Catching up with Hall
By Dave Ungrady
Moments after Ryan Hall concluded a brief and spontaneous interview with the media Sunday at the Tavern on the Green restaurant in New York, he discussed with his agent Ray Flynn and me a time and place to stage our prearranged but yet to be confirmed one-on-one on camera interview for the next day.
After we agreed on the details, a smiling Hall said, “And you have to wear your skates.”
I responded with a smile and a trace of humility and was surprised he remembered. “It would be hard to fall this time,” I said.
How could he forget? Hall referred to an incident that took place early last June while he ran the Olympic marathon trials course for the first time with his coach, Terrence Mahon. With the help of the New York Road Runner’s Club, which was promoting the 2008 Olympics trials in the men’s marathon, Hall and Mahon allowed me to videotape the training session. No motorized vehicles are allowed in most of Central Park, so I performed the video duty while on my in-line skates.
Decades of in-line skating experience did not prevent an embarrassing fall within the first half-mile. My helmet-protected head banged against the pavement, but I was not hurt, and, more importantly, the camera survived with nary a scratch. As Hall and Mahon ran by me, splayed on the ground, Hall muttered a calm “You OK?” They continued on their mission.
Otherwise, the session went smoothly. After a 10-minute on-camera interview, Hall and Mahon asked me for a ride back to their hotel about a mile away. They had already run about 12 miles. I obliged.
The back of my Toyota RAV-4 pseudo SUV serves as a mobile locker room and the main mode of transport for two dogs. The two back seats were removed. Athletic equipment—soccer balls and shoes, golf balls, in-line skate gear, etc.—lay randomly in the space. Bags, scattered pieces of garbage, dog hair and toys littered the area.
Hall, undaunted by the environment, jumped willingly in the back and spread his body comfortably on tip of the mess.
During the 10-minute ride, Mahon, Hall and I chatted fondly about common friends in the running community. Mahon ran at Villanova in the early 1990s. I competed for Maryland in the late 1970s. The teams were main rivals for years. Hall was too young to fully appreciate any of the recollections, but he engaged himself casually in the conversation.
That was my first glimpse of the placid and pleasant personality that will likely soon become more than familiar in the global running community. Hall stamped himself a potential prodigy with his win Saturday in the 2008 U.S. Olympic trials in the men’s marathon.
Hall displays an easygoing and engaging demeanor with an unforced sense of humor. He brought up the skating issue immediately when we met at the lobby of his hotel before the interview Monday morning.
“I looked for that spot on the course where you fell,” he said with a sly smile, referring to the trials. I appreciated his good-natured fabrication.
“You’ve gotta come to Beijing and shoot me running the Olympics course,” he said. “You’re good luck.” I embraced his grand embellishment.
During the 40-minute interview, Hall reflected comfortably and pensively about many subjects, ranging from the death of his friend Ryan Shay to his meteoric rise as the United States’ next projected distance running star and beyond, to his strong sense of spiritual awareness.
In hyped references, Hall has been mentioned as the Tiger Woods of running for his potential to encourage a new wave of young athletes to try the sport. He certainly does not appear to be the next Steve Prefontaine, the former equally engaging U.S. distance star who was otherwise known for rebellious tendencies.
During the interview Hall repeatedly referred to the significance of Christianity in his life. On Monday night, he and his wife boarded a plane for a two-week trip to Israel, as he explained, to better appreciate the land where Jesus thrived.
It will be fun to enjoy Hall’s novel journey toward the top echelon of global distance running. Let’s hope he maintains his humble tendencies and good-natured California demeanor as he develops into the next great U.S. marathoner.