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Catching Up with Sara Hall - U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Marathon 2020

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U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Marathon   Feb 25th 2020, 6:04am
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Building Off What's Working, Hall is Ready to Challenge for Olympic Spot in Atlanta

By Scott Bush

As the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Marathon approaches, we caught up with Sara Hall. Considered one of the favorites heading into Atlanta, Hall is coming off a 2019 where she ran the fastest marathon by an American for the year with her fifth-place finish in the BMW Berlin Marathon in a personal best of 2:22:16, won the USATF Running Circuit overall title, and took home top prize at the USATF 20 km and 10 Mile Championships.

Hall kicked off her 2020 with a fantastic effort at the Aramco Houston Half Marathon, where she ran 1:08:58 and finished as the top American.

With a wealth of experience and versatility gained over the past number of years, Hall has her eyes set on a top-three finish in Atlanta.

Scott Bush (SB): You ran a half marathon PR in Houston last month. How has your training been going the past few weeks in the build-up to Atlanta?

Sara Hall: Houston was a great benchmark for me, because up to that point I had just done a ton of strength work and not a single speed workout, so to be able to run 68 minutes was a great sign. Before that and since then, I really don't think I could have done any more to prepare for the extreme course in Atlanta. 

A lot of the elements of our training that have worked in past buildups have stayed the same, and like every buildup before this I've gotten incrementally stronger and workouts have gotten faster. But more than workout times, I've been looking to see how my legs respond to all the downhills as I think that will be a big factor of the race.

SB: What you'll be racing in Atlanta is so different compared to any other marathon, in that it's a looped course. That said, in what ways have you tailored your training to allow yourself to physically be the most ready for the Trials?

SH: We visited the course twice and created some courses harder than it in Flagstaff and did all our hard efforts on those and ran hills almost every other day as well. Hills at altitude are way harder than at sea level, so it was a challenging buildup.

We also did some outside the box creative stuff to prepare for the hills that I feel has really worked. We did some of it before Berlin and I found it made my stride a lot more powerful, so we did more of it this buildup.

SB: On a similar note, what have you taken away from past Trials events that you've worked into your training this time around from a mental standpoint? How has your mindset going into races evolved over the past four years?

SH: I don't think I am any more mentally tough now than I was four years ago, I am just way fitter. I had thought that buildup in 2016 was really good, but not compared to what I can consistently do now in training.

But really I'd say the point where my mental game changed a lot was in 2010 when God did some things in my life that freed me up from fearing failure and the pressure of performing for other expectations. It kind of took my running hitting rock bottom to get to the point of facing all of that. It was a turning point for me, and allowed me to really enjoy competing more and more every year, and that has shown in my performances.  

SB: You're known for racing a variety of distances throughout a season. Do you feel that versatility gives you a mental edge during a race, knowing you can draw experiences from a number of different race situations?

SH: Definitely. Racing a lot means you have a lot of tools in your pocket. In the last year I've won races in hot, humid conditions and good conditions, hilly and flat, tactical races and races that are flat out from the gun. Races I felt good going in and others I felt like garbage. You build confidence in yourself as a racer.

It's also helpful to have done shorter races and still have that speed close, being confident in my tactics and finish, and yet also coming off my fastest marathon and knowing I am the strongest I've ever been.

SB: You've had a tremendous amount of consistency over the past few years. What are one of two facets of your overall training that have helped you stay so consistent?

SH: It's been a combination of things. Definitely improving my aerobic strength, which I had neglected too much when racing track and didn't realize I had so much room to improve. I didn't used to run my long runs fast, but now I can run a 2:31 marathon in the middle of a 28-mile long run, in trainers, in a 130-mile training week. The speed has always come naturally to me, so surprisingly my track work has actually gotten better even with all the volume, just from getting aerobically stronger.

With each buildup, my body can handle more and my legs get more calloused to the pounding of the long races, which is one element I really lacked early in my marathon career. That has allowed me to race well on tired legs, which is most of the races I do throughout the year minus the couple I am focusing on. I also work closely with the best therapist in the world, John Ball, without whom I probably would not have survived half of the training that I do.

SB: You and your husband Ryan have seemingly helped balance each other over the years. How did you help him when it came to high pressure events like the Olympic Trials in years past and how is he helping you the most this time around?

SH: We've definitely been each others' main support person for almost 20 years now, and it's an art how to support that person. I did a lot to de-load Ryan going into big events by picking up the slack on logistics, and now he does the same for me. We remind each other to spend time with God and plug into his unconditional love, which makes you free to take risks out there instead of fearing failure.  

We are able to have no filter with each other, and the other person can be the voice of reason. When I raced the US 10k Championships last year, I felt terrible going into it. I had totally trained through it because my goal race was a half marathon the next month, and the day before the race I was like, "why did you let me come here, this is going to be a sufferfest, never let me do this again," etc. And he was like, "you gotta just get to the line, you're a competitor and that will come out, and you'll be fine." And it was, I won. So we let each other vent but remind each other of that - "just get to the line".

SB: Being a successful pro distance runner revolves around routine. How do you establish routines that work for you when traveling to a race?

SH: I don't naturally love routines, so that has been a challenge of this career for me. But now having four kids, they force you into a routine. You can't bounce all over the world doing training camps, you're rooted at home because they're in school and their own activities. That's been a transition, but I think it's been good for me. And some of the restlessness I felt living in a routine before kids is gone just because kids make you so busy.

Now when I travel to a race, it feels like vacation, especially if Ryan can join me. We love having time just the two of us and feeling our "old life" pre-kids. We are staying at a place with a kitchen in Atlanta since I got a stomach illness at the NYC Marathon. We just want to cook everything and not take any chances. So that will help us feel in our groove.

SB: Do you taper much heading into a marathon and in what way(s) do you keep yourself both physically and mentally sharp heading into a race?

SH: I respond really well to rest, so I look forward to the taper, although I miss the long, hard workouts because those are fun for me. We have a lot of intensity in our program, so I keep the same amount of hard workouts in there, but they are much shorter and I take the edge off the effort.

The mileage comes down too, but because the intensity is there, I still feel sharp on race day. I've never felt like the marathon was fast starting out, it's always felt slow, even running 2:20 high pace starting out in Berlin, and that's good sign you're sharp enough.

Watch Sara race Saturday, February 29 at 12pm ET in Atlanta, as she attempts to qualify for the 2020 Olympic Games. View the race live on NBC and NBC Sports Gold.



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