I haven\u2019t been involved or even interested in the elite USA running scene for a long time now. This does give me some guilt. Writing articles for a running club should deal with current running events, and so here\u2019s my foray into what\u2019s going on in the American running scene today.<\/p>\n
I scoured all the various publications that I haven\u2019t paid any attention to for so many years. Yes, I\u2019m a \u201chas-been\u201d runner, but I can still get totally inspired by a good story! I was so happy to discover the Ryan and Sara Hall story. I do remember the emergence of Ryan Hall in the early 2000\u2019s. Ryan and Sara were running at Stanford, got married in 2005, and these intervening 17 years is a story of incredible steadfastness, determination and one-point focus. For those who don\u2019t know them, their story unfolds as follows.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll start with their athletic achievements, but frankly, those are the least of what they\u2019ve done. The more I look into what they\u2019ve accomplished, the more unreal it seems. Athletic prowess, yes, but behind it all are two lives who are really committed to helping humanity in every way possible. So, here\u2019s what many of you probably already know (I had forgotten). Ryan trained hard, often too hard, and kept getting injured. He did end up running the fastest American marathon (coming in 4th in the Boston Marathon) in 2:04:58, and then the American Record in the 1\u20442 marathon in 59:43. Of note is that Sara established the women\u2019s American Record in the 1\u20442 marathon herself in 1:07:15, just a few days ago (Jan. 16, 2022). Those two records were 15 years apart. But, the story has just started. Both Ryan and Sara are obviously devoted Christians, and I took this off their internet site.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Said Ryan, \u201cGod was telling me that He gave me a gift to run with the best guys in the world, but He gave me that gift so that I could help other people … I started seeing myself how God sees me, and that was a really, really powerful shift for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
And from Sara, here\u2019s what came out in an interview, \u201cAlthough she might not be outwardly vocal about her faith, she\u2019s never been shy or felt the need to hide her convictions. \u2018You have to have a sense about what you\u2019re being called to do,\u2019 Sara says. \u2018I never really envisioned doing this career for more than a few years; it wasn\u2019t necessarily my dream. I would have been fine stepping away from the track in 2009 when I was dealing with a lot of injuries. I attribute it to God speaking to me and letting me know that there was more ahead. I always sensed something in my training and in my racing that there was more ahead.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Ryan and Sara put all this into practice by adopting four sisters from Ethiopia (Hana, Mia, Jasmine and Lily) They had often traveled to Ethiopia to train, so … they did what was most important to them!<\/p>\n
In doing more research, I found out that Ryan (after officially ending his professional running career) decided to join a hearty group of runners to do the 3rd Annual World Marathon Challenge, who ran seven marathons in seven days on seven continents. Now that sounds like an adventure! He averaged a 3:39 marathon. Not bad. But the best was he realized he could finally stop training so hard (and get healthy), and I really love what he came up with next: he started weightlifting, and ended up gaining weight (from 127 pounds – to 165 pounds). Now, that\u2019s something that will nag me for a while!! I think I have a natural running weight too … but how \u201chealthy\u201d is that? If I\u2019m no longer trying to win races, why not really get strong, and forget a faded ideal of the \u201cperfect weight\u201d … Oh no, me, a weightlifter? Maybe that\u2019s the next best thing for now \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/winddrinkers.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/Screen-Shot-2022-01-27-at-12.48.12-PM.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n