost to your long term health? And what happens to your body chemistry when you stop taking the thyroid medication?

Galen Rupp Number on Fan wrote:

(2) Why did the Hall's go to Africa to adopt? Were there no American kids awaiting adoption and in need of a nice family? Typical LIBERAL. Cares more for the third world than those in need in his own country.

I don't know if they ever gave reasons. I always assumed they went to Africa to train and while there got involved with a church or something and upon seeing what kind of lives these kids live adopted them.

sanchobaile wrote:

Drunk Uncle wrote:

And then there was one.

Would anyone have guessed that injury prone Ritz would be the last man standing from the ballyhooed Class of 2001?

My thoughts exactly. I guess the lesson is, if you try to burn the candle too hot, you risk putting it out. Lucky for Ritz, he has been so injury-prone, he didn't have the chance to ramp up training as much as Webb and Hall did. And his injuries gave him recovery time the other two perhaps would not give themselves.

Ritz also has his head on straight and is not prone to doing stupid stuff. That alone will take you very far in life.

Sad_Day wrote:

Sad day - even though most of us figured this was coming. Ryan brought so much to this sport and had some truly electric performances. For the period he was at his peak, no US marathoner was even in the same stratosphere.

I've written similar posts here before, but I'll write it again--Ryan is the best the US will ever produce. Look at the all-time US list below.

Take out Khannouchi, who was already world-class pre citizenship change, and the difference is even more glaring. Ryan stands alone among Americans in the ability to consistently produce world class marathon results. Even his haters, who cry about the wind-aided 2:04 in Boston, must admit that most of the people on this list ALSO have their PRs from Boston. Take out all Boston times, and use Ryan's 2:06 as the standard, and again, the difference is even more glaring.

There has simply never been anyone like Hall, and none on the horizon.

Raised at altitude.

High mileage since HS.

Beautiful stride.

Not afraid to stick his nose in with top Africans.

The hate he got from so many is criminal. I hope you all appreciated him while he was rolling well, because that's the best an American-born male can do. PERIOD.

2:04:58 a 4 Ryan Hall (USA) 14 Oct 1982 18 Apr 2011 2:05:37.8 1 Khalid Khannouchi (USA)22 Dec 1971 14 Apr 2002

2:05:56 1 Khalid Khannouchi - 2 (USA) 22 Dec 1971 13 Oct 02

2:06:17 5 Ryan Hall - 2 (USA) 14 Oct 1982 13 Apr 2008 L

2:07:01 1 Khalid Khannouchi - 3 (USA) 22 Dec 1971 22 Oct 00

2:07:04 4 Khalid Khannouchi - 4 (USA) 22 Dec 1971 23 Apr 06

2:07:47 9 Dathan Ritzenhein (USA) 30 Dec 1982 07 Oct 2012

2:08:04 5 Ryan Hall - 3 (USA) 14 Oct 1982 09 Oct 2011

2:08:24 7 Ryan Hall - 4 (USA) 14 Oct 1982 22 Apr 2007

(10) 2:08:37 a 1 Mebrahtom Keflezighi (USA) 05 May 1975 21

2:08:41 a 4 Ryan Hall - 5 (USA) 14 Oct 1982 19 Apr 2010

2:08:44 5 Khalid Khannouchi - 5 (USA) 22 Dec 1971 10 Oct

2:08:47 a 7 Robert Kempainen (USA) 18 Jun 1966 18 Apr

2:08:52 a 1 Alberto Salazar (USA) 07 Aug 1958 19 Apr 1982

2:08:54 a 2 Dick Beardsley (USA) 21 Mar 1956 19 Apr 1982

2:08:56 4 Abdihakim Abdirahman (USA) 01 Jan 1977 22 Oct

2:09:01 a 1 Greg Meyer (USA) 18 Sep 1955 18 Apr 1983

2:09:01.9 1 Ryan Hall - 6 (USA) 14 Oct 1982 03 Nov 2007

2:09:08 1 Mebrahtom Keflezighi - 2 (USA) 05 May 1975 14

(20) 2:09:13 Mebrahtom Keflezighi - 3 (USA) 05 May 197506 Nov 2011

We have a story up ourselves on the homepage now where we fondly remember Hall's six greatest moments.

http://www.letsrun.com/news/2016/01/ryan-hall-retired-remember-six-glorious-moments-amazing-career/

"Hall, 33, who was one of the last remaining hopes for an American front-runner in this summer’s Olympic marathon, is succumbing to chronically low testosterone levels and fatigue so extreme, he says, that he can barely log 12 easy miles a week."

