technically, Khalid Khannouchi is the best USA marathoner ever. not even closeAnd, Ritzenhein ran 60:00 for the half marathon in a championships race. only 17 seconds behinds Hall's "incredible" race (171st all-time). Ritzenhein certainly could or could have run faster than 59:43 if he trained for it. He's a 2:07-2:08 guy. Maybe Hall put too much into this race and didn't think about the big picture. Maybe he had a good day and let it rip. I'm glad he did it, because it was excitingRyan Hall was a great runner, and an unbelievable talent, but a total head case, His 2:06:17 in London was awesome. but he just couldn't connect everything and make himself a world-class, consistent runner. i understnd it. He needed a coach who could handle him. He needed discipline and guidance and someone who is sensitive and flexible and world class. A difficult person to find. seems almost impossible to be a dominant, world-class runner for several years when you think about it. i'm impressed he did what he did and he's good for the sport, but i'm excited to stop hearing about him as America's great marathoner.Ritz:1,500 m - 3:42.99 (2002)3,000 m – 7:39.03 (2007)2 miles - 8:11.74 (2007)5,000 m - 12:56.27 (2009) (former American Record)10,000 m - 27:22.28 (2009)Half-Marathon - 1:00:00 (2009)Marathon - 2:07:47 (2012)
nikeman wrote:
Greatest American marathoner ever? Not even close. Try Salazar, Shorter and Rodgers before hall ever even comes into the conversation. Even then there's still a whole handful of other guys that I'd pick over Hall.