Perilous Peak of Perfection

Published by Toni Reavis on October 24, 2013

Runner’s World Newswire put out a story October 23rd by Peter Gambaccini – Former Elite’s Advice for Ryan Hall – in the wake of Hall’s pull out from the November 3rd ING New York City Marathon, the third straight major marathon he has been signed to run, but been unable to start.  The advice ranged from “…go back to Kenya and get into a group that most of the top guys are training in and give it more than a few months,” from fellow 2008 Olympic marathoner Brian Sell, to “…You should focus on breaking the 4:00 mile,” from 1972 Olympic 1500m bronze medalist and 1983 New York City Marathon champion Rod Dixon of New Zealand.

Everyone has advice and an opinion, a testament to the regard the industry has for Ryan, the man, and the hope it carries for his position in the sport.  But maybe the best advice would be for Ryan, or any other American, to discover a time machine and dial it back about 30 years when he could have been number one in the world rather than just number one from sea to shining sea.

When Moroccan-born American Khalid Khannouchi broke his own marathon world record at the 2002 London Marathon, his scintillating 2:05:38 win over eventual marathon world record holders  Paul Tergat and a debuting Haile Gebrselassie was voted the greatest marathon of all-time by a panel of experts.  That designation wasn’t simply based on the winning time, but the quality and intrigue of the field.

Today that Special K performance only ranks #40 on the official all-time marathon list (Boston 2011 doesn’t count with its two sub-2:04s, and two sub-2:05s). Second fastest American Ryan Hall’s 2:06:17 fifth place finish in London 2008 stands at #65, whileDathan Ritzenhein’s marathon PR of 2:07:47 from the 2012 Chicago Marathon is no better than #221in marathon history, and only 69^th best from that calendar year.