American marathon runner Ryan Hall will be the first to tell you that he hasn't had a spectacular showing in 2012.
In August, Hall made the decision to drop out of the Olympic marathon after about 10 miles due to injury. Hall had signed up to compete in the 2012 ING New York City Marathon on Nov. 4, but he announced on Sept. 10 that he would have to withdraw from that race, also due to an injury.
Hall, 29, is the fastest American-born marathon runner in history. In 2011, he finished the Boston Marathon in a time of 2:04.58, and he's the American record holder in both the half marathon and 20-kilometer races.
Hall had expected to build on the success of 2011 with a spectacular Olympic performance in 2012, but the self-coached runner quickly discovered that a top-performance wasn't going to happen. A few miles into the Olympic race, his hamstring tightened up and continued to get worse until he dropped out, resulting in the first marathon "did not finish" of his career.
After all of the disappointment of 2012, the 29-year-old Californian is looking forward to 2013, he said.
"I'm really looking forward to some redemption in 2012, and having to drop out in New York is really just a bummer, but I really feel it's the best decision for me. I'm still looking at my entire career. (I want to) get my body just totally healthy and (be working on) a totally clean slate," Hall said in this video, posted on Facebook. "And I'm super excited, super motivated, and probably more motivated than ever to just get out there and run smart, train smart, train really hard and get myself in the best form I've been in for 2013."
Hall didn't allude to any of his 2013 plans in the video, though Runner's World reported on Sept. 12 that Hall is considering dropping his self-training regimen in favor of again working with a coach. Hall has trained on his own since splitting with the Mammoth Track Club in 2010.
Read more from this author: Ryan Hall Reflects on 2012 Olympic Marathon, Looks Forward to 2016 Games
Sandra Johnson is a longtime Olympic fan. While working for the United States Olympic Committee and living in the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., Johnson had the opportunity to immerse herself in the Olympic Movement. Follow her on Twitter: @SandraJohnson46
