I'm just thrilled to be running the ING New York City Marathon this year. It's the marathon that really kind of caught my heart first and really turned me into a marathoner. I think back to 2006 when I first saw it live, and being there and experiencing it in person, it really just gripped me. And I'll never forget sitting on that lead vehicle and watching Dathan (Ritzenhein) and all those guys, Paul Tergat and all those guys running, and seeing myself out there and anticipating that. And I've been anticipating that for three years since then, so it's a honor for me to finally come back to New York and finally be running it.... and take a swing at winning. I guess the way I see it is when actors have their sights set on their future, their big goal is to make it onto Broadway. And for runners, I feel like it's the same deal. If I can make it to the New York City Marathon and do well there, then that's really something.... The reason why that excites me so much is because I do want to leave a legacy and a lasting impact through my running, and my wife (Sara) and I have begun to work in that area, of how we can change lives through running. I'm a living example of how that can happen. I would have never gotten to go to college and train where I'm training now and do what I'm doing now for a profession if it wasn't for the running, so I believe that running is a great way to change lives for the positive. My legacy that I want to leave is to help contribute to that, and I believe that my running the New York City Marathon gives me a great opportunity to do just that.
Boston has a long extended downhill in the beginning. The New York City Marathon, except for that up and down hill on the first bridge, is pretty flat for nine miles or more. Not a whole lot goes on tactically during that stretch in most years. Have you given some though to the fact that you'll be in a race in which patience, for a very extended period, is expected and almost required.
Ryan Hall: I've definitely thought a lot about the course, and the New York Road Runners were kind enough to send me out some race videos that I'm going to watching a lot when I'm home stretching and doing my all of my core (workouts) and all that stuff. I'm really going to be studying the course and the rhythm of it and the right way to run it. Honestly, the first time out is going to be a big learning experience for me, obviously. With that being said, I don't believe that that takes away, necessarily, from my opportunity to take a swing at winning the race.
But I know that after I cross the finish line, just like in Boston, I'll walk away knowing a lot better how to run the course. But I also hope to check out the course when I'm out there for the NYC Half-Marathon. I know that each course has its own rhythm, but I'm open to running it in a variety of ways and I'm trying to become a more versatile runner and I'm definitely learning from every marathon that I've done. Boston was a big learning experience for me. I feel like I'm getting stronger and stronger in my preparation. I'm getting more and more tools to work with and I should be able to run that course in a number of ways..... I've always loving racing in New York and I'm looking forward to the challenges that the course provides.
You're coming here to the NYC Half-Marathon on August 16. Prior to Boston, what was a comparable race for you? Did you go to Gasparilla (a 15k in Florida)? Was that the only race during that period that you did?
RH: Yeah, it was.
And that didn't have the level of competition you're going to get at the NYC Half, right?
RH: No, not at all. Gasparilla was kind of a community run that I was joining.
Going back to the Olympics, would you term that a disappointment for yourself?
RH: Uh, yeah. I definitely felt like I had a really good shot at getting a medal. It was just disappointing because I felt like I was trying so hard to make it happen, both in my preparation and in the race itself, and it just wasn't happening. That's kind of how running is sometimes. You do everything right and you get little nagging injuries that pop up or you learn important lessons about recovery that you haven't learned before. It was frustrating, but I feel like it was really good for me in the long run. Going into the tunnel, I was really frustrated when I was running into Olympic Stadium at the finish, kind of upset, trying to deal with what just happened. I felt like God just kind of told me "Ryan, this isn't everything you dreamed and hoped for, but everything that you need at this point in your career." And that really freed me up to just enjoy that last lap around the stadium and be able to step back from my Olympic experience and be like (it was) not everything I hoped for, but I believe that it's the very best thing that could have happened for me. I believe I've learned from that and moved on from that and I'm excited for the future...
It wasn't the most enjoyable marathon I've ever run, going out that hard in those conditions that I'm not particularly good in, and just how the race played out. It was just a huge mental battle, more than anything, to try and stay positive and keep myself in the race and tell myself I'm doing well.
Can you tell us what lessons you learned from Boston and how you'll apply those in your approach to New York?
RH: Going into Boston, I just really wanted to run an even effort over the entire length of the course, and I think, in hindsight, that I should have just relaxed a little more bit more over those first couple of miles. I don't think, necessarily, I needed to be out in the lead .... I don't think leading into the wind was real bright. I think I needed to be in front at some point of the race. I think I should have kind of relaxed with the pace and relaxed on the effort level in those opening miles. I think I might have just pushed it a little bit too hard. In the marathon, it's just hard to know where you're at. It wasn't faster than I've gone out before in the London Marathon, and so I thought that I should have been fine. But you don't know what lies ahead when you haven't run the course, so I was hurting pretty bad for the whole last ten miles, but it was really the crowd that helped carry me through that, which made me so excited to come back and run a major marathon in the States because the crowd gets so into it. And I've seen the crowds in New York in particular, and I think the crowds are going to be really excited about what's going to be happening, with all the U.S. guys that New York's going to bring out. There are going to be a bunch of us being competitive. It's going to be fun to not have it be like Boston, where I was the only American in that lead group. I believe there will be a pack of us up there, and that will really help things out a lot for me (the ING New York City Marathon will also be the USA Men's Marathon Championship for 2009).
So will your plan in New York be more to go with the flow?
