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Lead Stories: Friday, July 25, 2008

Sara Hall: Getting Back Up
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry 10)

Posted May 30th, 2008 at 1:00 PM by Sara Hall

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Elite Athlete Blogs, Sara Hall

Welcome to the official blog of U.S. middle-distance runner Sara Hall. Sara’s list of running accolades include being a former NCAA All- American at Stanford, the 2006 USA 5K road champion, and the 2006 champion at the Continental Fifth Avenue Mile. Check back every other Friday for her latest entry at http://sarahall.thefinalsprint.com/

Part I: Last Week

During a recent visit to my hometown,Santa Rosa, CA, when Ryan and I were speaking at a local running shoe store, Ryan said to the crowd of young runners, “Someone once asked me ‘What describes an Olympian?’ and I said, ‘It’s the person who just keeps getting back up.’” I had heard him say this before, but this day it stuck with me. I’ve had my fair share of ups and downs in my professional career. This outdoor season has been no exception.
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Sara Hall: In Definition
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #8)

Posted May 2nd, 2008 at 12:58 PM by Sara Hall

Section: News & Results, Olympics, Elite Athlete Blogs, Sara Hall

Recently I came across some comments on a video of Ryan where people seemed confused as to what he means by “glorifying God”. I don’t normally look at people’s comments because I don’t really like criticism, but for whatever reason I started to read some this day.

Some people were vehemently anti-religion, some people held a strong in-your-face religious stance, and everything in between, debating what Ryan was talking about. It made me realize the ambiguity of this term, “glorifying God”, and so this blog is an attempt to extrapolate on what we mean when we say
we strive to glorify God when we run.
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Josh Cox:
Forgotten Number Four
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #7)

Posted April 17th, 2008 at 12:00 PM by Josh Cox

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Elite Athlete Blogs, Josh Cox

Welcome to the official blog of U.S. marathon runner Josh Cox. Every other Wednesday visit http://joshcox.thefinalsprint.com for Cox’s latest blog entry and for more information, also please visit: www.joshcox.com

“Friendships born on the field of athletic strife are the real gold of competition. Awards become corroded, friends gather no dust.”
–Jesse Owens, 4 time Track and Field Gold Medalist at the 1936 Olympic Games

“Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art… It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival.”
–C. S. Lewis

“You have been my friend. That in itself is a tremendous thing. I wove my webs for you because I liked you. After all, what’s a life, anyway? We’re born, we live a little while, we die. A spider’s life can’t help being something of a mess, with all this trapping and eating flies. By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a trifle. Heaven knows anyone’s life can stand a little of that.”
–Charlotte the spider in EB White’s “Charlotte’s Web”

I get loads of email from strangers. When you write blogs, have Myspaces, Facebooks and a contact button on your website, it comes with the territory. My latest “Miracles” installment solicited a Santa sized bag of digital mail. For every public comment I receive, another five appear in the inbox. If a common theme arises I address it in the comments of the blog – years of blogging tells me this is the best course of action. This way the popular, pertinent issues get addressed. If I’m busy this doesn’t always happen. So before diving into this entry I’ll let the mail senders know I’ll be answering their questions and keeping the comment section of the last blog alive and kicking.
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2008 Olympian Ryan Hall’s Introspective and London Marathon Workout Video

Posted April 9th, 2008 at 1:30 PM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Motivation, Movies, Olympics

ryan hall winning 2007 olympic trials men's marathon in central park The video documentary embedded below was released on GodTube and sent to us late last night by producer and elite American distance runner Josh Cox. It features 2008 U.S. Olympic marathoner Ryan Hall as he embarks on a nearly 24 mile marathon simulation run around Big Bear Lake; the most challenging training run in his preparation for this Sunday’s Flora London Marathon.

