TheFinalSprint.com - Track & Field, Marathons, Racing News, Training Advice, Elite Athlete Blogs, Interviews, Podcasts, Videos and More! - TheFinalSprint.com is the Premier Destination for Track & Field, Marathon, Cross Country, Olympic and Road Racing Enthusiasts.

Click Here for TFS's Track & Field Coverage from the 2008 Beijing Olympics!

Lead Stories: Sunday, September 7, 2008

Sara Hall: Success in London for Ryan, Now On To Mt. Sac (Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #7)

Posted April 18th, 2008 at 4:00 PM by Sara Hall

Section: News & Results, Marathons, Track & Field, Olympics, 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/

It’s over. I am definitely running a little lighter these days now that London is behind us, successfully completed! There is so much buildup going into marathons, especially for Ryan since he usually doesn’t race too much leading up to it. Just one shot, make or break, all that training and dreaming coming down to one day.

This year, Ryan seemed a lot less nervous than last year and at the Trials, which helped me stay relaxed too. I take Ryan’s races very personally, because we are a team- whether playing Poker with our teammates (much to the frustration of Ian [Dobson] frustration) or cheering each other on in workouts, we are “Team Hall” and try to do it together and support each other to the point where his races seem like my races, his victories my victories, and his failures mine as well. The Bible puts it well when it says, “a man shall leave his father and mother, be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh”. Since we’ve been married, I definitely feel like we are “one”, so it was great to be able to be there the whole trip to London and experience it all together!
Read the rest of this entry »

3 comments, add yours | Permalink

Sara Hall: My Future In the Marathon!
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #5)

Posted March 21st, 2008 at 10:00 AM by Sara Hall

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

As I sat down to write my blog, I realized I rarely write about my training (I guess it kind of seems egotistical to me), but for those who are interested, here you go!

Since Indoor Nationals, my training has definitely ramped up (As Steve Slattery would say, taking it up a notch!)! Living in Big Bear Lake, I have gotten to experience what it’s like to “live high, train low” in the full sense of the term. One of the reasons why Ryan and I bought a home in Big Bear is the benefit of living at 7,000 ft elevation, yet being able to drive down to a nice track at sea level in an hour (or less, depending on how fast you tear down the mountain!) It has been a good compromise for Ryan and I, as he imagines himself going into oxygen shock when at sea level (I always joke I’m going to buy him a pressurized space suit he can wear around), whereas I crave the rhythm of the track with my lungs full of air. So this month I have experimented with training in Big Bear, driving down twice a week to do intense track work and on the weekends doing a mini “marathon simulation” as our team calls it (a medium effort run, followed by a long tempo run) up at altitude.
Read the rest of this entry »

3 comments, add yours | Permalink

Sara Hall: Back to the Mountains
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #4)

Posted March 7th, 2008 at 6:45 PM by Sara Hall

Section: Elite Athlete Blogs, Sara Hall

This week I returned to our home in Big Bear Lake after a stint in San Diego, which is always bittersweet. After being down at sea level and getting a taste of racing, I just want to stay down and race every weekend! But as I made my way up the mountain, the sun was glowing on the snow-capped pine trees and I remembered why I love living up here. They day got even better when I was greeted warmly by our puppy Kai, a miniature Siberian Husky. Ryan was out getting a massage, so she was the only one around to greet me. We headed out for a run together before it got too dark and cold. Kai always makes runs go by fast, running gleefully ahead of me, chasing squirrels up into the trees and carrying a 5 lb. hunk of bone she found somewhere. I never thought I would be one of those people that became so attached to their pets (I mean, they’re animals, right?) but in the 5 months we have owned Kai she has brought such a joy to my life that I never would have expected. It’s neat how God can use even the littlest things sometimes to liven our spirits!
Read the rest of this entry »

7 comments, add yours | Permalink

Sara Hall: Patience
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #3)

Posted February 22nd, 2008 at 2:12 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, 5th place finisher in the 1500m at the 2007 USA Track & Field Championships and the 2006 champion at the Continental Airlines Fifth Avenue Mile. Check back every other Friday for her latest entry!

Sara Hall When Ryan and I were first dating during our Freshman year at Stanford, he used to jokingly call me “Sara Patience Bei”. Patience is far from my middle name. It first became apparent in the speed at which we both walked. Freshmen weren’t allowed to have cars at Stanford, so we walked everywhere. Ryan would always whine that I was walking too fast. But the way, he dragged his feet even if we were late. That would make me wonder how somehow who is so fast can walk so slow! The difference in how Ryan and I handle traffic, lines, to-do lists, and overall pace of life is incredible!
Read the rest of this entry »

2 comments, add yours | Permalink

Sara Hall: Legacy …
… Team World Vision!
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #2)

Posted February 8th, 2008 at 7:00 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, 5th place finisher in the 1500m at the 2007 USA Track & Field Championships and the 2006 champion at the Continental Airlines Fifth Avenue Mile. Check back every other Friday for her latest entry!

Sara Hall What kind of legacy are you leaving behind? It’s a question I often think about, especially recently when I was asked by a reporter from ESPN, “What will Ryan Shay’s legacy be?”

I’m sure that Ryan’s death jolted all of us out of our daily routine into thinking about our own lives and what we are living for and to what end.

I don’t want to look back on my life and say, “Well, I won some races, set some records, traveled around the world… but didn’t really do anything to change the world around me”. Not to say that everyone needs to go live among lepers in Calcutta like Mother Teresa, but I believe we are all called to make an impact.
Read the rest of this entry »

6 comments, add yours | Permalink

Sara Hall: Hello from Philly!
(Elite Athlete Blog - Entry #1)

Posted January 25th, 2008 at 3:00 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, 5th place finisher in the 1500m at the 2007 USA Track & Field Championships and the 2006 champion at the Continental Airlines Fifth Avenue Mile. Check back every other Friday for her latest entry!

Sara Hall Hello from Philly! I am staying out here in between east coast competitions for the next couple weeks with my training partners Jen Rhines and Kassi Anderson. Tomorrow we head to Boston for the Reebok Indoor Games, and then Jen and I will return before Millrose the following weekend. It has been fun getting to know the running community here in Philly and being reminded how running brings people together socially. I had this same impression in Flagstaff, Arizona prior to coming to the east coast. The running community in Flagstaff is made up of all kinds of people. From working the night shift at a pharmacy to taking a break from practicing law to recently graduating from college, all the runners come from different places, yet are brought together by this common passion.

These experiences, as well as some others I have had recently, have reiterated to me how life is all about relationships. It is so easy to get tunnel-vision as a professional athlete, and become so fixated on the goals you have in front of you and where you are in the process that it becomes all-consuming (especially in an Olympic year!).
Read the rest of this entry »

One comment, add yours | Permalink