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Ryan Hall sets new North American record for the Half-Marathon (59:43)

Posted January 14th, 2007 at 5:00 PM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results, Marathons

Ryan Hall battled the elements to become at the first North American to ever run a half-marathon in less than one-hour at today’s Aramco Houston Half-Marathon. The half-marathon served as the USA Half-Marathon Championships.

Hall, who is only 24-years old, ran triumphantly against an all-star field to set a new North American half-marathon record with a time of 59 minutes and 43 seconds. [Click here to see video footage of his record-setting performance].

Hall flew past the previous record of 1:00:28 which had been held by German Silva and Dionicio Cerón since 1994. Hall also set a new American record, beating Mark Curp’s 1985 time of 1:00:55.

Hall, whose time will need to go through the standard, accreditation processes, took the lead early and never looked back. According to David Monti of Race Results Weekly, Hall went:

“Through 5 km in 14:05, 10 km in 28:21, 15 km in 42:21 and ten miles in 45:33. He certainly passed the 20 km mark faster than his own USA 20-K record (57:54), but there was no official time taken at that point. An estimate from the lead truck was 57:06.”

Hall, a former Stanford stand-out, set the North American 20km record mentioned above at the IAAF World Road Running Championships last October in Debrecen, Hungary. Today’s victory earned him a cash prize of $21,000. The runner-up was Fasil Bizuneh (1:02:22) and Olympic silver medallist Meb Keflezigh, after a very strange and disappointing performance at last falls’ NYC Marathon, finished third with a time of 1:02:22.

Hall’s time is also the ninth best in the world. [Click here to see video of his post-race comments]. Here are the top times according to the IAAF:

58:55 (1) Haile Gebrselassie (ETH) 18 Apr 1973 15 Jan 2006
59:07 (1) Paul Kosgei (KEN) 22 Apr 1978 02 Apr 2006
59:15.4 (1) Zerisenay Tadesse- 2 08 Feb 1982 10 Sep 2006
59:15.8 (1) Samuel Wanjiru (KEN) 10 Nov 1986 11 Sep 2005
59:17 (1) Paul Tergat- 2 17 Jun 1969 04 Apr 1998/li>
59:22 (1) Paul Tergat- 3 17 Jun 1969 17 Apr 1999
59:27.1 (2) Robert Kipchumba (KEN) 24 Feb 1984 10 Sep 2006
59:29 ( 2) Evans Cheruiyot (KEN) 1980 02 Apr 2006

American Elva Dryer won the women’s portion of today’s Half-Marathon Championships with a time of 1:11:41.

Aramco Half-Marathon official results:

Men
1 RYAN HALL 59:43
2 FASIL BIZUNEH 1:02:20
3 MEBRAHTOM KEFLEZIGHI 1:02:22

Women
1 ELVA DRYER 1:11:41
2 KATE O’NEILL 1:11:46
3 MICHELLE LILIENTHAL 1:12:44

Picture via: Victah Sailer of the IAAF

Research sources and for more information: [IAAF], [Race Results Weekly], [Let’s Run], [Official Race Site]

Tags: american record, Aramco Houston Half Marathon, Brian Sell, Chevron Houston Marathon, Dan Browne, distance running, Elva Dryer, Fasil Bizuneh, German Silva, haile gebrselassie, half marathon, half marathon record, IAAF, marathon champion, Mark Curp, Meb Keflezighi, north american record, record, record setting run, Ryan Hall, stanford, US Half Marathon Championships, USA Half Marathon Championships

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5 Responses to “Ryan Hall sets new North American record for the Half-Marathon (59:43)”

Record-setting day at the Chevron Houston Marathon | The Final Sprint (TFS) | Comprehensive Running, Nutrition, and Fitness Publication said:

[…] The Aramco Houston Half Marathon also took place and also served as the 2007 U.S. Half-Marathon Championships. As we reported yesterday, Ryan Hall, a 24 year old from California, won with an incredible time of 59 minutes and 43 seconds. This running time broke the North American Half Marathon record in Houston. Hall’s runners up included Fasil Bizuneh, running in at 1:02:20, and Dan Browne ending at 1:02:22. Elva Dryer took first place for the women’s race running in at 1:11:41 with her Olympic teammate, Kate O’Neill finishing immediately after her at 1:11:46. Michelle Lilienthal took third place running in at 1:12:44. […]
January 15th, 2007 at 2:18 pm
American distance runners beginning to catch up to their East African opponents | The Final Sprint (TFS) | Comprehensive Running, Nutrition, and Fitness Publication said:

[…] The 2004 Olympics in Athens was an important event for American running. Meb Keflezighi and Deena Kastor each took home a medal for their efforts, ending a long period without award for US competitors. Keflezighi and Kastor took home the silver and bronze respectively. In addition, Ryan Hall, with a course time of 59:43, became the first non-African to break the one-hour mark in a half marathon; his time also ranks 9th best in the world. […]
January 18th, 2007 at 7:42 pm
P Sloan said:

XS Sports Nutrition is the best I’ve ever seen. Hands down way ahead of the compitition.
June 17th, 2007 at 7:09 pm
Ryan Hall picks London for debut marathon; opts out of USA XC Champs in Boulder | The Final Sprint (TFS) | The Internet’s Premier Running, Fitness, and Nutrition Publication said:

[…] Ryan Hall, who set a new American record for the half-marathon on Janary 14th, has made his decision; choosing Flora London for his marathon debut. […]
November 6th, 2007 at 4:16 pm
Podcast 6: Interview with Ryan Hall, the new American half-marathon record-holder | The Final Sprint (TFS) | The Internet’s Premier Running, Fitness, and Nutrition Publication said:

[…] This week I had the privilege of interviewing Ryan Hall, the former standout from Stanford who set a new American record (59:43) at the USA Half-Marathon Championships on January 14, 2007. […]
November 6th, 2007 at 4:17 pm