Apr 6, 2009 8:33 pm US/Eastern
Hall Pushes To Pull Out A 'W' At Boston Marathon
Reporting
Dan Roche
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
"Ryan Hall's got very strong chances. He is a real contender," said four-time
Boston Marathon champion Bill Rodgers about current top marathon man, Ryan Hall.
The laid back California kid will run his first Boston two weeks from Monday.
"I look at it as an exciting opportunity. I am just going to go out there and take my best swings. You never know what happens out there. That's what I love about running."
Ryan Hall is the latest and greatest American hope.
The 26-year-old is hoping to become the first American runner to win Boston since Greg Meyer. "Knowing that the last time it was won was in 1983 is kind of a fun thing for me because I was born in 1982, so I was 1-year-old when that happened and that makes me a little nervous because I realize how big of a task it is, and how hard it is going to be to pull out a 'W.'"
The history of this great race is something Hall is very aware of when it comes to running Boston. "There's not too many races that you can run that are over 100 years old, so this is just one of those races that I always wanted to do. It's part of American history. It's like baseball. When you think about Boston, you think about the Boston Red Sox, the Boston Marathon… clam chowder… it's just part of the history of the U.S."
Hall paid a visit to Boston on March 1 – the day after he won a 15K race down in Tampa, Florida. And when he was here, he ran the last 20 miles of the course to get a first-hand preview. "It was good. It was fun. There's a ton of people out there running. It was crazy. I never experienced anything like that. But the course can be challenging, and I got some work to do."
But right before Hall was about the cross the finish line, he stopped and walked over to the sidewalk. "I noticed you did not cross the finish line," said WBZ's Dan Roche.
"No. That's hallowed ground. You never do that. You can't cross the finish line unless you raced it. I got to earn it. You don't cross the finish line without earning it."
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