Press Release

ASICS' Athlete and Future Olympian Ryan Hall Beats Personal Best At Flora London Marathon

London, UK (April 14, 2008) - Running in only his third marathon, ASICS' athlete Ryan Hall proved he is a serious medal contender at the upcoming Beijing Games with his fifth-place finish at the Flora London Marathon. Hall crossed the finish line in 2:06.17, a new personal best by over two minutes, making him the second fastest American of all time and 12th fastest marathoner in history.

With intense rain and the temperature only 45 degrees, Hall kept with his pre-race plan of staying with the leaders from the start. Hall was in the lead pack through the first half of the race with the world record pace of 1:02.13 half-marathon. At mile 17, Hall felt the pace slowing down so he ran up to the pacers instructing them to pick the pace back up. As a result, he was quickly dropped by 10 seconds over the next mile.

"In hindsight, it was a rookie mistake, but I was confident I would catch back up. The first half was so fast I knew they would either come back to me or I would catch them a few miles later," said Hall.

While most of the fans, including the BBC TV commentators, thought Hall was done, he rejoined the group of five runners at mile 22 after running miles 18-21 by himself. The lead pack was surprised to see Hall back running with them once again. The group stayed together before the top three finishers broke away at the 24-mile mark.

"It was really challenging, both mentally and physically," Hall said. "It was the uneven pace that made it difficult because I'm more a rhythm runner, but this will help in my preparation for Beijing."

Hall's split times:
5K 14:22
10K 29:11
15K 44:01
20K 58:58
Half 1:02.13
25K 1:13.47
30K 1:28.38
35K 1:43.54
40K 1:59.23
42K 2:06.17

Hall, sponsored by ASICS since 2005, made his marathon debut at the 2007 Flora London Marathon and in December 2007 won the U.S men's Olympic marathon trials to earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic team to Beijing.

ASICS Corporation, with more than 50 years of footwear manufacturing experience, offers a full line of performance-driven athletic shoes and technical active sports apparel and accessories. For more information, please visit www.asics.com.