New York, USA - Rarely, if ever, can a marathon celebration have started so early. Ryan Hall was more than a mile from the finish of the United States men’s Olympic trial in Central Park today when he raised his arm and pointed his index finger firmly skywards to emphasise that he – and nobody else - was No.1.

For the next five minutes, as Hall approached the winning line, he engaged in endless high fives with spectators, repeated his single-finger gesture time and again, and motioned with both arms for those watching to cheer louder.

The quiet man who enjoys the simple life in the peace and tranquillity of Mammoth Lakes, California, was whooping it up like a native New Yorker. And, as Hall stopped the clock in 2:09.02, after a dominant performance on an undulating course, it was clear why experts here believe that, at 25, he will be the next great US marathon runner.

A miler no more

Hall’s rise has been swift and emphatic. Only two years ago, in July 2005, the miler/5000m runner was saying this about the marathon: “Just thinking of the training makes my body feel tired. I do put in a good amount of mileage and maybe one day I will be able to handle marathon training, but the idea doesn’t appeal to me at all right now.”

However, since making the commitment to the longer distances, Hall has set a US Half Marathon record (59:43, in Houston, in January) and recorded the fastest debut by an American (2:08.24, in London, in April). And now he has broken the 27-year-old Olympic trials record, winning here by more than two minutes.

Alan Culpepper, winner of the 2004 US Olympic trial, responded by saying that Hall’s performance was the equivalent of a 2:06 run with an all-out effort on a flatter course: “I think he can run three minutes faster on a standard marathon course,” Culpepper said. “He ran 2:09 waving to the crowd for the last two miles – and on this course! Certainly he is a medal contender for Beijing.”

Hall pulled clear on an uphill section just before 17 miles. “It wasn’t planned,” he said. “My coach (Terrence Mahon) gave me a lot of freedom. He said: ‘Just play it out based on how you’re feeling.’ So I decided to press a little bit and see how the guys responded. I really wasn’t trying to make a decisive move.”
 
“I didn’t expect to run that fast on this course. I think I can run considerably faster. I felt really good and there is definitely some more gears in there. But I’ll get to test those in Beijing.”  Of his elongated celebration, Hall said: “I was trying not to get too emotional too early but I saw myself achieving my goal in the last lap and knew that if I stayed within myself I would be okay.”

Particularly impressive about Hall is his smooth and effortless style, with low arm carriage and long stride. Asked what had persuaded him to move up from the mile/5000m, he replied: “A lot of bad races. I struggled at Stanford for two years and it wasn’t until I moved up to the 5k that I really started having success. It was really a pride thing. I was holding onto the mile so tight then, when I finally started to move up, it was a good fit for me.”

“I kept pushing my coach to run the mile. It was frustration after frustration. But I was really stubborn about moving up, really stuck on the mile.”

'Slow and painful but I enjoyed it'

Soon Hall was back to where he started. His first run, at the age of 14, was a 15-miler around Big Bear Lake with his father, Mickey Hall, who was training for the Hawaii Ironman triathlon. “It was slow and painful but I enjoyed it,” Hall recalled. “I came back and said to myself: ‘This is my sport’. “

“From then on I think God gave me a vision for what could happen and I have always felt like I could run with the best in the world. I felt that even when I was struggling those years at Stanford and getting eighth place in 800m races run in 2 minutes.”

Saying that his father was his inspiration, now it is Mickey’s turn to be inspired by Ryan. Mickey runs in the ING New York City Marathon tomorrow for the first time and, yesterday, his wife, Sara, said: “If Ryan wins, Mickey’s feet will barely touch the ground.”  Mickey’s goal? “It’s just a sightseeing race for me,” he said. There will be no better sight than the one he saw of his son winning today.

Hall has enjoyed the benefits of being raised at altitude. Mammoth Lakes is situated at 7000ft and is where Meb Keflezighi and Deena Kastor prepared for the 2004 Athens Olympics. Keflezighi won silver and Kastor bronze.

Hall had not race for four months prior to today but he prefers it that way. “I like to disappear into the mountains and just train,” he said. “I get more confidence from some of the workouts than running a half marathon. I’m living the simple life and just pounding it out.”

'My thoughts are with Ryan and his family'

It was not long after finishing that Hall’s celebratory mood was dampened, when he learned of the death of Ryan Shay, who collapsed five miles into the race and died in hospital. Hall, who attended Shay’s wedding, said: “As great as the moment is (for me), my thoughts are with Ryan and his family.”

Paying tribute to Shay, Hall added: “He went out and trained his butt off every single day, so he was really inspiring to be around. I’m going to be thinking about him when I’m out there training. I saw the marathon mentality which he displayed day in day out. It upped the ante for the level of training we were doing.”

David Powell for the IAAF