The Slow Burn....

Ryan Hall wins the 2007 Olympic Trials (photo: Runner's World)

33-year old American marathoner Ryan Hall has been a staple on the world distance running scene for the better part of a decade. Whether he was making waves with an amazing performance (setting the American half marathon record in 2007 at 59:43 or the second fastest time for an American born runner at 2:06:17 in 2008), a disappointing showing (DNF'ing at the 2012 Olympics in London and struggling in several races thereafter), or his unusual approaches to training (often approaching 200 miles per week in peak training while foregoing a traditional coach in favor of leaning on his religious beliefs for guidance), the conversation about whether an American could compete on the world stage against the best runners in the game would often start and end with him. 

Lately, however, his career has been more disappointment than accomplishment. Injuries have taken their toll on his body and the inability to live up to lofty expectations has no doubt left him mentally burned out. To make matters worse, he admits to dealing with the dreaded over training syndrome, characterized by chronic fatigue and exhaustion. Last month, Ryan announced his retirement from competitive running, much to the dismay of those of us who hoped that he would continue to challenge the world's elite for years to come and inspire a generation of young athletes to follow in his world-class footsteps. 

(photo: New York Times)

What caught my attention was how long Ryan has been struggling with his running. For all intents and purposes, his career was over at 30. The retirement announcement was merely a formality. It isn't unusual in professional sports for athletes to realize sizable declines in performance after the age of 30, but it does make me wonder what it must feel like for an exceptional young athlete to look ahead only to realize that he or she will never be able to live up to the accomplishments of their younger days. Professional sports are riddled with athletes looking to find the elusive fountain of youth and who will go to extreme lengths (whether legal or not) to maintain that level of ability. I understand why they do it, even though I don't always agree with how they do it. It must be a difficult reality to accept. 

In my case, I have never been nor will I ever be mistaken for anything remotely approaching an elite athlete. On a good day I may be age competitive in a local race, which gives me a sense of pride and accomplishment - but for the most part I race against myself. Running, as a hobby, fills a number of needs for me - it is an outlet for my competitive drive, it satisfies my desire to remain fit and active, it provides me with the hope that I can maintain an active lifestyle as I age, and most importantly, it keeps me as far away from the medical establishment as possible - but in the end, it's just that, a hobby. As much as I enjoy it, I have to do something else to pay the bills, and as such, my ability to spend any more of my time training and racing is limited.

One thing I will say, though, is that I still operate under the belief that my best days are ahead of me. Even now in my 40's, I still have the sense that I can train smarter, eat better, and race smarter than I did in my younger days. In fact, all of my current road-running PR's (personal records) have come since I crossed the 40 year-old threshold (marathon 3:08, half marathon 1:24:08, 5k 18:40). I hope to set at least new marathon and half marathon PR's this spring. And I am not even counting ultras because I didn't start running those until I was in my 40's - so I can only imagine a world of possibilities to improve in ultra distances!

It's tempting for us mid-packers to think "I wish I was that fast" or to wonder what it's like to run a 2:10 marathon. We don't think about the consequences to our bodies and our psyches to achieve such incredible results. For my part, I think I'll take the long, slow burn of longevity in the sport, and enjoy the small milestones of shaving off a few seconds or minutes here and there.

Neil Young once said "It's better to burn out than it is to rust." Maybe for some people, that's true, but in my case, a little rust (in the way of a gray hair here and there) looks just fine. 

40-year old Meb Keflezighi sets the standard for the rest of us master's runners to follow. (photo:www.aol.com) 

39-year old Rob Krar is setting the Ultra world on fire. (@RobKrar)

Run strong!