Sara Hall announced on Monday that she will make her marathon debut at the 2015 Asics L.A. Marathon, returning to her home state for her first 26.2-mile attempt. She will be joined by her husband and two-time Olympian Ryan Hall in the men’s field. 

 

“I’ve fallen in love with the marathon over the years watching Ryan run so many, he makes it looks so fun! And I've just been waiting for the right time to tackle the distance myself,” Hall said. 

 

This year’s L.A. marathon serves as the 2015 U.S. Championship for the distance, and on Feb. 13, 2016, the city will be the site of the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials on a different course. 

 

Hall most recently finished fourth at the USATF Half Marathon Championships in Houston Jan. 18, clocking in at 1:10:50, just behind Janet Bawcom, Brianne Nelson and race-winner Kim Conley. The performance was a new personal best after recovering from a bacterial infection that she picked up while on a recent training trip to Ethiopia. 

 

Another health scare in the fall forced Hall to rethink her original marathon debut plans.  

 

“Initially I looked at the fall of 2014 because it was the off year from the track World Championships and would give me enough time to decide if it was an event I wanted to pursue for the 2016 Olympic Trials,” Hall said. 

 

“That plan got derailed when my appendix burst out of nowhere in August of 2014, but I had already started marathon training and really enjoying it, so I had the bug and wanted to do one as soon as I was healthy and ready.”

 

Hall currently trains in Flagstaff, Arizona with her husband Ryan, American record-holder in the half marathon and marathon. 
 

“Having Ryan on the same journey towards the race makes for a very fun preparation. And who knows, maybe we will set the couples world record out there!” Hall said. 

 

The Asics L.A. Marathon was a strategic decision for Hall, who is from Santa Rosa, Calif. and will have a strong support system cheering her on, including American record-holder Deena Kastor.

 

“Deena Kastor told me it was her favorite course she's ever run, which says a lot! Knowing my whole Asics family will be out supporting me is a big motivator,” Hall said. 

 

Hall has represented the United States at three World Indoor Championships and a World Cross Country Championship. She was the 2011 Pan American Games steeplechase gold medalist and the 2012 U.S. Cross Country champion. The transition to the marathon has been a pleasant adjustment for Hall who credits the support of Ryan and her coach Steve Magness.

 

“I just finished a 112-mile week with a very hard 24-mile run, which would have sounded like a lot to run 16 miles a day a year ago but my body has just been absorbing it all like a sponge,” Hall said. 

 

“Ryan has been been working with my coach Steve Magness to make sure I'm hitting all the necessary big workouts, and it has been great to have both of their support, including some of the fresh research that Steve brings.”

 

Hall will face tough competition in her marathon debut, including Olympian Janet Bawcom, who finished one spot ahead of Hall in Houston. Bawcom set her personal best of 2:29:45 at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, where she finished fifth before competing in the 10k at the London Olympic Games. Rising star and 2:30-marathoner Becky Wade will return to racing after an injury forced her to withdraw from the 2014 Chicago Marathon. 

 

Former Romanian Olympian Nuta Olaru (2:24:33), Alissa McKaig, Heather Lieberg and Melissa White will round out the list of American contenders. The international field will include Ethiopians Misiker Mekonnin Demisse (2:25:21) and Konjit Tilahun Biruk (2:28:11) who hold the third and fourth fastest personal bests in the field, respectively. 

 

“My number one goal is to finish the race strong and have a great last six miles. I know it's going to be really hard, and I have my own expectations of myself for time and place, but really I want to have a good experience out there and finish wanting to run another,” Hall said. 

 

“I feel so thankful that God has blessed me with this gift I enjoy so much, and I have been enjoying the process immensely, so I just want to stay in that state of having fun challenging myself and going all out.”