Ryan and Sara Hall Joined us for the 20th Anniversary Marathon

We were thrilled to host America’s Fastest Husband and Wife Team. In talking with the Hall’s they were as excited to visit Ashton as we were to have them come! What an amazing way to celebrate 20 years. Imagine the honor of having America’s top role models place a finisher’s medal around your neck!

Ryan Hall

Born - October 14, 1982 in Kirkland, Washington
Ryan is a retired American long-distance runner.
He holds the U.S. record in the half marathon (59:43).
With his half marathon record time, he became the first U.S. runner to break the one-hour barrier in the event.
He has also run the fastest marathon ever by an American (2:04:58).

High School

Hall was the California state cross country champion during his junior and senior seasons at Big Bear High School. He finished third at the Foot Locker Nationals in Orlando during his senior season, and also set the Mt. SAC course record in 2000. In track, he was the National Scholastic mile champion in his junior season at 4:06.15, and was the CIF California State Meet champion in the 1600 meter run during his senior season with a state record time of 4:02.62, and won the state title during his junior season in the 3200 meter run at 8:55.12. Hall competed at the Peregrine Systems U.S. Open at Stanford in the 1500 meters, running 3:42.70, and at the 2001 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

College

Ryan Hall's college career at Stanford University started with injuries that held him back from the promise he showed in high school. In 2001, Hall won the Murray Keating Invitational in his college debut and finished 76th at the NCAA Men’s Cross Country Championships. He red-shirted the 2002 track season. In his sophomore year of cross country, he won the Stanford Invitational and the Notre Dame Invitational. He was named first team all-Pac-10 and earned All-American honors with his 37th-place finish at the NCAA Championships. He followed this up with a 3:43.37 1500m best his freshman year of track in 2003. The highlight of his collegiate cross country career came in his junior year in 2003. He was named the Pac-10 Cross Country Athlete of the Year after leading Stanford to the NCAA Championship by finishing 2nd to Colorado's Dathan Ritzenhein. His 2004 track season was cut short due to injury but he did record a best of 13:45 in the 5000, which began Hall's change in distance from the 1500. He came back from injury to finish 26th at the NCAA Championships in 2004 to once again earn All- American status. The breakout that everybody expected from Hall since high school took place in the 2005 track season. He earned his first-ever individual NCAA Championship by winning the  5000 meters in 13:22.32, finishing less than a second ahead of his teammate Ian Dobson in a race where those two runners dominated the race. He graduated from Stanford with a BA in Sociology.

Professional

Hall has been sponsored by ASICS since 2005. His coach at the time was Terrence Mahon, a former runner at Villanova University. In 2006 he won his first national title in the 12K cross-country championships, winning by 27 seconds. On September 16, 2006, Hall won the Great Cow Harbor 10K in Northport, New York, setting a new course record of 28:22. Hall's road-running success continued when he broke the U.S. 20k record on October 8, 2006, running 57:54, 48 seconds faster than the previous record. On January 14, 2007, Hall won the Aramco Houston Half-Marathon in a time of 59:43, which makes him the 49th fastest half marathoner in history as of February 2013. The performance also demolished the previous North American record of 1:00:55, set by Mark Curp on September 15, 1985, in Philadelphia. On April 22, 2007, Hall placed 7th in the Flora London Marathon. His time of 2:08:24 was the fastest marathon debut by any American, and the fastest marathon ever run by an American-born citizen. On November 3, 2007, Hall won the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials Marathon in a Trialsrecord 2:09:02 in New York City, New York. With this win, he, Dathan Ritzenhein, and Brian Sell qualified to run the marathon at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. On April 13, 2008, Hall placed 5th in the Flora London Marathon. Hall, 25, competing in only his third marathon, finished in 2:06:17. The only American to run faster is Moroccoborn Khalid Khannouchi, who in 2002 ran 2:05:38 in London and 2:05:56 in Chicago. Hall was featured on the cover of the September 2008 Runner’s World magazine and talks about his "run for glory" in the marathon in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. On August 24, 2008, Hall was the second American to cross the finish line the 2008 Men's Olympic Marathon, placing 10th with a time of 2:12:33. He ran at a much more conservative pace than the lead pack did, and gradually moved from 21st place at the 15k mark up to 10th at the 40 km mark. His teammates Dathan Ritzenhein and Brian Sell finished 9th and 22nd, respectively. Hall was chosen as the 2008 Road Runner of the Year in the Open Male division by the Road Runners Club of America. On April 20, 2009, Hall participated in the 2009 Boston Marathon, finishing third overall in 2:09:40 behind Deriba Merga of Ethiopia and Daniel Rono of Kenya. Merga and Rono finished with times of 2:08:42 and 2:09:32, respectively. He returned to the race in 2010, but only managed fourth place, although his time of 2:08:41 was the fastest ever by an American at Boston. In 2010, Hall finished fourth in the Boston Marathon, and  fourteenth in the Phiadelphia Distance Run half marathon. Due to fatigue, he withdrew from the Chicago Marathon. In October, Hall left his coach Josh Cox(successor of Terrence Mahon), and the Mammoth Track Club. He won at the 2010 USA 7 Mile Championships.

