Former Elites Advice to Ryan Hall - who's advice most sound?

Brian Sell tells him to go to Kenya. Well, that is where he got injured. Rocky trails, third world medical facilities, unpredictable weather and the Malaria risk.

I am sorry, but he would have been much better off staying in Calif and starting training with Meb: great weather, a suitable training partner and the world's top medical facilities.

No easy fix other than to keep your head down and train smart. A coach and teammates would help with that. Also think a change in focus to other races like the half or 10k might give him a mental break that would set him up for marathons down the road.

Yea, not to thrilled about living and training in Kenya for a year. Malaria and other worse problems. Maybe back to Mammoth or down to NZ? But as DeHaven pointed out, having a group and support would be a plus. Rodgers=Zen Master.

Rod MFin Dixon is who.

First, that dude needs more respect because he was a bad @ss back in the day.

Second, I think he's right, in that Hall has gone too far down the marathon rabbit hole. He needs to go back to racing and running, THEN take another (probably last) shot at the marathon.

I love this. The elite athletes know what it's like, they don't challenge his motivation or pretend he's a waste like the armchair quarterbacks do.

ataglance. wrote:

Rod MFin Dixon is who.

First, that dude needs more respect because he was a bad @ss back in the day.

Agreed. Does anyone have better PRs at both 1500/mile and marathon?

Nutella1 wrote:

Brian Sell tells him to go to Kenya. Well, that is where he got injured. Rocky trails, third world medical facilities, unpredictable weather and the Malaria risk.

I am sorry, but he would have been much better off staying in Calif and starting training with Meb: great weather, a suitable training partner and the world's top medical facilities.

Assuming you're not trolling, no, Kenya had nothing to do with his injury. The historical record of first-world guys moving to Kenya is quite good.

PS. The weather is not better in Mammoth.

Also, interesting how Bob Hodge and Ken Martin were two of the first to comment. Heh.

It was obvious that most of the guys advice was simply how they would have dealt with it.

Sell says get tougher because that is how he is wired.

Dixon says get back to the track for the same reason.

I thought the best advice came from Dehaven who points out that the advantages of a training group are to get your head straight and that it is not important to surround yourself with guys that are better than you.

Ryan Hall's problems are not physical.

Nutella1 wrote:

Brian Sell tells him to go to Kenya. Well, that is where he got injured. Rocky trails, third world medical facilities, unpredictable weather and the Malaria risk.

I am sorry, but he would have been much better off staying in Calif and starting training with Meb: great weather, a suitable training partner and the world's top medical facilities.

Hall was injured way before going to Kenya. Brian Sell is right. Hall needs to go somewhere else and train with other elite runners for a long period of time.

I'd like to point out that Steve Spence is the only guy on that list with a medal in the marathon.

"Who is advice most sound"? Huh?

Although he has largely been solo in his training, training partners even below his level could be asset. The fellowship of training is a good reminder that not every session will be a home run and that there will be bumps in the road. Even if his training is going well, witnessing the highs and lows of training partners could provide a grounding effect for him.

This was the advice of Rod Dehaven and the best advice for several reasons.

1. Ryan Hall feels to much pressure when running with runners of equal ability. So any suggestion that thinks that he needs to go to Kenya is foolish and does not take into account what Ryan needs. He needs to know that he is in charge of his daily efforts. Go to Zap or Hansons or Team Minnesota and run with lesser runners.

2. He can then witness the highs and lows of other (lesser) athletes struggling with many of the same things as himself. He can see that he is normal.

3. Take away the altitude element. Recovery is greater at sea level.

4. Make a one year commitment. 2-3 months is not long enough to fix a 2 year disaster.

Agreed. Does anyone have better PRs at both 1500/mile and marathon?

Well, Haile G. for one.

Gelindo wrote:

Agreed. Does anyone have better PRs at both 1500/mile and marathon?

Well, Haile G. for one.

Not to mention 2:04 guys Eliud Kipchoge and Markos Geneti. But Dixon was certainly a legend!

Hardloper wrote:

ataglance. wrote:

Rod MFin Dixon is who.

First, that dude needs more respect because he was a bad @ss back in the day.

Agreed. Does anyone have better PRs at both 1500/mile and marathon?

I know there are faster guys, but Dixon had incredible range as a runner. His advice to take some time and run races that are not marathons is very sound. I think he needs to be in a group training environment. Having a group is big advantage, on days when you aren't feeling it you can let someone else hammer it and hang.. it's just better all around.

I think trying to break 4 minutes in the mile is the far better advice. Nothing against Hall, but it seems like he's gotten too comfortable with the marathon training. You've got to push your body into places its not comfortable with sometimes to make the next jump forward. A good solid 2 years of 800 and mile specific work would do him a world of good. That is the ideal situation.

Though I'm not sure what his deal with Asics in contingent on. Not sure if doing all the speed stuff and no marathon would pay the bills or not; it's a tough situation for sure. On the one hand, you want to do whatever it takes to get better, but on the other, you've got to be practical. I wish him the best of luck either way though.

"Rod DeHaven, sole U.S. men's marathoner in the 2000 Olympics, now head coach at South Dakota State University:

I am very removed from Ryan’s situation, but from a distance it does appear that he could benefit from a coach to help him from overdoing things and staying focused. He should take the time to fully analyze his process/preparation without committing to anything competitive. At the top of that priority list would be making sure that he has the support system (medical, coaching, training partners, environment) in place that would that would allow him to get to the starting line healthy.

Although he has largely been solo in his training, training partners even below his level could be asset. The fellowship of training is a good reminder that not every session will be a home run and that there will be bumps in the road. Even if his training is going well, witnessing the highs and lows of training partners could provide a grounding effect for him.

Twelve months of consistency will usually trump three months of fabulous training coupled with an injury."

Spot on. Nothing else needs to be said.

No one addressed the most obvious problem, which is Hall's relationship with God.

I thought Alan Culpepper had the most astute comment. He said that after so many years of training, Hall needs to realize that he's not the same runner as he was early in his career and that his training should evolve accordingly.

"As an athlete gets older and years of cumulative training set in, their training must be modified. You can't keep falling back to what has worked in the past and expect the same results because you are not the same athlete."