A Visit with Ryan Hall

We had the great opportunity of hearing 2008 Olympian and American Record Holder in the half-marathon Ryan Hall. He's a local product out of Big Bear High, but calls Mammoth home now for his high-altitude training base.

After a "shot in the dark" email I made a week ago through his website to ask if he'd speak to our team, he said he was booked to speak to a group on Tuesday night and that we were welcome to join in!

We did! ...And it was awesome!

Ryan came across very grounded, down to earth, and willing to impart the lessons he has learned over the years to those willing to listen. He didn't brag, he just softly and at time humorously told stories of success and defeat, victories and failures, but mostly how he has grown and learned through his rise from wannabe basketball player in high school to America's best marathoner today. (He's competing in the the New York Marathon on November 1st).

There was so much to take from his talk, but the theme he tried to drive home was "to be confident in who you are and what you can do." He told the audience of high school and college runners that he was no more special than they were, and that in each and everyone of us is "the possiblity of greatness."

Of the many lessons he shared, the one that gripped me was connected to this last summer's Olympic Games in China. He was a medal-contender. He had placed high and ahead of many of the African greats in previous world-class marathons, and there was a lot of pre-Olympic hype over what Ryan "was" going to do on the final day of the Games. It wasn't to be. He finished 10th, well behind the leaders and was never in contention for a medal.

He admitted that as he entered the tunnel of the stadium, preparing to run the final 500 meters of the race on the track, he felt bitter. His lifetime goal had fallen short -- way short in his mind. Yet, something happened in the tunnel that he said not only changed the way he ran that last quarter mile, but solidified a lesson he had been working through. It was there that he realized that winning was what he wanted, but not necessarily what he needed. He discovered that perhaps 10th place in the Olympic Games was EXACTLY the golden moment he needed right then for his career and for his life. So, he said, "I entered the stadium and thoroughly enjoyed the moment I was in."

For a 24 year old to possess that kind of wisdom is truly remarkable. And so it was a great night, listening to one of Southern California's own, a young man determined to use the platform his fame has given him to give back to the next generation. He used it well.