On December 16, 2010, Hall announced that he would be running the 2011 Boston Marathon, marking his third consecutive appearance in the race. On April 18, 2011, Hall ran the fastest marathon ever by an American, 2:04:58, to finish fourth. Kenya's Geoffrey Mutai ran 57 seconds under the recognized world record at the time, in winning in 2:03:02, and credited Hall with setting - and maintaining - a fast early pace. However, this was not an American record, since the Boston course is not eligible for records owing to its point-to-point layout and its elevation drop of greater than 1 m/km; a strong net tailwind (15–20 miles/hr) contributed to the runners' remarkable 2011 times.

Ryan Hall - 2012 Olympic Marathon

In January 2012, Hall led at halfway point but finished second behind Meb Keflezighi in the Olympic marathon trials in Houston, Texas with a time of 2:09:30, securing his spot on his second Olympic team. At the Olympics in London, Hall dropped out of the marathon around the eleven mile mark while he led this race with a hamstring injury. After his disappointment at the Olympics, Hall signed up for the New York City Marathon for later that year, but was unable to run it and withdrew from the race (before it was cancelled due to Hurricane Sandy) in September.

In 2013, Hall signed up for the Boston Marathon and the New York City Marathon, but withdrew from both due to injuries.

In April 2014, Hall finished 20th in a time of 2:17:50 at the 2014 Boston Marathon, his first marathon finish since the 2012 Olympic trials. In September 2014, Hall announced that he was being coached by Jack Daniels. Hall announced that he would be running the Utah Valley Marathon in June 2015 but did not record a finish.

On March 15, 2015 at the Los Angeles Marathon, Hall took the lead at the start running the first mile in 4:42 at near world record pace but dropped out at the halfway point after losing touch with the all-African lead pack at the fifth mile. His wife Sara was competing in her first marathon in the same race. In January, 2016, Hall announced his retirement from racing, citing the harmful effects it has had on his body.

Personal bests

Sara Hall

Born April 15, 1983 in Santa Rosa, California
She is a professional American middle & long distance runner. Sara is a 4-time U. S. Olympic middle distance trials finalist and with her Chicago Marathon time of (2:31:14) she will make her debut appearance in the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, February 2016.

High School

Sara competed for Montgomery High School in Santa Rosa, California. She won four state cross country titles. At the CIF California Meet she also earned three state track titles in the 1600 and 3200 meters, and won the Footlocker National High School Cross Country Championships in 2000. 

College - Stanford Graduate: Human Biology, class of 2005

Sara was a three-time NCAA track and field runner up in the 5000 meters and indoor 3000 meters, and a 7-time All-American, competing for Stanford University. In 2003, she finished 3rd at the NCAA Women’s Cross Country Championship, leading Stanford to a team title. As a college athlete she competed in the finals of the United States Olympic trials in the 5000 meters.

Career

March 15, 2015 Sara made her marathon debut at the Los Angeles Marathon and battled through cramps, finishing 22nd with a time of 2:48:02 (6:25 minutes/mile). On March 28, 2015 Hall led the USA Team with a 20th place 2015 IAAF World Cross Country championships – Senior Women’s Race after placing 5th at 2015 Boulder USA Cross Country Championships. Sara finished 10th at 2015 Chicago marathon in 2:31:14, running an Olympic Standard Time. Sara will make her first appearance at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials on February 13, 2016.

