"I don't feel like I've ever run a bad marathon, that's why I'm not disappointed. It was exactly what I hoped it would be, I learned a lot in my training leading up to this and I learned a lot in the race itself. There's not too many Americans out there running 2:08 so I'll take it." -- Ryan Hall.
"He has (breaking the world record) in his mind. He knows that to win the Olympics or win a World Championship is very nice, but it means you are the best that day. When you break a world record it means to be the best of ever. That is the mentality for him." -- Renato Canova, coach of Moses Mosop, discussing his athlete's desire to break the world record. He believes it is possible for Mosop to run 2:02.
These quotes should tell you a lot about why Hall is running the times he is and why Mosop is running the times he is. Hall needs to compare himself to a higher standard! Hall has the chassis and engine to compete with the best, he just needs to be tuned differently both physically and mentally. What is so frustrating to the many Americans out there is we know he CAN do better but he just seems to be happy where he is...at least he is better than the Americans?!
In any sport, you will not get better unless you compare yourself to a higher standard, train harder, train smarter, compete against better competition. It is good that Hall now recognizes that he needs to improve his half marathon time. Hopefully he will recognize a few more of his needs before the marathon changes even more.