Ryan Hall: was it a tempo or is he in bad shape?

It's like a déjà vu: last winter, while preparing for Boston, Ryan Hall produced a miserable half marathon performance. He got beaten by Simon Bairu at the Arizona Half Marathon in January and ran a mid 64, more than five minutes off his PR.
Today, this time a mere three weeks before his fall key race, the Chicago Marathon, Hall again only ran a 63:55 at Philly Half.

Now, the question is: did Hall use today's half as a tempo workout at marathon pace as it seemed to have been the case in January or did he actually race it and simply have a bad day?

Let's assume he used it as a tempo. Why would he do that? Why can Haile Gebreselassie win today's Great North Run during his marathon preparation and even push for a good time (he finished in 59:33 with a comfortable 1:50 lead)?

Also, Hall is paid by Competitor. Is it really enough for them to have Hall just show up and do a tempo effort? Doubtful, given that they promoted him as returning champion and potential winner of this year's race.

Tempo training or a tough day at the office - October 10 will tell.
Watch this space.