rml

ME..

THEM.

email interview; email received 10/6.

2:06:17 equals 4:49 per mile.

59:43 equals 4:33 per mile

This is Ryan Hall. He doesn’t need any other witty introduction.

RML: The NYC Marathon is a tough course with late-race hills and rough road surfaces. What are you doing in training to prepare for it? Are you incorporating any lessons you learned at Boston and planning to apply them at NYC? What have you been focusing on in training specific to NYC?

Hall: Well, I am training as hard as I can in hopes of making the hills seem a little smaller, although I know they will be tough. The hardest thing I have done is a 9-mile tempo run up from 7,000 feet to 10,000 feet, which is a very tough run. It gets steeper as you go and challenges the lungs and strength of the legs like no other. Other than that I am just resting...just kidding...I am doing my tempo runs on rolling courses and long runs up and down mountains.

RML: Being at the top of your sport, you surely have to put up a lot with the demands--the press, the PR, the photo shoots etc. Are there some times when you wish you could fly under the radar? Do you ever feel like the external demands of people such as myself incessantly bothering you to answer their questions all the time gets in the way of your training? 

Hall: I pretty much do fly under the radar when I am up here in Mammoth. I really enjoy the P.R. side of the sport. The reason why I run is to encourage others and it is the media, sponsors, etc. that allow me to do this. On the other hand, no one will want to hear what I have to say if I don't run fast and that requires a ton of high quality preparation. It is a balance that I am still figuring out.

RML: Terrence Mahon coaches an incredible amount of talent with you and probably Deena as his two top runners. That being said, how much of a hands-on coach is he? Do you ever feel like he is not there enough or is there too much? If he's not there enough, when? If he's there too much, why? If it's just right, what makes it just right--what is the right amount of time/attention/workout monitoring that a coach should be giving a 2:06 marathoner?

Hall: think everyone is different in how much hands on coaching they need.  Coach Mahon is, in my opinion, the best marathon coach in the world. The thing that comes with having the best is that you have to share. But what seems like a cost--sharing--is actually of even more worth to me. Having a team around makes a big difference in my training. Trying to fly solo is no way to try and be the best in the world. We need each other. I need my coach, but I also need my teammates. Trying to accomplish my goals without a team of supportive persons would be very difficult. I feel blessed to have a coach and team that supports me in my endeavors and that I get to support in return. 

RML: What do you make of the fact that after a 13-year drought, the U.S. now has two more sub-13 minute 5,000-meter runners? Is this a coincidence or something else? Along those lines, Dathan ran his American Record after pretty much focusing all year on the marathon. Do you ever feel the urge to back off the marathon and drop down into the shorter-distance events to see what kind of surprises your incredible aerobic base has in store? Ever feel the urge to go for your own sub-13 5K?

Hall: My heart is in the marathon. I want to win a major marathon. It would mean more for me to win a major than to go sub-13 or sub-27. Everyone is different and has different desires. I have to follow my heart till I accomplish my goals. With that said, I am very impressed with Dathan's track performances this summer. He is definitely pushing the envelope for U.S. distance running.

RML: Do you ever read peanut gallery comments about you and other elite runners on Letsrun or other running b-boards? Do you ever feel the urge to respond or engage in the ongoing debate about pros such as yourself? 

Hall: I stay away from message boards at all costs. Not to say that everyone messaging on letsrun has no idea what they are talking about, but most of them don't. With that said, I think Letsrun has done tremendous good for our sport and continues to promote our sport in new and innovative ways. However, as an athlete I can't be reading about what someone else believes about me who has maybe never met me or has no idea what kind of shape I am in. I have to stay focused on what I believe is true about me and focus on letting that out.  

RML: When I talked to Matt Tegenkamp about racing with the Africans, he mentioned to me how he felt a new level of respect from them after going sub-13. In your racing career, have you ever experienced a moment like that--like perhaps when you ran 2:06:17 in London? 

Hall: Yeah, I felt more respect from the African runners when I broke an hour for the half. I had never had any African runners seemingly impressed with what I had done until I broke an hour. At that time, my mark put me amongst the top performers all time, but now things are continuing to progress and my focus is on the marathon. I believe I have what it takes to run very fast in the marathon. 

RML: With you being less than a minute outside the AR in the marathon, why are you opting to race tough courses like Boston or NYC? Why not run Chicago or London (again) or Berlin to own both the half AR and the marathon AR? 

Hall: I would like to return to fast courses eventually. I love to run fast. However, I am starting to value race titles over times more and more. I keep seeing guys running faster and faster and pretty soon 2:06:17 doesn't seem quiet as special as when I first ran it. Maybe in 20 years, 2:06 will seem very pedestrian, but to say that I won the NYC Marathon, Boston Marathon, London Marathon, or the Chicago Marathon would be something that would remain special forever. I also see it as my best way to make an impact through my sport. Seeing what Lance has done by dominating the Tour de France I want to have that same influence and I think that would come more from winning than by running fast times. With that said, there is still that part of me that very badly wants to see how fast I can run.

RML: It's probably too early to think this way, but after their marathoning career, some top marathoners have decided to go into the ultramarathons. Alberto Salazar did Comrades. Josh Cox comes to mind when he set the 50K AR and now he's training for Comrades as well. Will you ever consider ultras? Whenever I ask African marathoners this question, they shake their heads and laugh, saying by the end of the their marathoning career they are done and can't imagine running longer than 42.19K. What are your thoughts on this? 

Hall: I don't have much of a desire to do ultramarathons. Although, I am inspired by Comrades. I am thinking maybe I would do Comrades after my marathoning days are over.  

RML: At PDR, you were keeping mile splits on your watch. In a race like Philly, why do that? It should be pretty easy to reconstruct your splits after the fact if it's important for you to note these things in your log.

Hall: Yeah, I didn't really care about my splits after the race. I didn't even go back over them. I just wanted my splits for my own knowledge during the race. It can be very useful to know each mile split. For example, say all the sudden at mile 9 you start feeling bad. You get to the 10 mile mark, hit your split button, and see that you just ran a 4:25 mile. Now you know why you felt bad and can adjust from there, whereas if you don't get your split you just think you feel bad, get discouraged and the negativity begins. With that said, I don't know why I hit my split button at 13 miles into the race. It must have been a reflex because there is no reason to get your split with someone breathing down your neck and less than 200 meters to go.

RML: Tell me about that last mile at PDR where you dropped the hammer. Did you know you had it in you? Was that the plan or was it a surprise based on how you felt when you could "smell the barn"? 

Hall: The last mile at PDR I just decided I was going to run as hard as I could. I wasn't sure how the other guys were feeling or what kind of last mile I could run I just wanted to let what was in me out. I was very pleased with my finish considering I have never won a race in this way.  

RML: What kind of flats did you wear at PDR and do you expect to wear the same brand flats at NYC?

Hall: I wore a custom made pair of racing flats that I had made in Kobe, Japan at the Asics Research and Development Center. They are perfect for me. I will wear these in NYC as well. It is cool too, because they have the name of Sara and my new foundation we are starting: the Hall Steps Foundation. The mission of the foundation is to take a small step towards combating the marathon goal of ending global poverty.  If anyone out there wants to learn more information about how to get involved they can visit our website at www.TheStepsFoundation.org.