National

• 2012 US National Cross Country Champion US Road 5k Champion (2006) 
• New York Dash to Finish 5k Champion (2011)
• US Road Mile Championships Winner 2011 (Minneapolis, MN)
• 4 time United States indoor National Runner-Up 3,000 meters (2nd
• place- 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011) Boston, MA and Albuquerque, NM
• 2 time United States 5k Road Championships Runner-Up (2nd place)
• (2009, 2010) Providence, RI
• 4 time Olympic Trials Finalist
• Marathon- 2:31:14
• Half Marathon 70:07 (11th fastest American in history)

International

• Pan American Games Gold Medalist
• Competed at the Indoor World Championships 2006, 2010, 2012 in 3,000 meters, 2006,2012 Finalist
• Millrose Games Mile Champion, New York City 2010
• 5th Avenue Mile-Champion (2006) 2nd place (2010) Best time- 4:23
• Rome Golden Gala Diamond League Steeplechase- 6th place 9:39
• World Cross Country Championships team member 2006, 2014 (19th place)

Personal life

Sara Hall has been married to U.S. Olympic marathoner Ryan Hall since 2005. The two met at Stanford, where they both competed collegiately. In 2009, they formed the Hall Steps Foundation to empower the running community to use the energy and resources that fuel runners’ athletic achievements for social justice efforts. In 2015, the Halls adopted 4 sisters from Ethiopia - Hana, Mia, Jasmine and Lily. The Halls are committed Christians.

The Hall Steps Foundation

To date in 2014, STEPS has invested $50,000 in micro-loans in East Africa, built a well in Mozambique, donated to Kiva, and redone a maternity clinic in Pout, Senegal.

Microfinance: While we (Ryan and Sara) were in East Africa last summer, one of the biggest areas of need we saw was giving people a head start to work and get themselves out of poverty. We saw a lot of people that had a desire to work; there is just a lack of opportunity often and start-up funds to begin a business. We love what Kiva is doing all over the world, partnering with local NGOs to provide loans for those in need to start their own businesses. What is amazing is that there is a 98.97% repayment rate, and you can then reinvest the funds that are repaid into another person to help give their business a start! Steps has invested $50,000 in microlending for East Africa, and made a $5,000 donation to Kiva to keep loans going. (Images provided by Kiva to advance its mission of connecting people around the world through lending to alleviate poverty.)

Well: We have funded another clean water project in Mozambique, donating $10,000 to Iris Ministries! It’s amazing to think that this amount can change the lives in an entire community, extending the life expectancy, preventing illness, allowing young children to be able to attend school, and many other ramifications.

The Hall Steps Foundation contributes to IRIS Ministries

We are excited to announce the contribution of $56,000 to IRIS Ministries in Mozambique. Thanks to all of you for contributing and making the funding of water well and construction and completion of the new medical clinic at the Pemba base in Mozambique possible!

Well Drilling

Many villages across the world do not have a clean water supply, and people are sick and dying as a result. When people are thirsty and starving, the best thing we can do is offer a cold drink of water. The IRIS well-drilling program is moving ahead rapidly making a tremendous difference in the quality of life of many villages. IRIS is one of the few organizations that has the equipment and government permission to drill wells throughout Mozambique. Nearly a billion people have no access to clean water. When they drink dirty water it makes them sick. When a well is drilled and installed, children return to school, businesses begin, and the men begin to work again from not being sick. Water brings health to the food supply chain. This breaks the poverty cycle.

• Nearly 1 billion people don’t have safe water to drink.
• A child dies every 15 seconds from a lack of clean water.
• 115 people die every hour from diseases linked to poor sanitation, poor hygiene and contaminated water.
• 1 in 5 children who die before age 5 worldwide, die of a water related disease.
• Children often walk miles every day to collect dirty water to drink.
• Water related illness kills more people each year than wars and conflict.
• It costs approximately $6,000 to drill a well.

Health Clinics

In Pemba, there is a free health clinic that offers medical attention averaging 50 patients a day with a limited small staff. In three months, 3300 patients have been seen with 33% of them children under five. Babies and mothers are assessed twice a month and given powdered milk formula. The clinic covers basic medical attention mainly focusing on public health issues ranging from nutrition and hygiene, to infant care and abstinence. Medications are distributed as needed. As we have seen growth, the need for a larger facility has grown and the groundwork of the new medical clinic in Pemba has begun. Monday through Friday, the clinic strives to meet the needs of the local community with free services. In developing countries, 80% of medical illnesses are related to water and sanitation issues. We see a huge opportunity to help IRIS meet their goals and provide a safe medical environment that impacts many in the region and educates for a better future.

While the cost is high to build a new clinic, it far outweighs its reach into the future and the impact on the local community. The Hall Foundation is committed and excited to help fund these two ongoing projects in Mozambique!

http://www.thestepsfoundation.org/