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| Can Ryan Hall stop Moses Mosop? |
Ryan Hall will have his hands full this weekend, but he couldn't be happier. The self-imposed pressure that seemed more evident a year ago, seems to be gone. He ran Boston in 2:04:58 and in turn considers himself a 2:04 marathoner. He is. No one seems to question his coaching decision anymore as well. And even though he
took some heat when signing on for Chicago, his two biggest competitors at the trials will have tougher hills to climb (pun intended), than he does. The projected runner-up,
Dathan Ritzenhein, hasn't raced in year and continues to battle injury, while
Meb Keflezighi will be suiting up a month from now in
New York. Judging by
his interview with Flotrack, Hall is feeling pretty confident about his chances making the team and competing in London. Another thing Hall touched on during the Flotrack interview was Let's Run's offer to donate $5000 to his
Steps Foundation if he goes under 2:05. Although he'd love to break that magical 2:05 mark, I am sure he'd be happy enough breaking Khalid Khannouchi's American Record of 2:05:38, a former World Record, that was se
t April 14, 2002 at the London Marathon.
Hall will have his hands full with one of the men that beat him on his incredible run last year in Boston; the
Renato Canova-coached,
Moses Mosop. Boston was Mosop's debut (2:03:06) and he looked equally, if not better, during the 30k World Record that he
ran on the track in Eugene this Summer. Doug Binder and Jim McDannald (of
Track Focus) watched in awe as Mosop got faster and faster the entire race and dropped a 63-second 400 on lap 45 (of 75). If Hall can follow Mosop, and the weather agrees, the American record should be in jeopardy, but beating Mosop will take a career effort (and some luck).
Also of note on the Men's side is a strong contingent of Ethiopians, led by Bazu Worku and Bekana Daba, as well as an equally strong group of Kenyans (Evans Cheruyiot, Wesley Korir, Bernard Kipyego, Joshua Chelanga). Brazil's Marilson Dos Santos and Japan's Atsushi Sato round out the contenders. On the Women's side, the favorite will be Russia's Liliya Shobukhova, with three others coming in with PR's under 2:25.
Full
elite startlist is available here.
Of local note, Raleigh and
The Athlete Foot Racing's Joe Moore will be taking aim at the 2:19:00 Olympic Trials standard. Good luck Joe!
Watch the Chicago Marathon live Sunday at
NBCChicago.com from you computer or your smartphone (I like this trend).
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