RH: I don't know. I like to leave my strategy very open. A lot of it depends, obviously, on the fitness and how things go for the next three months. But I like to leave room for the whole experience to lead me however it wishes. Running's a very artistic thing. When you feel the time's right, you've got to go, and (if) you feel like you've got to go early, then I don't think you need to be waiting. Obviously, you need to be smart about it, but I just like to pay attention to my body and have it tell me when it's time to go. I don't know when that will be. I don't think anyone will know until we get out there on November 1.
Seemingly, there are opposite sides of your personality. You're a kid from Big Bear (California). You talked about the glory of running solo through the woods, and you're up at Mammoth Lakes now. At the same time, you seem to get turned on by Twitter and you've been talking about Broadway and emotions and the big stage. How do those two different sides come together in you?
Seemingly, there are opposite sides of your personality. You're a kid from Big Bear (California). You talked about the glory of running solo through the woods, and you're up at Mammoth Lakes now. At the same time, you seem to get turned on by Twitter and you've been talking about Broadway and emotions and the big stage. How do those two different sides come together in you?
RH: It's funny, because it's like a different side of me that just gets turned on. I am kind of a quiet reserved guy; you get me out there on the race course and the fire comes out of me sometimes that I can't really control. I love performing on the big stage. I love running in front of a lot of people, especially in front of people who are excited about what's going on with U.S. distance, who are excited, a knowledgeable crowd. Both Boston and New York provide that stage for me. If you catch a good wave when you're surfing in the ocean but you're all by yourself, and no one sees it, it's not as sweet, you know? If everyone sees it on the beach, you can come back and talk to them about it and there's that connection. And I love making that connection with the crowd - which was really what was special about the Olympic Trials (in New York), that connection that I felt with the crowd and the energy that I believe we were feeding off each other. It was a really special race for me, one that I'll never forget, and I'd love to have a repeat of that in New York this year.
Your first couple of big marathons, you went to a fast course in London and got some pretty good times. Suddenly here we are in 2009, and instead of chasing times, you're running on tougher courses (Boston and New York). Why are you changing from the fast times to the competitive races this year?
Your first couple of big marathons, you went to a fast course in London and got some pretty good times. Suddenly here we are in 2009, and instead of chasing times, you're running on tougher courses (Boston and New York). Why are you changing from the fast times to the competitive races this year?
RH: It was really a difficult decision for me, because I am very motivated by time. I love to run fast, and I believe I can run a lot faster than I have run. There are a lot of things to get excited about in terms of running fast for me, but I really wanted to do these races that I've just been wanting to do my whole career. This was my first opportunity to run a fall marathon in the U.S., outside of the Trials, obviously. And so for me, just looking at the differences between a Chicago and New York, I was just drawn with the field that's going to be put together in New York, the fact that it's a U.S. Championship, the uniqueness of the race, the history behind the race, and like I said, just the platform that it provides. I think of it as my Tour de France. If I can shine on November 1, I believe I can have a big impact .... I don't consider myself old yet, but I'm starting to get up there so I want to make the best use of my races that I have. I believe New York is that opportunity for me.
What can you imagine it being like in New York, if it gets down to the final half-mile and you have a chance to win?
RH: It gives me the chills just thinking about what it would be like. Watching the finish with Paul Tergat and Ramaala (a side-by-side duel decided in the very last strides) and how the crowd was so into that - imagine if it was a U.S. guy duking it out like that.... There have been a few times in my career when I'm out there running at the end of a race that I feel like get the chills because the crowd is so loud and so into it. I can feel the hairs on my arm standing up. You get that huge adrenalin rush that can really provide a huge physical benefit at the end of a race. I believe the crowd can provide that for me if it comes down to the wire.
How impressed have you been with Galen Rupp this year?
How impressed have you been with Galen Rupp this year?
RH: Galen's been running awesome, He's paid his dues. It's good to see. He's paid his dues and now he's really representing the U.S. well. He's just adding to what's been happening to the U.S. for quite some time, the last couple of years, where there are a lot of guys running well and a lot of guys stepping up to the plate. And that's what we've got to do. It's either step up or have to start holding a lot of "U.S. only" races because we're not going to be very competitive with these (foreign) guys. But guys like Galen and Dathan and Abdi and Meb and Bernard Lagat - the list goes on and on, I don't went to leave anyone out - we're competitive with the rest of the world and it's exciting to be a part of that.
Your career's been going pretty well and you're a pretty big star, at least on the American distance scene. And yet your wife's (Sara's) career probably hasn't hit the goals that she has set for herself in the last couple of years. Is that difficult for the two of you to deal with?
Your career's been going pretty well and you're a pretty big star, at least on the American distance scene. And yet your wife's (Sara's) career probably hasn't hit the goals that she has set for herself in the last couple of years. Is that difficult for the two of you to deal with?
RH: Obviously, anytime someone's struggling, it's not an easy process. The good thing is that Sara's had a couple of really good breakthrough races. Like this winter, she ran a couple of good races. She's had a couple of good races in New York, winning the Fifth Avenue Mile a couple of years ago. But yeah, it has been a bit of a challenge, and I think she's kind of showing me what it looks like to sacrifice for someone else 'cause I think the reason why I'm doing so well in my career is because I do have such a loving and supportive wife who's spending nine months out of the year at altitude and enduring these gnarly winters up in Mammoth so that I can do the training that I need to do to compete with the best guys in the world. She's really made a huge sacrifice on my part. That's why after the Olympic Marathon Trials, I grabbed her and we did a little victory jog together because it's really both of us out there. If she hadn't supported me like she had both in college and now, I wouldn't be at the place I'm at now. So it's really both of our success, and we go through the highs and lows together.
Thank you Runner'sWorld for this great interview.
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