Interview With Legendary Ryan Hall

1.) What got you interested in the sport of running? How old were you when this occurred?

I used to hate running until I was 13. I was into baseball, basketball and football growing up. Baseball was always my passion though, and I wanted to play professionally. One day when I was 13 and traveling to a basketball game looking out at the lake in my hometown, Big Bear Lake, CA,  I felt like God gave me the desire to try and run the 15 mile road around the lake. My Dad and I went out the following Saturday and I somehow survived the very long and painful run. I've been loving running and training full time ever since.

2.) How difficult was the switch from running in high school to running in college? If it was difficult how did you overcome those challenges?

For me it was incredibly difficult. I went from having a very simple life with a very supportive family to trying to juggle all the demands of college (athletics, academics, ect.). It was such a massive lifestyle change for me that it took me about 3 years to finally be able to manage college life successfully. During my entire freshmen year I had an eye twitch because wasn't able to get enough sleep due to the loudness of my freshmen dorm. I also struggled athletically. I think one of the primary reasons I struggled athletically was because I was always trying to prove myself to myself and my teammates. I couldn't just take it easy on an easy run or a workout. I was constantly competing with my teammates. As you can imagine, that training style didn't work very well. When I finally figured out how to work with my teammates and not against them things really clicked and I finished second at NCAA Cross Country Championships and our team had a historic win scoring only 22 points.

3.) With running so many miles a week, how do you stress the importance of stretching, eating right and training safe in your daily life?

Running is actually just a small part of our day. Much of our day is spent stretching, doing self massage, exercises, and resting. We all improve when we rest. Rest is the most important part of training. The difference between running and many other sports is that running is a lifestyle. You can do the training but ultimately if you don't do all the little things right you won't maximize your performance. Nutrition is obviously a huge part of fueling your running properly and recovering well from workouts. Nutrition is massively important.

4.) How did you and Sara meet?

We met at Footlocker Western Regional Cross Country meet at Mt. SAC college. We got to know each other more at the Footlocker National Championships a week later. We started dating our first week of freshmen year at Stanford, dated all four years and three months after graduating we got married.

5.) When you and Sara retire from professional running, has coaching high school, college or professional athletes crossed your mind?

Yeah, it has. We are not exactly sure where running will take us but I certainly have a heart to see people maximize their potential in both running and life. I am really more interested in people's heart than their running performance but I'd like to help people maximize both. I guess we will see when we get there.

6.) Where do you think you would be and what do you think you would be doing if running had not come into your lives?

My dream has always been to be a professional athlete ever since I was a little kid. So I am living my dream at the moment. During this time God has certainly expanded my heart for helping those in need, especially for the poor, the orphans and the widows. I'd love to jump more into working with developing countries and the poor of those countries in some capacity. I think running and coaching could be a great way to empower the power to change their lives for the better.

7.) What are the daily routines of being a professional runner?

I usually get up around 7 to have some breakfast. After that I then go run around 8:30 or so for my primary training session, which is usually between 8-15 miles. Then I come home and eat. I then stretch and maybe do some exercises. Then I have lunch around noon. Take an hour nap around 1:30. Have an afternoon snack around 3 then go for an afternoon run around 4:30 (which is almost always an easy 30 minutes). I come home and stretch, maybe do some more exercises, then do some self massage. I usually have dinner around 6. Then have a couple of free hours before going to bed at 9. The life of a professional runner is not always the most glamorous but it does include getting to travel the world which is a huge blessing.

8.) Is there anything that you wish you could have done or known in high school to make you a better runner?

There is a saying in running, "you get out of it what you put into it", Meaning the harder you train, the faster you will be. Well, this is true to a point. I was running and training so hard in my last couple of years (up to 100 miles a week) and it did pay off to some extent (I ran 4:02 for the mile, 1:51 for 800, 3:42 for 1500 M) but I also struggled a lot with over-training. I think I could have run a lot faster had I erred on the under training side, meaning maybe keeping the intensity of my weeks but doing less volume. Running is hard on the body and needs to be balanced with rest.

9.) How has Ebola impacted your mission of helping people out of poverty with the STEPS foundation?

We've obviously been following the outbreak with heavy hearts and if an opportunity arose to help through Steps we would certainly like to get involved.

10.) Obviously you hold the American records for both the half and full marathon, Is breaking your own records something that you still have in your mind?

Breaking my own records isn't something I think a lot about, however, maximizing my potential is something I am very passionate about. I believe I have yet to see how fast I can really go in both the half marathon and the marathon. This belief is what is extremely motivating to keep working hard on a daily basis.

11.) What do you hope your new coach Jack Daniels can do for you at this stage of your career?

I've learned a lot during my 18 years as a runner and I've had many amazing coaches. What has always been true of me is that I need someone to hold me back. I am not good at under training. I love to train hard, which is both good and bad. I think Jack will help me a lot in the area of making sure I am not over-doing it in my training, thus, hopefully maximizing my ability. RM