Ryan Hall, the American record holder in the half-marathon, is headed to Hawaii to run in the Paul Mitchell XTERRA Trail Run World Championship half-marathon at Kualoa Ranch on 4 December.
While endurance sport fans might expect the 33-year-old, two-time Olympian to be considered the front-runner to win the upcoming trail championship, he begs to differ.
“Based on my 2:04 marathon PR you would think I would be the favourite but I have a completely different, more athletic and stronger body now,” said Hall, who ran the fastest marathon time ever by an American five years ago in Boston. “I would have a better chance at winning America Ninja Warrior than winning this race.”
The XTERRA Trail Run Worlds on Oahu, Hawaii, features roughly 1,500 runners from 20 countries and 40 US states of all ages and skill levels from around the world. With most racing under way on Sunday 4 December 2016, the race weekend encompasses the 9th annual XTERRA Trail Run World Championship half-marathon, plus 5km and 10km trail runs, an adventure walk, and free kids runs.
It is the last race in the 100-stop worldwide XTERRA Trail Run Series to determine the best-of-the-best. Elite runners race for US$10,000 in prize money, and each age division 15-19, 20-24, etc., crowns World Championship titles.
The Paul Mitchell XTERRA Trail Run World Championship is sponsored by Outrigger Resorts, PowerBar, Gatorade Endurance, Muscle Milk, the Hawaii Tourism Authority, Kualoa Ranch, XTERRA TV?on Amazon Video, Trail Runner Magazine, Compex, XTERRA Fitness, Optic Nerve Sunglasses, XTERRA Boards, XTERRA Travel, Greenlayer, and Surgicare of Hawaii.
Ryan Hall, who retired from professional running in January after struggling with fatigue in the final years of his illustrious running career, set out to combat the lethargy with weight training and dietary changes.
“Since retiring I’ve gotten super into weight training,” he explained. “It’s really fun to do something so anabolic in nature and being able to see such rapid growth and improvement. Weight training is my new passion but I can’t say it’s done a lot for my running. I am kind of a lumbering giant these days so I am not putting out any impressive numbers anymore, but I am happy making my gains in the weight room rather than on the trails.”
His regime now includes “pouring down about 50g of protein every three hours, usually in the form of Alaska Salmon or Muscle Milk.”
He continued, “A year and a half ago I weighed 127 pounds. Today, I weigh 170, and while I am not as lean as I was then I will say that I never had abs before, no matter how ridiculously skinny I would get. And that wasn’t from a lack of core training. Sometimes I would train my core hard for 30 minutes a day, but since bulking and getting into weights I noticed my abs starting to pop for the first time in my life.
“It’s fun to see how big and strong a 127lb, 2:04 marathoner can get. I’d like to eventually get over 200lbs with somewhat low body fat. Not sure if that’s possible, but I am having fun trying.”
Hall, who heard about XTERRA Trail Run Worlds through his sponsors at Muscle Milk, said he was thrilled to get invited to run in paradise and check out Kualoa Ranch.
“I was stoked when Muscle Milk said they wanted to bring me out for the event,” he said. “I’ve been going down my bucket list and running races for pure enjoyment in some of the most beautiful places in the world, and it’s been really fun for me to let go of the high-performance end of things and really just soak in the entire race experience without the high expectations. When I saw the pictures from previous year’s XTERRA Trail Run Worlds I was instantly drawn to the event. I’m excited to see Kualoa Ranch, it looks stunning!”
Those lucky to be on Oahu over the XTERRA Weekend (3-4 December 2016) are invited to take in a free XTERRA University running clinic with Ryan Hall on Saturday 3 December at the Waikiki Beach Walk at 10:00 local time.
