Ryan Hall is a two-time Olympian, holds the U.S. record in the half marathon, and is the only American to run a sub-2:05:00 marathon. But these days, Ryan has cut back quite a bit on his running, and is currently far more focused on lifting — and his transformation from a ~130 lb. worldclass runner to ~180 lb. bodybuilder is wild.
But that’s not the only wild thing Ryan’s got going on — he just completed his first ultramarathon, The North Face Grand Traverse here in Crested Butte — and he did it in the most ‘Off The Couch’ way possible.
So I sat down with Ryan in Blister HQ to talk about his first ultra; some of the incredible highs and some painful lows in his running career; weight and performance and his own struggles as a professional runner to find the right balance; finding proper perspective; and his current work as a running coach where others can benefit from what he’s learned over the years.
Check out runfreetraining.com to learn more about working with Ryan.
TOPICS & TIMES:
- Welcome to Crested Butte! (3:31)
- Running after retirement? (10:10)
- Performing ‘off the couch’ (17:13)
- Developing a proper perspective (23:54)
- Coaching (26:47)
- Weight & disordered eating (29:33)
- Ryan’s podcast, book, & documentary (1:01:47)
- On aging / getting older (1:06:08)
- On setting goals & excellence (1:16:11)
This was a great episode with an amazing athlete. Make a training plan but listen to your body. Avoid burnout. Eat healthy. This really hit home because I also went very low on weight for a while. Lighter just kept getting faster and it felt so good, but friends and relatives became worried about me losing so much weight and then I missed a few goals by just a bit and got really down on myself and just backed the fuck off. I am totally amateur it was not worth it. Thanks!
Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it. Ryan’s message is definitely an important one.