Why did hall move to the marathon?

Ryan had the Cal HS record for 1600 and was supposed to be the next great miler for the US. In college, he struggled with injuries and really only had one great race when he won the 5000 in 13:22 against Dobson.

My guess is that Mahon thought that Ryan would do better on the roads because he kept getting injured on the track. Also, he was becoming a pro when Webb and Lagat were very dominant on the track. Mahon was right (in the short term) as Hall immediately dominated the US road circuit and set ARs in the 20k and 1/2. And then Hall had the fastest US debut in the marathon with 2:08 in London. That was all within 2 years of turning pro. He had about five good years of racing without any major injuries. That was way better than he was ever able to do in college on the track. So, who knows whether he would have been a bust on the track with a ton of injuries. I think the real 20/20 hindsight with Ryan is why Mahon trained him so hard without any awareness of his T levels. Surely, at some point there was some blood work that showed some warning signs. I doubt he just one day lost it.

Good points, thanks.

Short answer... $$$

I don't blame her (or others) for wanting to pay the bills, but I don't always agree that it's the right move (especially in the USA). USA middle distance - 5K, even 10K competitiveness would be significantly stronger if these athletes were encouraged to remain focused on maximizing their performances where their physiology is strongest. Will we dominate on the world stage 10K and below, not likely, but would we be knocking on the AR thresholds more consistently... absolutely.

Ryun hall is proof we have plenty of talent. The best just don't move up to the thon early enough.

Plenty of talent said: Ryun hall is proof we have plenty of talent. The best just don't move up to the thon early enough.

one guy on his own cannot prove that you have, "plenty of talent." if you had eight or ten Ryun Hall's that might suggest there is more out there but one guy on his own is an outlier that proves nothing.

as for your second point, my belief is that at least part of the problem with American marathon running is that the guys move up to the marathon too soon, the exact opposite of your idea. if you put as much thought into the second claim as you did into the first then you're obviously wrong about that one too, and for the same reason.

cheers.

cotton shirt wrote:

Plenty of talent said: Ryun hall is proof we have plenty of talent. The best just don't move up to the thon early enough.

one guy on his own cannot prove that you have, "plenty of talent." if you had eight or ten Ryun Hall's that might suggest there is more out there but one guy on his own is an outlier that proves nothing.

as for your second point, my belief is that at least part of the problem with American marathon running is that the guys move up to the marathon too soon, the exact opposite of your idea. if you put as much thought into the second claim as you did into the first then you're obviously wrong about that one too, and for the same reason.

cheers.

...agreed.

Precious Roy wrote:

Ryan had the Cal HS record for 1600 and was supposed to be the next great miler for the US.

If he stuck with the mile he would have had a great view of Webb’s back baby!

Immediately moving to the ‘thon was a savvy move on his part.

Thread Flotrack documentary on him is pretty good and explains his career. I think he had a lousy track season, decided to try the US 20k championship and got hooked on longer distances