Today as I was out running the last 20 miles on The ING NYC Marathon course I felt like I re-learned a very important lesson and fulfilled my purpose for coming to New York City this week.  I was having one of those days where I was tired and my run wasn’t going as well as I hoped.  All I could think about was how off my body felt, how tired I was from getting up at 5:30 am, how hard it was for me to navigate the city roads and traffic, how I wished I was back home in the forest. Really I was reaping frustration because I had let my heart become too self-focused.  As I ran along, God was telling me this is what it is like to be running with an inward focus, but it doesn’t have to be this way.  Though I heard Him, it didn’t make it from my head to my heart until after the run, as I lay on the massage table, still irritated by the morning, God impressed on my heart, get outside yourself.
 
It’s ironic that I am writing about lacking an outward focus less than two days after Sara and I launched our foundation, the Hall Steps Foundation.  Its goal is taking small steps towards the marathon goal of ending poverty.  The vision for the foundation came from one of my personal heroes, Mother Teresa, who said, “I can do no great things, just small things with great love.”  Out of this quote our slogan was born, “small steps, great love”.  Marathoners know best about taking lots of small steps towards accomplishing a seemingly impossible goal, whether it’s to break 2 hours or 8.  Through the Hall Steps Foundation our aim is to encourage runners to take their own “small steps” by focusing outside themselves on others both in their community and around the world living in poverty.
 
Yet, despite my excitement about starting this endeavor and belief in its mission, somehow I had lost focus.  This morning I woke up with the wrong perspective and forgotten my life and running is not all about me. I had forgotten that the truly special moments that I have experienced in running are all when I was outwardly-focused.  When I set my mind on God and praising Him through my running, thinking about my wife, family, and all those who I love, and remembering the people I am impacting a positive force in my running and is how God designed me to ideally function.  The more I reach out to positively impact others, the more my motivation and focus changes when running.  After visiting Zambia with World Vision in the fall of 2008, the faces of the kids we were to bring clean water to became burned in my mind’s eye.  I often go there when I am hurting on a run finding new strength that I couldn’t find in myself. 
 
The goal of today’s run was to preview the last 20 miles of The ING NYC Marathon course, but I accomplished so much more than that.  I learned an important lesson about what enables me to really fly: focusing outside myself by focusing on others I love.
 

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Part-three of an exclusive five-part series, Ryan Hall discusses setting his marathon PR, American marathoners emerging as true contenders on the world stage and how sticking your own race plan is key for success in the marathon.

Thanks to all who of you who have been keeping up with me on my blog during the lead up to yesterday's Boston Marathon.  It was a great experience to run in the oldest continuous marathon in the world and my podium finish proved my training is heading in the right direction.  Under the guidance of Coach Terrence Mahon, we feel a win at a Major Marathon is definitely in my future.  Every race provides me with lessons which I will take to the next one and soon you will see me on the top of the podium.

Aside from the race itself, there were many memories from my first Boston experience which I will always remember.  One that will always stand out is being on the mound at Fenway Park.  I've carried the baseball around with me since throwing out the first pitch and I even had it in my backpack as we went to the starting line yesterday morning.  The baseball is now one of my good luck charms!  Lastly, I want to thank all of you who lined the streets in yesterday's cold and windy weather to cheer on all of the runners as we made our way to Boylston Street.  You kept us going when the hurt started to set in especially in the last 10K.  

I look forward to my return to Boston next year!

Ryan Hall crosses the finish line at the 113th annual Boston Marathon in third place with 2:09:40.

Went on a 35 minute run this morning followed by some strides and drills so all the preparation for tomorrow's race is in the books!  Excitement continues to build so it was great to have Sara with me on the run this morning to make sure that I kept everything easy and not push the pace or intensity in my run or strides/drills.  All of my workouts for tomorrow's race could not have gone any better.  They were better than what I put in last year when I ran in London so I am hoping all will translate to a good run tomorrow.  Thanks to all of you for your kind words and prayers.  Now where did I put my singlet? 

