I totally agree. There are lots of people for Ryan to emulate and Meb is a great one! If he's of another religion than all the better! We must remember that Ryan Hall is still a relatively young man and, hopefully, will learn that a person needs to balance reason with his faith.
He should realize that calling God his coach is going to be considered 'a bit wacky'. But Hall is obviously very much a fundamentalist Christian with a penchant for evangelicalism. That's who he is and I, for one, enjoy interesting personalities who know who they are more than people who try to be carbon copies of the status quo. Bottom line: Ryan Hall would be better served with a coach (who respects and understands his faith), but teaches him the benefits of balancing faith and reason.
Dare I say: Why he wants to use up so much time/energy in prayer for his own personal [coaching] needs may show that he has much room for maturity. Prayer, so I've learned, is so much more than asking about fulfilling your individual needs. As I see it, running "can be" such a selfish pursuit that it only makes sense to leave much of the planning/thinking/organizing to a coach.
The less you can focus on yourself all the time the better. And be humbly thankful for your coaches' presence in your life! Every single day as you journey together. Walking with Christ [or running with Christ] is not meant to be such a solitary pursuit. Let a coach in on it all and start putting your head together with someone who can spend their time/energy on preparing you to be at your best during this short venture of professional athletics.
Ultimately (with a coach and this approach), Ryan Hall would be able to more likely connect with a wider audience. Out of this he could then spread the Good News that he has apparently found. Lord knows in this crazy, mixed up world we could use a little positive inspiration.
Kid has talent though and just needs some professional and heartfelt guidance/mentoring...that's how I see it.