Longish article on Ryan Hall in the New Yorker today pre LA

Dang. They spelled Lets Run incorrectly.

" forecasters were predicting record heat in Los Angeles on race day, approaching ninety degrees. Hall waved off the notion that this would have any significant bearing on his performance."

Well that seems awfully foolish of him now, in retrospect.

Hall, meanwhile, wasn’t ready to answer questions after his latest disappointing performance. But Herr, his manager, spoke very briefly to his old friend a day later: “He says he needs to freshen up a bit and get back on the horse. Life is about how hard you get hit and keep moving forward.”

Maybe the problem is his manager? Maybe that's where he gets all these Rocky-like clichéd sayings that are scattered about the article.

You know, his comments in this article about racing and competition and what he wants out of the sport are utter nonsense. He does not think like a champion. He's not going to have any more good marathons.

Ryan clearly isn't afraid of failure. That IS the problem.

agip wrote:

http://www.newyorker.com/news/sporting-scene/the-philosophy-of-ryan-hall?intcid=mod-latest

"I’m not afraid of failure,” Hall said later. “I don’t take it personally. So if I blow up, I’m bummed for sure, but it’s like, life goes on. It doesn’t define me. So I’m not afraid to take big chances.”

yeah based on this quote, I'm not sure he really is "bummed". It sounds like he's just screwing around out there, not really caring what happens.

agip wrote:

http://www.newyorker.com/news/sporting-scene/the-philosophy-of-ryan-hall?intcid=mod-latest

"Still, Hall remains a professional runner, paid large sums simply to show up and race."

1. As if most apparel companies are paying for results these days. 2. When the lowest paid player on an NBA team makes $800k/year and most make $2m or more, is Hall's $150k (or whatever) really a "large sum of money?"

It's large enough, given the results he's not producing. And I'd guess it's a lot larger than the figure you provide.

Im not afraid of failure, Hall said later. I dont take it personally. So if I blow up, Im bummed for sure, but its like, life goes on. It doesnt define me. So Im not afraid to take big chances.

He isn't afraid of failure because he rarely deals with the consequences of taking big chances. He knows he will just drop out if he blows up. He doesn't endure that pain and misery.

He's been completely underwhelming for three years now and still gets treated like a "world class" athlete

The Tebow of running, in several respects.

You Know His wrote:

You know, his comments in this article about racing and competition and what he wants out of the sport are utter nonsense. He does not think like a champion. He's not going to have any more good marathons.

His tone is that of someone who knows he is pretty much done. Just read the quotes about 99.9% of the time you don't run your best. He desperately needs to just change his focus for the year to the track and then buildup for the Trials.

I hate the idea that competition is somehow empty and shallow. Competition is something that's embedded in us on a very deep and primal level. If I lose to someone I trained really hard to beat, of course I'm going to be pissed. But dealing with losing is part of the full range of human emotions. And you don't grow unless you take chances and sometimes fall short.

My two cents.

Dopamine wrote:

Ryan clearly isn't afraid of failure. That IS the problem.

I'd argue the problem is that he doesn't care enough about success.

I expect more from the NYer. They didn't exactly fact check. Herr is the marketing manager for Asics, he's not Hall's manager.