Olympic Marathon Trials

Olympic Marathon Trials /

Olympic hopefuls ran a New York city course that included a five-loop spin around Central Park.

Ryan Hall pulled away from the pack around the 17-mile mark.

In his first Olympic marathon trials, Hall won in a record time of 2 hours, 9 minutes, 2 seconds.

The cool autumn weather worked to Hall's advantage.

Brian Sell surpassed a cramped up Dan Browne to take third place.

Hall made the fastest marathon debut by an American when he came in eighth against an elite field in London in April.

Hall ran the mile at Stanford but now knows that the marathon is his race.

Hall's victory was quickly dimmed by the death of fellow runner Ryan Shay.

Ryan Hall, Dathan Ritzenhein and Brian Sell look forward to representing the U.S. at the 2008 Summer Games.

Hall had to battle former record holder Khalid Khannouchi, who was looking to make a comeback after a poor showing in his last competition.

Caught in the moment, Ryan Hall is the vision of a bright future for the American distance squad.

Published Nov 5, 2007