In the inspiring and profoundly spiritual documentary, Hall expresses heart-felt sentiments about the purpose of his running, World Vision, what fuels his inner drive, his intense devotion to faith and the desire to encourage and motivate others. There are also a few lighter moments, such as Hall’s conversations with his wife, Sara, about “finally cutting his hair” after London, as well as, several deeply personal dialogues, including a scene where Hall tells his supporters:

“I would really appreciate any of you guys who want to be praying for me to strive together with me as it talks about in Romans 15:30. Strive together with me in your prayers … It’s the way that you can not only watch this video but you can also participate in the race with me.”

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Josh Cox: Miracles . . . A Runner’s Case for Theism (Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #6)

Posted April 3rd, 2008 at 12:45 PM by Josh Cox

Section: Elite Athlete Blogs, Josh Cox

“If people think God is interesting, the onus is on them to show that there is anything there to talk about. Otherwise they should just shut up about it.” -Richard Dawkins, Evolutionary Biologist, Oxford scholar, author of “The God Delusion”

“Miracles are a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is written across the whole world in letters too large for some of us to see.”
-CS Lewis, author, teacher, former atheist, and Oxford Scholar

“It is, of course, true that your success would be open to a variety of interpretations-perhaps such a miracle says nothing about the existence of God but demonstrates that clairvoyance is an actual power of the human mind and that you possess it in spades.” -Sam Harris, atheist evangelist and author, explaining away the miraculous

“Try and penetrate with our limited means the secrets of nature, and you will find that, behind all the discernible concatenations, there remains something subtle, intangible and inexplicable.” --Albert Einstein, German-born theoretical physicist

I wasn’t planning on writing this. Honest. I pondered the idea during my long run with Dan [Browne] last week, again during my 15 miler over the weekend and a final time as I responded to nearly half of the 17 emails asking what I believed and why I believed it – but not even those served as this blog’s impetus. Nope. The tipping point came when I stumbled across the poem I wrote for my dad’s funeral nearly two years ago. I didn’t read it all; I couldn’t read it all – didn’t want to. Tears, therapeutic as they may be, don’t lend themselves to productivity; and because I am busier than a one legged man in a butt kicking contest I figured I would spare my wife the Dick Vermeil impression.
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Ryan Hall: Keeping Perspective
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #4)

Posted March 4th, 2008 at 4:56 PM by Ryan Hall

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Cross Country, Elite Athlete Blogs, Ryan Hall

Welcome to the official blog of top U.S. distance runner Ryan Hall as he begins his quest for Olympic gold! Check back every other Friday for Ryan’s latest entry at http://ryanhall.thefinalsprint.com/

To be completely honest, I was bummed after XC Nationals. I was in good shape and ready to go, or so I thought. My expectations were high and I was hoping to kick off 2008 with a bang, so I was naturally a little bent when things didn’t turn out how I had hoped. Finishing fifth wasn’t a terrible performance and my hat goes off to Dathan and the rest of the guys on the team (I am sure we will all be proud of how they represent the US at Worlds), but it just wasn’t building the momentum I was looking for heading into London. Afterwards, there were lots of reasons, of which I constantly kept reminding myself, for why I didn’t perform well, but that didn’t keep me from getting a little bummed. Even so, I welcome these humbling experiences because they get me fired up. I had humbling experiences that preceded all of my best races.
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Josh Cox: Ad Finem
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #3)

Posted February 26th, 2008 at 12:15 PM by Josh Cox

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Motivation, Track & Field, Famous Quotes, Elite Athlete Blogs, Josh Cox

TFS Elite Athlete Blog Series JOSH COX 425x75 copy Welcome to the official blog of U.S. marathon runner Josh Cox.
Check back every other Wednesday for his latest entry and for more information about Cox, also please visit: www.joshcox.com

In ‘97 Cox ran and won a 50-mile ultra, in ’99 he ran his first marathon making him the youngest Trials qualifier. The following year he clocked 2:13, which opened the door for him to train with the world’s best in Kenya. Cox has tried his hand at Reality TV, been all over magazine covers and is a fixture in the sport.

