Race Results Weekly said the elevation loss is 6.26m/km which which would translate to 866 feet.
Over 80% of the downhill occurs in the first-half of the course which Hall covered in 65:02. He held up pretty well in the second half which he ran in 67:45.
Does that seem like a long time between winning Foot Locker and having a marathon debut (let alone an impressive one)?
Well, he went to UCR and that ruined his running career. He had a few good races, but nothing close to his potential. Then he took up cycling for a decade.
The super shoes are probably a big part of this story.
I have super shoes in my garage, but I didn't run a 2:12 debut.
Super shoes are likely a huge part of this story. Without them Chad probably runs 2:16 on a very fast course and nobody is that impressed. Sometimes it is painful to have to explain rudimentary concepts to your minds.
It’s certainly a long time but he had his reasons. Spent a number of years focusing on triathlon/cycling without a ton of running (he was a really solid climber but never elite at anything else), so I wouldn’t be surprised if he has a few solid marathons in him despite his age
He could easily run a 2:10 if he really wanted to but probably wont now being it's too late. But it's really a shame that things didn't pan out for him, he seemed on the cusp of some really great things, but just let it fizzle out. He's his own man though and never liked being in Ryan's shadow - like his mini-clone Brother - actually hated it. Maybe this was just getting that last bit out though - don't know?
Chad Hall is an absolute monster. I’m hoping it’s not too late in his career to make waves but he has been absolutely destroying the trail scene recently, beating the likes of Garrett Corcoran (who won jfk 50) and others on the way to several course records
as others have stated this is a net downhill course but still very curious how he would fare in a competitive race. A 2:12 debut is impressive regardless
The super shoes are probably a big part of this story.
Why is it a bigger part of the story for Chad Hall than anyone else running marathons? Everyone has super shoes. Deal with it.
Because nobody cares about the clown that ran 2:57 instead of 3:01 because of the super shoes. Chad Hall is a talented runner but the shoes are permitting him to run a time that has won some big races like Olympic Trials in the past but now likely won’t be close to top 3 in an Olympic Trials, especially on a fast course.
Chad Hall is an absolute monster. I’m hoping it’s not too late in his career to make waves but he has been absolutely destroying the trail scene recently, beating the likes of Garrett Corcoran (who won jfk 50) and others on the way to several course records
as others have stated this is a net downhill course but still very curious how he would fare in a competitive race. A 2:12 debut is impressive regardless
Cool to see a couple former SS studs on the trails and roads. Corcoran was a 1:52, 4:06, 8:52 guy before heading to Cal (3:59i). Hall was 8:58 from a slower era.
More evidence that talent really doesn't go away. Even if Hall's time translates to 2:16 on a flat course with the old shoes, how many 34-year olds run that fast in their debut?
Chad Hall is an absolute monster. I’m hoping it’s not too late in his career to make waves but he has been absolutely destroying the trail scene recently, beating the likes of Garrett Corcoran (who won jfk 50) and others on the way to several course records
as others have stated this is a net downhill course but still very curious how he would fare in a competitive race. A 2:12 debut is impressive regardless
Cool to see a couple former SS studs on the trails and roads. Corcoran was a 1:52, 4:06, 8:52 guy before heading to Cal (3:59i). Hall was 8:58 from a slower era.
More evidence that talent really doesn't go away. Even if Hall's time translates to 2:16 on a flat course with the old shoes, how many 34-year olds run that fast in their debut?
100% agreed! Garrett is a freak athlete dude was a 4 star basketball recruit too IIRC. The era of the southern section from Chad to him was loaded. At one point conference races were between him Gidabuday and Tamagno, those were nuts
it’s also cool seeing talented runners like that going basically straight into trails. One of the arguments for legitimacy of the ultra scene is OG guys like Anton K were in their own admitted words slow (Anton has a 5k pr of like 16.30). Don’t think Anton will ever square off w the likes of Corcoran or Hall at this point in their careers but interested how they’d fare against some of his times…
What's the legal limit for the half/full for downhill loss? Thought this race didn't qualify but saw a lot of people got the half standard. Think this is gonna turn into the winter CIM. Usually get pretty good weather in the desert for an early morning race this time of year.