Inside the Lives of Professional Runners Ryan and Sara Hall

Sara and Ryan Hall 2

Sara Hall

The life of a professional runner has grown on me after 10 years of pursuing it as a career. After graduating from Stanford in 2005, I considered pursuing a Masters of Education degree, joining Teach for America, heading off to Africa to pursue my passion of international development...or signing a contract with ASICS.

After much prayer I decided to pursue running for a season, which I figured would last only a few years through the next Olympic cycle. But here I am over 10 years later, still chasing running goals and loving it!

Though Ryan may embrace the monastic elements of our job, for me personally it is more of a struggle. I constantly have to find ways to incorporate spontaneity and fun into my life in ways that don't negatively impact my performance.

The actual act of racing fills this niche for me, and traveling gives me a chance to break out of my usual running routes and explore new cities. Competition is ultimately what my soul craves.

Ryan, meanwhile, can hunker down and train for a big race for months on end like a boxer would, whereas I would race every weekend if I could. I recently took some time off after the Chicago Marathon and I immediately started thinking, "When can I race next?"

Less than two weeks later I was on a plane to Washington, D.C. to run the U.S. 12K Championships.

The kitchen is another place I mix things up while still staying in my routine. Ryan can eat the same bland thing day in and day out, but I need some spice and pizazz in my food.

Cooking is my art, and I love to experiment (fortunately, Ryan's taste buds are very gracious), so we regularly enjoy trying to make our favorite foods with a healthier flair.

Recently, for example, warm and spicy Ethiopian stews and sautéed kale have been a welcome complement to the cold weather. And of course, they serve a dual purpose by catering to the four Ethiopian children we recently adopted. The one thing I have yet to master is Thai food—if I invite you over for curry night, I would suggest you make other plans!

I have always been a sugar-holic and justified it by running mega-miles, but becoming a mom has made me see the world in a new light, including our food culture. I was dreading what the damage would be when I took these four children to the dentist for the first time. But shockingly, they had ZERO cavities and the dentist raved at how beautiful their teeth were. He attributed this to growing up on a diet absent of sugar and refined foods.

This was eye opening to me, and since then I have been striving to keep our home a sugar-free zone. When we start craving holiday flavors like pumpkin and cranberry-orange, rather than down a 600-calorie "muffin" (let's be honest, it's cake), we add orange zest, stevia-sweetened cranberry sauce and walnuts to our morning oatmeal. Instead of a pumpkin spice latte, we add a dash of unsweetened pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice to our Muscle Milk pancakes.

It turns out that the flavors we crave don't have to be laden with sugar, and small challenges like these also help keep me from getting too bored with our daily routine!

In reality, our differing approaches and personalities have made us better athletes and more happy individuals. Ryan keeps me accountable to my routine (mundane things that make me a stronger runner), and I have taught him how to listen to his body and intuition rather than be married to his routine and training schedule. Becoming world-class truly is a team effort, and for us it starts at home.

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About the Author

Sara and Ryan Hall

Ryan and Sara Hall | Active Advantage

Husband and wife Ryan and Sara Hall are two of America's premier distance runners. Both were California high school superstars and All-Americans at Stanford University (where they met). Ryan owns the best-ever American times in the half marathon and marathon, and represented the U.S. in the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games. He announced his retirement from running in January 2016. 

Sara was the 2012 U.S. National Cross Country Champion and a gold medalist at the Pan American Games in the steeplechase. She has represented the U.S. at three World Indoor Track and Field Championships and a World Cross Country Championship.

Husband and wife Ryan and Sara Hall are two of America's premier distance runners. Both were California high school superstars and All-Americans at Stanford University (where they met). Ryan owns the best-ever American times in the half marathon and marathon, and represented the U.S. in the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games. He announced his retirement from running in January 2016. 

Sara was the 2012 U.S. National Cross Country Champion and a gold medalist at the Pan American Games in the steeplechase. She has represented the U.S. at three World Indoor Track and Field Championships and a World Cross Country Championship.

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