Ryan Hall in great spirits as he approaches the finish in New York (© Getty Images)
Olympians Deena Kastor and Ryan Hall, both US record holders in the Half Marathon, will make their 2010 racing debuts over the distance at the seventh P.F. Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon and Half Marathon on Sunday (17).
Hall set the U.S. record over the distance in 2007 when he won the USA Half Marathon Championship at Houston in 59:43 to become the first and only American to ever break the one-hour barrier on a record standard course, while bettering the previous U.S. record that had stood for 21 years.
"I have always wanted to run the event ever since Haile (Gebrselassie) broke the world record for the half marathon there," said Hall, referring to the Ethiopian’s stellar performance in 2006 who clocked a then-World record of 58:55 on the back half of the Marathon course.
Hall, 27, won the 2008 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in New York and went on to finish 10th in the Beijing Olympics in 2:12:33. Most recently, he was fourth at the 2009 ING New York City Marathon in 2:10:36.
Kastor, the bronze medallist in the Marathon at the 2004 Olympic Games, shattered Joan Benoit Samuelson's long-standing U.S. record by 41 seconds with a time of 1:07:53 in Philadelphia in 2005. The three-time Olympian later bettered her time in Berlin in 2006 to 1:07:34 to sit just outside the distance’s all-time top-10.
Kastor is also the national record holder in the Marathon with her 2:19:36 performance from London in 2006, and still ranks as the fifth fastest woman ever.
In the Marathon, both 2009 winners will be back to defend their titles. In the men’s race, Terefe Yae of Ethiopia, who also won the race in 2007 after finishing runner-up in 2006, returns. Leading the marathon field is women's defending champion Olena Shurkhno of Ukraine who set her PB of 2:30:18 at last year's race.
Dan Cruz (organisers) for the IAAF
Hall set the U.S. record over the distance in 2007 when he won the USA Half Marathon Championship at Houston in 59:43 to become the first and only American to ever break the one-hour barrier on a record standard course, while bettering the previous U.S. record that had stood for 21 years.
"I have always wanted to run the event ever since Haile (Gebrselassie) broke the world record for the half marathon there," said Hall, referring to the Ethiopian’s stellar performance in 2006 who clocked a then-World record of 58:55 on the back half of the Marathon course.
Hall, 27, won the 2008 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in New York and went on to finish 10th in the Beijing Olympics in 2:12:33. Most recently, he was fourth at the 2009 ING New York City Marathon in 2:10:36.
Kastor, the bronze medallist in the Marathon at the 2004 Olympic Games, shattered Joan Benoit Samuelson's long-standing U.S. record by 41 seconds with a time of 1:07:53 in Philadelphia in 2005. The three-time Olympian later bettered her time in Berlin in 2006 to 1:07:34 to sit just outside the distance’s all-time top-10.
Kastor is also the national record holder in the Marathon with her 2:19:36 performance from London in 2006, and still ranks as the fifth fastest woman ever.
In the Marathon, both 2009 winners will be back to defend their titles. In the men’s race, Terefe Yae of Ethiopia, who also won the race in 2007 after finishing runner-up in 2006, returns. Leading the marathon field is women's defending champion Olena Shurkhno of Ukraine who set her PB of 2:30:18 at last year's race.
Dan Cruz (organisers) for the IAAF
