Sara Hall put forth an amazing effort at the Olympic Marathon Trials in Orlando. Her tough running earned her a fifth place finish in the race with her time of 2:26.06, which also set the American Masters record.
“I’m proud of how I ran out there, it’s not what I dreamed of, but I don’t think I could have done any more than that,” she said.
Hall went with the lead pack early, as the runners were moving at a very quick pace to start off the race. Hall took the lead as the lead pack crossed the six mile mark, as she split 32:31 at that point in the race. She regained the lead again at the ninth mile and continued to stay with the lead pack.
At around mile 18, the lead pack started to create some separation, with Fiona O’Keeffe taking charge and taking the lead by about 30 seconds. Hall fell off the pace and ended up in fifth place, which is where she finished the race.
Hall said that she endured muscle cramps in her legs and in her neck as she fought to the finish. She said that she tried to remain positive and keep believing as she competed to the very end.
“I made all the right choices,” she said. “When the move happened, I was cramping pretty bad and couldn’t go with it. I was able to eventually get out of that and start moving better, but unfortunately that gap was too hard to close. I don’t have any regrets.”
Hall spent some time training in Florida ahead of the Trials, but she mentioned after the race that the conditions became tougher throughout the race, especially as the temperatures transitioned from the 60’s to the lower 70’s in Orlando.
“The conditions definitely got harder as it went,” she said. “I tried to prepare as much as I could for (the conditions), I did everything I could for sure. It’s definitely hard when it’s winter to prepare for a hot marathon. But everyone was in it together.”
Hall said the road to get here has been tough. She suffered an IT Band injury in the second half of 2022, which kept her from training and racing as she recovered from the injury. She suffered a minor injury which led her to withdraw from the Houston Half Marathon back in January, which she said did not give her any issues while running at the Trials. She credits her family and support system for helping her throughout her journey.
“It’s been such a hard year and a half, and my team has rallied for me harder than ever before,” she said. “I really hoped to make them proud and do this for them today, but I’m really grateful for them.”
Hall, 40, has accomplished a great deal as a marathoner. She made her marathon debut in 2015, and since then, she’s run the fourth fastest time in American history in the women’s marathon with her time of 2:20.32 that she set in 2020. She also secured a second place finish at the London Marathon in 2020. She finished third at the Chicago Marathon in 2021, and then in 2022, she finished in fifth place at the World Championships in Eugene in the marathon.
Don’t for one second believe that Hall is thinking about slowing down. She hasn’t ruled out a potential run at an Olympic team in 2028.
“I never thought I’d still be doing this at this point, so never say never,” she said. “I’m just going to keep doing this as long as I’m enjoying it and improving, which is still right now at 40. I feel really thankful for that.”
