Is it possible Asics would drop Ryan Hall?

He is still the most well known marathoner in the U.S. and Asics will probably do their best to keep him. Asics will keep providing him with Hyperspeeds for as long as he is under contract and wants them.

Not any time soon.

ASICS wants Sara Babe for the Japanese market. They keep RH around as an accessory item.

He dropped out of the Olympics. Fans think he is a nut-job. He comes across as a complete air-head in interviews. He is at the tail-end of his career. He will spend the rest of his career jumping from injury to injury, interspersed by progressively weaker performances. A new group of young studs are getting ready to take on the marathon. He's unlikely to make the next Olympic team. He can't move up in distance. He's unable to move down distances. Marketing departments around the country have realized they wasted money using the guy in ads during the Olympics. He's uncoachable. He rarely races. He does not run track. He does not run cross country. He runs poorly in shorter road races. He rarely runs internationally. He has alienated himself from USA Track and Field for failing to complete the Olympic marathon. He has alienated himself from elite coaching groups around the country.

He better hope God comes out with a line of running shoes!

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are you kidding? Ryan is probably the most well-known US athlete on the running scene for people outside of the community. not only because of his ads but because the runners world people love him. Ask anyone about any other US marathon runner besides maybe meb and see if any of the hobby joggers know them, or even if people outside of the sport know him. He runs the same amount of races as most marathon runners, 2 a year with 2 (or even three) half marathons and a 10k thrown in (peachtree). the people that dont like him or think he's an air-head/nut job are the ones that dont like him because he's honest about his religion (and that in itself is marketable to the religious community).

other than the marathon guys who need the appearence fee money or arent suited for the distance the entire year, which marathon guys run track? or cross for that matter?

even if there is a "younger" generation waiting to pounce on him, hall still has plenty of running left (he's 29?) and because he's got such a fantastic resume already for a us guy he is still able to grab heft appearence fees. despite what you say, hall is still VERY marketable right now and will continue to be at least until the next olympic cycle (and thats assuming he struggles either performance or injury wise for the entire time)

Apart from Rupp, who is in the new group of young studs who are getting ready to take on the marathon that make it unlikely for Hall to make the next Olympic team. I wasn't even sure Rupp was going to do this although I think its likely.

"Fans think he is a nut-job" - not a bad thing, marketing-wise."complete air-head in interviews" - I'd say the polar opposite. He's friendly, warm, not camera-shy, and can be insightful. Compare that to your run-of-the-mill marathoner who mumbles about doing his best."tail-end of his career" - really? He's not yet thirty.etc.

+1. Was thinking the same thing.

You gotta understand Japan wrote:

ASICS wants Sara Babe for the Japanese market. They keep RH around as an accessory item.

Nike dropped Mottram after a sub-par Olympic year in 2008. The last time round, 2010 I recall, adidas lobbied very hard for Sara and Ryan. In the end RH decided to stay with Asics.

As he is right now, he is not very marketable. Asics may rethink their offer this time round.

Belgian Waffle wrote:

Apart from Rupp, who is in the new group of young studs who are getting ready to take on the marathon that make it unlikely for Hall to make the next Olympic team.

There is a good chance that the Boston champ, who is a permanent resident, will have US citizenship before the 2016 trials.

The good news for Hall is that Meb will be 40 by the time the trials come around, so if Hall gets a coach he might beat him.

No more Hyperspeeds? F.

Mebbe he's picked up by newton and gets into ultras. according to most of you guys thats how you get put out to pasture when you can't hang with the big dogs anymore.

If his contract is up, there's no chance at all that Asics won't offer him another one. But it might be less than his last one, or it might be less than what someone else offers.

His best days are clearly behind him. He can't train as hard as he used to due to injury concerns. His career is beginning its downward spiral. The marathon is a cruel master, and it will ultimately beat you. He chose to become a marathon specialist early in his career. It's not something that you can sustain for a decade, especially at today's level of competitiveness. Dropping out of the Olympic marathon severally damaged his reputation.

This thread alone is an indicator that Ryan Hall's reputation/marketability is on the wane.

There is no more marketable marathoner in the US than Hall even with all of his ups and downs. Asics would be nuts to drop him unless his financial demands are ridiculous. Sara is also a nice bonus because they are such a marketable and attractive couple.

But to get to what's important - THEY'RE GETTING RID OF THE HYPERSPEED!??!?! I should have known what was going to happen when they made the last iteration so ugly. Time to stock up.

His stock is way down. Marketing money spent on him before and during the Olympics was wasted. I can't see any companies, Asics included, wasting any more money on this guy.

If there was ever a real chance he would switch companies, this could be the time. There has been a massive change over in the Asics marketing department the past 18 months and the new staff...well, just look back at how they (mis)handled the Charles Jock situation.

BTW, if I'm Asics I'm on the phone everyday with Ryan and his agent pressuring him to get a proper coach. Anyone who knows this sport could tell you how this self-coaching thing would end.