London "Hall" is falling down...

Yankee sticks it to the Brits...
That is the headline I anticipated to be had in every American news website this evening, but to no avail. There is nothing, zip, zilch, nada. Instead it was coverage of the Masters, NBA, and baseball. The only coverage this years London Marathon was, as you guessed it, foreign media outlets. So, as has happened more times than not over the past couple of decades, a up and coming American distance runner is unknown in his home country...

Ryan Hall is a young runner from Big Bear (California) that already has his ticket punched for this years Beijing Olympics. Hall won the mens Olympics trials late last year in New Yorks Central Park. You may have heard about this particular race because Halls friend, Ryan Shay died due to complications of an enlarged heart at around mile 5. Hall is making his name known in the sport, and he is truly a newbie to the sport, as the London Marathon was only his third marathon ever.

Hall placed 5th in todays London Marathon, a feat that is truly remarkable given the talent in the field. What makes it more remarkable is he ran 2:06:17, the fastest time ever by an American born runner, the third fastest marathon ever by an American, and the 18th fastest marathon EVER. He also holds the American record for the half marathon, set last year, at 59:43. The American record in the marathon is held by Moroccan born Khalid Khannouchi, who set a then world record time of 2:05:38 in London a few years back. The world record has since been broken and Khannouchi's London Marathon course record was broken today by Kenyan Martin Zel, at 2:05:15, who won the race for the third time in four years.

I expected more response from Halls host country, but then again we (American's) only really ever pay attention to running/track and field when the big spotlights are one...the Olympics. Lucky for Hall, his time to shine will soon be here and hopefully more than just the international media will pick up on how great of a runner this guy really is. I guess this post qualifies as my Sunday rant. :-) Hope everyone had a great weekend.
Cheers!