Boston Marathon Features On wbztv.com
Nov 18, 2008 10:50 am US/Eastern
Great American Hope To Run Boston Marathon
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
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Ryan Hall at the 2008 Boston Marathon
Joe Giza/WBZ
One of the best American runners to come along in years will compete in the next Boston Marathon.
John Hancock Financial announced Tuesday that Olympic marathoner and American half marathon record holder
Ryan Hall will run Boston on April 20, 2009.
Hall, 26, was the fastest American marathoner in 2007 and 2008. He finished 10th in the Olympic marathon in China.
An American has not won the Boston Marathon since Greg Meyer in 1983.
Hall has a good shot.
He set the American 20K record at the World Championships in 2006 and in early 2007 broke the 21-year old American half marathon record at the U.S. Championships. His 59:43 win marked the first time an American had ever broken the one-hour barrier.
Hall ran his first marathon in London in 2007 and finished 7th. His 2:08:24 was the fastest debut ever by an American.
A few months later he won the U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon in New York City in a course record 2:09:02.
He ran London again in the spring of 2008, finishing 5th in 2:06:17, making him the second fastest American of all time - in just his third marathon.
"Ryan's Boston Marathon debut will be a highly anticipated performance throughout the sports world," BAA Executive Director Guy Morse said in a statement Tuesday.
Hall is married to professional runner Sara Bei Hall.
They live in Mammoth Lakes, California.
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Photos: 112th Boston Marathon
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