Ad Finem – The Dream Carcass

Ad Finem – Latin: To the end/towards the end (of a page, a chapter, or a three-part, Latin-laced blog at TheFinalSprint.com)

The heights by great men reached and kept,
Were not attained by sudden flight.
But they, while their companions slept,
Were toiling upward in the night.

— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“Well, I wake in the morning,
Fold my hands and pray for rain.
I got a head full of ideas
That are drivin’ me insane.
It’s a shame the way she makes me scrub the floor.
I ain’t gonna work on Maggie’s farm no more.”

— “Maggie’s Farm” by Bob Dylan

“Don’t you let it all pass you by
Looking through life’s window pane
Don’t you sit around wasting time
That would be a crying shame

There’s a power that’s deep inside
And it burns just like a flame
Just believe and you’ll see that God
Will shower you like pouring rain

If you want it
You can change your world today
If you want it
Just break free and walk away”

— “If You Want It” by Lenny Kravitz

It’s closing time. Clear the dance floor and move toward the exits. Club Latin is shutting down. The night was fun, the music was great but everything with a beginning has an end. Temet Nosce, Carpe Diem . . . Ad Finem. The music has stopped, the lights are on, but as the bouncers usher you out I hand you a promoter’s card—don’t worry, it’s nothing scandalous, I’m like Kix®, kid-tested and mother approved. Well, most mothers . . .
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Ryan Hall: Confidence
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #3)

Posted February 16th, 2008 at 1:15 PM by Ryan Hall

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Track & Field, Olympics, Elite Athlete Blogs, Ryan Hall

TFS Elite Athlete Blog Series RYAN HALL 425x75 copy Welcome to the official blog of top U.S. distance runner Ryan Hall as he begins his quest for Olympic gold! Check back every other Friday for Ryan’s latest entry.

ryan hall winning 2007 olympic trials men's marathon in central park Something that has been on my mind a lot lately is the importance of confidence. When I am in Mammoth training I sometimes like to shoot hoops after our evening weight lifting is complete. When I am shooting around I like to work on my visualization skills. Just moments before releasing the ball I see the ball going in.

In my mind I become border-line cocky with each passing shot. If I miss I instantly shake it off and visualize the next shot going in, swish. I tell myself there is no way I will miss, swish. I see the ball crisply cutting through the net, swish. It amazing how much better I shoot when I am overly confident. I know this is kind of a ghetto experiment but it has definitely shown me that I am a lot more likely to perform better when I am confident than when I am unsure.
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Ryan Hall: Vision
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #2)

Posted February 1st, 2008 at 1:45 PM by Ryan Hall

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Elite Athlete Blogs, Ryan Hall

ryan hall winning 2007 olympic trials men's marathon in central park One of my favorite aspects of training in Mammoth is the “vision” that I get while I am up here. Let me clarify what I mean by “vision.” Vision is my mind’s-eye image of what’s possible. Vision is what inspires me to action, gives me the ample motivation to change, and – above all – gives me the belief of what is possible. On my runs these past two weeks I see London. I have a strong vision for the amazing opportunity that awaits me on April 13th and what could happen there.
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Ryan Hall: Perseverance
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #1)

Posted January 18th, 2008 at 5:00 PM by Ryan Hall

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Olympics, Elite Athlete Blogs, Ryan Hall

ryan hall winning 2007 olympic trials men's marathon in central park These past three weeks I have been shown what it means to persevere in the face of hard times. Sara and I arrived in Flagstaff on December 30th to stay with our friend, Alicia Shay, with the goal of helping her in whatever way we could through the recent loss of her husband. However, as is the case so often when we try and help others, we are the ones who get blessed from the experience. I guess this is why Jesus said it is more blessed to give than to receive.

Alicia showed me what it means to get up every day and face her troubles with courage and strength. I am sure a lot of people are proud of how Alicia has endured this hard time. I am certainly very proud and inspired by her ability to just plain get up everyday and choose to live a life of joy, even though she certainly has the right to be bitter, angry and frustrated.

Perseverance is a trait that I have had to learn a lot about during my running career.
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