Racing — Ryan Hall to race NYC Marathon 2009

New York, NY — America’s top marathoner, Ryan Hall, has announced his plans to run the ING New York City Marathon on Sunday, November 1, 2009. Hall will also race at the NYC Half-Marathon on Sunday, August 16, 2009.

Hall, 26, of Mammoth Lakes, CA, had one of his career’s finest performances in New York’s Central Park at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Men’s Marathon when he broke the Olympic Trials record with his winning time of two hours, nine minutes, and two seconds (2:09:02). Hall went on to finish 10th in the 2008 Beijing Olympic marathon in a time of 2:12:33. Hall was also the first American finisher at the Boston Marathon earlier this year, placing third overall in a time of 2:09:40.

“I’ve been out to New York to watch the marathon every year since 2006, and now I’m thrilled to run on the streets of New York for what will be my sixth marathon,” Hall said. “My previous marathons and thousands of miles logged in training have prepared me for the opportunity to try and win in New York. I couldn’t ask for a bigger stage to get to compete on, and I’m honored to be a part of the great American and international field that NYRR are bringing out.”

Hall has been one of America’s top marathoners since his compelling debut at the distance in London in 2007, when he finished seventh in 2:08:24, the fastest debut marathon ever run by an American. In 2008, he became the second-fastest American marathoner of all time when he ran 2:06:17 to take fifth place at that year’s Flora London Marathon.

Hall and his previously announced 2008 Olympian teammate, Brian Sell, are the first leading professional entrants in the ING New York City Marathon 2009.

Hall will also be a leading contender in the NYC Half-Marathon, which attracts the world’s leading professional athletes, in addition to a sold-out field of more than 10,000 runners from around the world. Runners were admitted on a first-come, first-served basis, a change from the lottery entry process that was used in previous years. Athletes will be vying for a prize purse of more than $70,000, with the men’s and women’s winners each receiving $10,000.

On a course designed to celebrate New York City, the NYC Half-Marathon will take runners on a loop through Central Park, down Seventh Avenue through Times Square, across 42nd Street, and along the expansive West Side Highway to Battery Park in the heart of the city’s financial district, finishing with a view of the Statue of Liberty.

Source: New York Road Runners/ New York Marathon
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