“After leading for half an hour I was getting sick of the wind and decided to sit,” he wrote. “Whenever I got out of the lead the pace slowed. I knew when I decided to sit the time would pretty much go out the window." -Ryan Hall, universalsports.com
Hall's comments remind me of Lance Armstrong at age 20. Winning a marathon requires energy conservation in the early stages. Period. Unless you are head and shoulders above the rest of the field, you will not beat your competitors if they are the ones drafting the first 10K. What would you rather have- 3rd in 2 hr 09 min or a win in 2 hr 11? Had Ryan hung back, sure the pace would have been slower, but SO WHAT IF HE WINS!
Here is another tip for Ryan- you cannot be at your best racing 2 or 3 times a year. No way, no how. Olympics, half hearted Gasparilla, then Boston. I don't care who you are or who you train with, Hall will not win a major marathon without racing more frequently than he does at shorter distances.
I think Ryan Hall has as much talent as anybody in the world. He claims to be learning so much in these marathons, but his mistakes at Boston were big ones. I have one suggestion- give Frank Shorter a call and see what he thinks.
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