LetsRun.com update: We have a story up ourselves on the homepage now where we fondly remember Hall's six greatest moments.

Uused wrote:

sanchobaile wrote:

My thoughts exactly. I guess the lesson is, if you try to burn the candle too hot, you risk putting it out. Lucky for Ritz, he has been so injury-prone, he didn't have the chance to ramp up training as much as Webb and Hall did. And his injuries gave him recovery time the other two perhaps would not give themselves.

Unlike the other two, has Ritz ever won a major race? If not, maybe he should have burned the candle a bit hotter.

Dathan Ritzenhein has two international medals. Hall has zero; Webb has zero.

Dingler wrote:

Uused wrote:

Unlike the other two, has Ritz ever won a major race? If not, maybe he should have burned the candle a bit hotter.

What major race did Hall or Webb win? Ritz made 3 Olympic teams with a legitimate shot for a 4th. He has a bronze from world junior XC and bronze from world half. Plus he probably made Bekele shit his pants when he saw a white boy catching him at the end of that 5k in Zurich.

1. I said "win" not making an Olympic team and aiming for 4th or bronze medals.

2. Berkeley did not probably do that because he probably didn't even notice him. Ritz in no way was catching Bekele. He was caught and died by the other runners who were themselves far behind Bekele.

3. Webb won at least 1 diamond league level meet where he ran 3:30. I may be wrong about Hall, has he not won anything?

1) Hall was great.

2) He should be missed by all American fans of running

3) Your post was lame

4) There will be better American-born marathoners sooner or later

bethel church wrote:

They live in Redding because that's where their church (Bethel Church) is located...and the Bethel's School of Supernatural Ministry. I think enough people have said all that needs to be said about all of that.

Literally thought you were kidding about the name of that school. Then I googled it. Wow.

uused wrote:

Uused wrote:

Unlike the other two, has Ritz ever won a major race? If not, maybe he should have burned the candle a bit hotter.

What major race did Hall or Webb win? Ritz made 3 Olympic teams with a legitimate shot for a 4th. He has a bronze from world junior XC and bronze from world half. Plus he probably made Bekele shit his pants when he saw a white boy catching him at the end of that 5k in Zurich.

1. I said "win" not making an Olympic team and aiming for 4th or bronze medals.

[/quote]

You still haven't answered the question.

I agree, Ryan had a great career and I think he deserves to be put on the same level or higher than any other American born distance runner. Part of the reason his career was so disappointing in some people's eyes is because of the high level he began his marathon career at, and he shouldn't be punished for that. The later stages may be frustrating but you look at his list of accomplishments and its hard to not to call it a successful career. Fans of the US guys in the 70's and 80's are always going to knock Ryan for getting the big wins guys like Shorter and Salazar got. But the bottom line is marathon is the premier distance race in today's age due to the financial climate of the sport and there is far more talent racing the marathon in this day and age than there was 30 years ago. Also the East African dominance really had not began back then.

I think there is some reason to be optimistic that we could see other American born guys that reach the level Hall's achieved in the near future. Rupp has the pedigree to suggest he could potentially make the leap to the marathon at that level. A few others like Derrick or True could make the jump as well.

dfsgfadsfdsf wrote:

bethel church wrote:

They live in Redding because that's where their church (Bethel Church) is located...and the Bethel's School of Supernatural Ministry. I think enough people have said all that needs to be said about all of that.

Literally thought you were kidding about the name of that school. Then I googled it. Wow.

Yeah, scary stuff that Bill Johnson preaches. Absolutely unbiblical. It's really pretty shocking that they got themselves involved in that mess and have drifted further and further from Biblical Christianity.