Arrived in Boston on Thursday afternoon and was excited to finally make it to the city.  I'd put in the all the miles, tempo runs, drills, weight training, etc. and in 4 days I will be on the starting line for my first Major Marathon in the US.  Sara and I went for a light run with Coach & Jenn, had dinner at the Village, and then went to our room to unpack and get ready to call it night.  As I slowly unpacked my bags, I realized I had left my singlet (and other items) in Mammoth!  Had to give Ben from ASICS a call to let him know.  How dumb do you think I felt having to make that call? He told me not to worry about it and that he would have one for me by race day.  Never in my entire running career had I ever left my singlet at home.  This morning, Ben gave me my singlet so I am ready for the race tomorrow.  Glad I won't have to run shirtless; it would have been hard to figure out how and where I was going to put my race bib.

Growing up wanting to be a Major League Baseball player, tonight was a dream come true and one I will never forget.  How cool is it to throw out the first pitch at a Boston Red Sox game in Fenway Park and getting the ball to home plate without hitting the dirt first.  Truly a sweet experience!!

After the expo, it was off to the marathon finish line for a photoshoot with Boston Marathon legend, Bill Rodgers.  It was an awesome experience for me to be in the same photo with Bill as he has crossed this finish line 4 times as the winner of this legendary race.  Bill is also running the race on Monday and I hope that being in his company today will rub off on me in my quest to run and win the race on Monday.  Thanks Bill for taking this photo with me!  (I am very superstitious when it comes to crossing a marathon finish line so the photo was shot in front of the line.)

 One of the things I enjoy during marathon weekend is going to the expo to meet runners of all ages who stop by the ASICS booth to say hello, wish me luck, ask for an autograph, or have a photo taken with me.  We left the athlete village at 10:45am to head over to the expo for my 11:00am appearance.  On the way, we ran into my parents who had just arrived in Boston.  On the way to the expo, they told me that it took them 25 hours to get to Boston.  Their flight out of Ontario Airport left at 9:45am Friday and, after stops at 4 different airports due to delays, etc., they finally made it to Boston a day later.  They have been at all of my major races since high school and know they would do whatever it took to get to Boston to watch me race on Monday.  Lacking sleep but still looking fresh, they joined us for the morning. 

We got to the expo and was met by a crowd that started to form a line an hour and a half before I arrived.  I thought it was cool for people to line up to wait for me but at times I am still in awe that they are there to see and talk to me.  I started signing autographs as soon as I sat down to make sure i was able to meet everyone who had been up to an hour waiting for me.  It was great to meet other runners who will be on the line on Monday.  As much as you all tell me how much I inspire you, I hope you all know that you inspire me to keep going and running as fast as I can.  After an hour of signing autographs and taking pictures, we had to tell those who came by the ASICS booth that I had to get to my next appointment - a photo session with 4-time Boston Marathon winner Bill Rodgers at the marathon finish line. 

It's been a busy Friday and it's only noon.  Started out with a 6:15am wake-up call from USADA for a drug test (had to give blood on this one).  I was able to go back to bed to catch a few more Zzz's and then it was out for a 30min run around Back Bay in sunny Boston.  The weather today is very diffrent from when I was here in March to preview the course.  Back then it was around 20 degrees with heavy snowfall; today was definitely much better!  After my run, all the athletes met over to the Fairmont Copley Hotel for the official Boston Marathon Press Conference.  I spoke to about 30 journalists from around the world with questions ranging from "Am I going to win on Monday?" to "How much do I know about the history of the Boston Marathon?"  With each passing day, the excitement grows.  I am one day closer to fulfilling a dream of running Boston.  I hope to post again later today letting you know how the rest of my afternoon went, but I can definitely tell you now that there is a nap on the agenda.  For those of you in the Boston area, I will be at the expo tomorrow at 11:00am signing posters at the ASICS booth.  Hope to see you there.