ryan hall

5 Olympic Moments with Ryan Hall

Written on August 7, 2012 at 10:42 am , by Marianne Magno

Marathoner Ryan Hall (Photo Courtesy of NBC Olympics)

With a less than a week away from the Men’s Marathon in the 2012 London Olympics, Marathoner Ryan Hall took the time to answer our questions about his Olympic moments. Get a glimpse into the life of  the American Half Marathon and Olympic Trials record holder:

1) Tell us about your first “Holy sh*t, I’m an Olympian!” moment, in regards to the 2012 Games.

We were lucky to get our qualify out of the way back in January so I’ve had a long time to soak in the fact that I’ll be returning to the Olympics.  I don’t think it hit me that I was going to qualify for the London Olympics till I came down the final 100 meters to the finish line in Houston.  In the marathon anything can happen so I was just trying not to pass out and to keep putting one foot in front of the other.  I think it was the longest last mile of my life.
2) During the Trials or Games, what was your most challenging moment to get through?

I was having some stomach problems in the race because I was taking Aleve to take the edge off some foot problems I had been battling with leading up to the Trials.  As a result of the stomach problems I wasn’t able to take in my usual calories or fluids which  lead to an out of body experience around mile 23.  The last 3 miles of a marathon is always hard but this was like I was outside of my body watching as my body was trying to tell me it was out of energy and strength.  I was in second at the time but I wasn’t sure I was even going to make it to the finish line let alone finish in the top 3 and earn my spot on the Olympic Team.  I prayed for strength and thought of my wife waiting for me at the finish line and somehow, by the grace of God, I made it.

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