Ryan Hall picks London

By sticking his nose in it do you think he implies that he's going to go out wth the lead pack with geb, tergat etc. That'd be ballsy for a debut marathon.

hes gotta do whats hes gotta do. ritz did it in NY, went out with them and hung on as long as he could. even though 2 14 is probably slower than most thought he would run, NY is a very tough course for a debut, and the pace in that race fluctuated from 4 40 to 5 00, back and forth, so it was very tough, but he still went out and hung on as long as he could. hell go 2 10 next one out, maybe faster. Hall will do the same, probably go out with Meb, and stick for as long as he can.

I think given the history of the London marathon, the course, and Hall's recent success the over/under is around 2.08.30-2.09.00 for Mr. Hall, yes?

Huge management error.

Disappointed Fan... wrote:

Huge management error.

Que?

Yeah, weird race. The pace will be too fast up front for him (no matter how good he is, those people up front are world record holders and total bad asses). I think Boston would have been better. Maybe Paris or something (is that in the spring?).

It is fairly obvious that they are chasing the dollar, which there is nothing wrong with, except Ryan doesn't know anything about the event. That means that he will be running in a race that is more competitive than the Olympic Games in his debut. His learning curve had better be huge. I would have loved to see him run his debut in an event where 2:12 was going to win and that he could learn a little about the event. In London there will be NO ONE that will be out slower than 64 minutes. That means that if Ryan runs slower than 2:07:59 he will be practicing fading. Much like Dathan, I think this is mis management.

What would Pre have done??? Same thing!

Although, didn't he say in that post-half interview that he runs better by himself. Maybe he'll run his own race here and not get caught up in mixing it up with those with far superior credentials (in this event).

I hope that you are right. His words tell me differently.

"It's going to be really hard and I'm expecting it to be more challenging than anything I've ever done," said Hall of his first marathon experience. "I'm just going to go out there and stick my nose in it."

You sure NO ONE will be out slower than 64 minutes??? That would be one heck of a marathon. I bet if you stand at the halfway mark at 65 minutes someone will be coming by.

Disappointed Fan... wrote:

In London there will be NO ONE that will be out slower than 64 minutes. That means that if Ryan runs slower than 2:07:59 he will be practicing fading. Much like Dathan, I think this is mis management.

OK let me rephrase that. NO ONE will be out between 64-66 minutes. I have been in London 3 out of the last 5 years for the race. Anyone that runs from 2:08-2:12 faded to get there. It is just a matter of how badly they faded.

I agree. I think Salazar's debut was an anomoly. Hall would be do better getting a 2:12 under his belt, and then going for it.

hell mix it up, and probably go out in mid 1 03 range, which will put him in the 2nd pack, about a minute behind the lead pack which is fine. hell get exposure.

its funny how everyone compares these guys to salazar and his debut. yea he did some great stuff but did he ever get any faster than his 208-09 that he started out with? NO is the answer, so remember that you naysayers. ritz will improve from his debut and hall is only starting to scratch the surface. they both train differently and last time they raced each other it was Ritz who won, so itll be great to see them eventually race each other again too!

I missed Ritz running a 59:43 1/2 before running NYC. Again, the equivalent performance in 2:05:27. Oh Ritz ran 61:26 at Great North. Yep 59:43>61:26. Good guy to compare Hall with. Ritz's perfomance isn't on Hall's level. Hall's 20k performance backs up his 1/2. Just like Ritz and Hall aren't comparable, neither is London and NYC. London is flatter faster course, so you don't pay as much of price for going out too fast. NYC is a hilly course and even if you don't go out too fast it will beat you up. (personally I felt a huge differnce b/w NYC and Chicago and London seems similar to Chicago)Hall is going to be facing some good comp at trials - KK will be at both London and OT. Abdi and Meb are both World Class. Sell has shown he can mix it up too. Hall's williness face the best competition should be applauded. He could have gotten $ anyware. I don't think that's a big factor. He's not doing a race where he will be the favorite and get his ego stroked off. He is preparing himself to be a champion at the highest level. Hall wouldn't learn a damn thing running 2:12 b/c he should be running at least 2:07 and 2:12 isn't getting a damn thing done at a WC level. He'd be practicing running like a vag, something you are probably good at.

Disappointed Fan... wrote:

It is fairly obvious that they are chasing the dollar, which there is nothing wrong with, except Ryan doesn't know anything about the event. That means that he will be running in a race that is more competitive than the Olympic Games in his debut. His learning curve had better be huge. I would have loved to see him run his debut in an event where 2:12 was going to win and that he could learn a little about the event. In London there will be NO ONE that will be out slower than 64 minutes. That means that if Ryan runs slower than 2:07:59 he will be practicing fading. Much like Dathan, I think this is mis management.

If you want be a big dog at some point you have to get off the porch (US Championship Road Races) and run with the Big Dogs (i.e @ London).

Gutsy move but I applaud his courage and wish him the best. He's got the current speed to handle the early pace. No one in the London field has run a faster half then he has in the last few months.

Will he fade? Maybe but its not a forgone conclusion. He's got a coach who has trained champion marathoners including last years London's womens champ. I suggest that this was a well calculated move to solidify him at that next level. You'll never know till you try.

Its not the safe move but it may turn out to be the best move. Time will tell.

Good on ya Ryan! May God reward your courage.

Culpepper ran 2:09 the exact same time for his debut as AlSal.

Culpepper ran 2:09 the exact same time for his debut as AlSal.

... and then he has never run faster.

... and then he has never run faster.