Sara Hall runs 2:46 debut at LA marathon

2:46 is a good training run at 75F.

All of the women's times were surprisingly slow. Almost a minute/mile slower than the elite men, which is a lot at that level. 2:34 winning time isn't much faster than sub-elite for women. Couldn't have been the conditions because the men's times were pretty quick. Just not a very deep field I guess.

Terrible.

2:48 not 2:46

Ryan's race shouldn't surprise anyone. I think that this is far bigger news and deserves more attention. I feel badly for them. Rough day.

meh... wrote:

All of the women's times were surprisingly slow. Almost a minute/mile slower than the elite men, which is a lot at that level. 2:34 winning time isn't much faster than sub-elite for women. Couldn't have been the conditions because the men's times were pretty quick. Just not a very deep field I guess.

2:34 "sub-elite"? 2:34 is under the IAAF A standard for the Olympics. You might as well call 2:12 "sub-elite" too.

+20-22 minutes was the time differential between most of the men/women at the 2012 Olympic Marathon Trials, so the men's and women's fields were equally deep in LA.

2:34 is slow compared to a 2:10. A comparable time for the winner of the women's race at any big marathon or championship would be more like 2:26-2:30. Just look at the results from previous years in LA or any other major marathon. The average difference between the men's winning time and the women's winning time is more like 16-18 minutes, not 24 minutes. Obviously, if you look at average times or olympic qualifying times, the difference is going to be greater because there are a lot more men competing at the elite level than women, so the average times will be slower and qualifying standards will be made softer. 2:34 is still an elite time for a woman, but not by much.

the truth speaks. wrote:

meh... wrote:

All of the women's times were surprisingly slow. Almost a minute/mile slower than the elite men, which is a lot at that level. 2:34 winning time isn't much faster than sub-elite for women. Couldn't have been the conditions because the men's times were pretty quick. Just not a very deep field I guess.

2:34 "sub-elite"? 2:34 is under the IAAF A standard for the Olympics. You might as well call 2:12 "sub-elite" too.

+20-22 minutes was the time differential between most of the men/women at the 2012 Olympic Marathon Trials, so the men's and women's fields were equally deep in LA.

It's because women can't stand the heat

meh... wrote:

All of the women's times were surprisingly slow. Almost a minute/mile slower than the elite men, which is a lot at that level. 2:34 winning time isn't much faster than sub-elite for women. Couldn't have been the conditions because the men's times were pretty quick. Just not a very deep field I guess.

I admire Sara for finishing her first marathon despite the hot weather!

BandOnTheRun wrote:

I admire Sara for finishing her first marathon despite the hot weather!

Yes!!! Congrats to Sara for getting that elusive finisher's medal!!! Can't wait to read her fb-report!!!

The women went you very slow- they took the potential heat into account.

The men went out at 2:09 pace.

The women's race was good to watch.

This is a chapter in, "The Humbling of Steve Magness."

Many coaches have taken many less talented females to faster debuts in the marathon. His program just doesn't work for distances, as he needs to train for a marathon himself to understand what the work does to the body, not just regurgitating Canova.

She'll be able to nail a sub-2:35 by herself in her next one.

jdkj wrote:

This is a chapter in, "The Humbling of Steve Magness."

Many coaches have taken many less talented females to faster debuts in the marathon. His program just doesn't work for distances, as he needs to train for a marathon himself to understand what the work does to the body, not just regurgitating Canova.

She'll be able to nail a sub-2:35 by herself in her next one.

In fairness to Steve, Sara Hall is not the first debut at the marathon to blow up. Give credit to Sara for finishing, unlike her husband. Sara has had a pretty successful year, and Steve's plan is working well for her. She was engaged for the bulk of the race, just had a poor last 10k or so...not atypical for a first timer. I will agree that Steve is unproven at coaching that distance, but overall his coaching philosophy has worked for Sara

It is a terrible time for woman with her credentials. Maybe she is delusional about the marathon as her husband. I wouldn't be taken any training tips from him at this point.

To a poster above, yes, she said she will return to the track this spring.

But first, she's got World XC coming up in 2 weeks. She has committed to that.

Sara Hall @SaraHall3 · Mar 15

One of the most painful and challenging experiences of my life today battling through cramps at @lamarathon.Not what I hoped for but made it

CoachJD wrote:

[quote]jdkj wrote:

She was engaged for the bulk of the race, just had a poor last 10k or so...

LOL! The real marathon STARTS with 10k left. Your ridiculous statement is akin to saying that a runner was "engaged" for 3 laps of the mile, and just had a poor last lap.

Wait sara hall got engaged during the marathon? Is that why ryan hall dropped out?

No. She was engaged until she had 10k left.