A day or two ago Ryan Hall made his decision. He’s backing out of running the Chicago Marathon on October 10th (http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/sports_globetrotting/2010/09/us-star-hall-withdraws-from-chicago-marathon.html) . It’s certainly not the first time an elite running backed out of an event, but I think in this case the reason is pretty lame.
On September 19th he had a (relatively) poor performance in a half marathon in Philadelphia; instead of winning or dominating, he finished 14th. His time there was actually slower than what he normally runs for the first ½ of a full marathon. So his performance that day was disappointing, and I can sympathize with that. Furthermore, Hall says that he’s had a rough couple of months. I can sympathize with that, too.
``I was very excited to run the Bank of America Chicago Marathon but my workouts haven't been good. I'm very much a guy that when I show up at the starting line, I believe everything is possible, and I go after things with my whole heart, so if I'm not ready to go, I'm not going to show up and have a performance that doesn't reflect that.''
He had a poor race and his workouts haven’t been good. So he’s not running Chicago. No injuries mentioned. No illness. His workouts haven’t been good.
I’m sorry. Don’t we all have bad workouts? And when one of us frets about it, don’t the rest of us come to the rescue with a steady, confident chorus of “It’s okay.” “We all have bad runs and get weary of the training.” “That’s what the taper is for! When you toe the starting line you’ll be rested and ready to run your best.” “Have faith in your training, you’ve done the work!”
That last one brings in the irony. Here’s a guy that for years has been famous for his deeply religious convictions. His FAITH in God. And here he seems to have lost faith in himself.
Granted his marathon goals differ from the rest of us, but the marathon training process is similar. The hardships are very similar. How many of you will decide on Oct 20th that, “You know what, my workouts have been poor and I’m not running well, so I’m sure I won’t run well in the Marine Corps Marathon, so I’m not going to try.”
I can tell you that I’ll be at the head of a very long cyber line of runners on this forum ready to chime in with, “What the heck are you talking about? You’ve got to run it! NO QUITTING!”
He says that when he’s shows up at the starting line, he believes everything is possible, and he goes after things with my whole heart. Sounds to me like he believes everything is possible only when he knows that it’s probable. Quitter.
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