Just because I happen to run marathons does not mean that I follow the professionals and the big races around the world. But I do happen to follow the career of Ryan Hall, a 25 year old California runner who I met 2 years ago at a dinner two nights before the NYC Marathon. He is the best chance the US has of breaking the insane stronghold the Kenyans have on Marathon wins in the coming few years and happens to be pretty nice guy.

On that note I came across the results from the London Marathon this past weekend and Ryan Hall kicked ass. He finished in 5th place (behind 4 Kenyans) with a time of 2:06:17, which is the 3rd best American marathon finish ever. I think the coolest thing I read about the race is that sometime in the middle of the race, Hall in the lead pack rolled up to the front of the Kenyans and told them to pick up the pace, they were running too slow. Granted that may not have been the best move as the Kenyans picked up the pace to 4:30/mile (insanity) and dared him to keep up, not much of a chance.

Overall, congratulations to Ryan Hall on a great performance and look out for him in the Beijing Olympics this year when he tries to win a gold medal for the USA in the smog, smoke and debris of the streets of Beijing.