Sara Hall (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth ...

Bei; born April 15, 1983) is a professional American distance runner. She won the 3000 meter steeplechase at the

2011 Pan American Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games, was an international multi-sport event that was held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby cities of Ciudad Guzmán, ...

Guadalajara, Mexico Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Mexico, while the Guadalaja ...

representing the United States. Hall’s personal best time for the marathon is 2:20:32 set at the

Marathon Project The Marathon Project was an elite-only marathon held on the Gila River Indian Reservation in Chandler, Arizona. December 2020. It was created by Hoka One One#History, Northern Arizona Elite coach Ben Rosario together with Josh Cox and Matt Helbig to ...

in Chandler, Arizona on December 22, 2020, making her the third-fastest American woman in history. She is the second-fastest American woman to ever run the half marathon, running 1:07:15 on January 16, 2022–an American record at the time. Hall has won several notable mile road races including the

Drake Relays The Drake Relays (officially the Drake Relays presented by Xtream powered by Mediacom) is an outdoor track and field event held in Des Moines, Iowa, in Drake Stadium on the campus of Drake University. Billed as ''America's Athletic Classic'', it ...

Grand Blue Mile and the US National Road Mile Championships. She also has won prestigious 1500 meter titles including one at the

Millrose Games The Millrose Games is an annual indoor athletics meet (track and field) held each February in New York City. They started taking place at the Armory in Washington Heights in 2012, after having taken place in Madison Square Garden from 1914 to 2011 ...

. She is a two time world team member for the United States at the world indoor track and field championships. Her best finish came in 2006 where she finished 12th in the finals of the 3000 meters at the 11th

IAAF World Indoor championships The World Athletics Indoor Championships are a biennial indoor track and field competition served as the global championship for that version of the sport. Organised by the World Athletics, the competition was inaugurated as the ''World Indoor G ...

. She was also a member of the 2006 and 2015 United States world cross country championship team. Hall won the 2012 American title at the

USA Cross Country Championships The USA Cross Country Championships is the annual national championships for cross country running in the United States. The championships is generally held in mid-February and it serves as a way of designating the country's national champion, as ...

, edging

Molly Huddle Molly Huddle (born August 31, 1984) is an American long-distance runner who competes in track and cross country running events. Huddle set the American record in the 5000 m at the 2014 Herculis Diamond League meet in Fontvieille, Monaco (14:42. ...

at the line.

Early life and high school

Hall was born in

Santa Rosa, California Santa Rosa ( Spanish for " Saint Rose") is a city and the county seat of Sonoma County, in the North Bay region of the Bay Area in California. Its estimated 2019 population was 178,127. It is the largest city in California's Wine Country and ...

and competed for Montgomery High School, winning four state cross country titles. At the

CIF California State Meet The CIF California State Meet is the annual championship track and field meet for the California Interscholastic Federation. The meet was started in 1915 for boys and 1974 for girls. Every athlete in every high school in California has a direc ...

she also earned three state track titles in the 1600 and 3200 meters, and won the Footlocker National High School Cross Country Championships in 2000.

College

Hall was a three-time NCAA track and field runner up in the 5000 meters and

indoor Indoor(s) may refer to: *the interior of a building *Indoor environment, in building science, traditionally includes the study of indoor thermal environment, indoor acoustic environment, indoor light environment, and indoor air quality *Built envi ...

3000 meters, and a 7-time All-American, competing for Stanford University. In 2003, she finished 3rd at the

NCAA Women's Cross Country Championship The NCAA Women's Division I Cross Country Championship is the cross country championship held by the National Collegiate Athletic Association each autumn for individual runners and cross country teams from universities in Division I. Teams and i ...

, leading Stanford to a team title. As a college athlete she competed in the finals of the United States Olympic trials in the 5000 meters.

Career

;2015 On March 15, 2015 Hall made her marathon debut at the

Los Angeles Marathon The Los Angeles Marathon (formerly known as the City of Los Angeles Marathon) is an annual running event typically held each spring in Los Angeles, California, since 1986. The marathon was inspired by the success of the 1984 Summer Olympic Ga ...

and battled through cramps, finishing 22nd with a time of 2:48:02 (6:25 minutes/mile). On March 28, 2015, Hall led the USA Team with a 20th place

2015 IAAF World Cross Country Championships – Senior women's race The Senior women's race at the 2015 IAAF World Cross Country Championships was held at the Guiyang horse racing circuit in Guiyang, China, on March 28, 2015. Reports of the event were given for the IAAF. Complete results for individuals, ...

after placing 5th at the 2015

in Boulder. Hall finished 10th at

2015 Chicago marathon The 2015 Chicago Marathon was the 38th edition of the Chicago Marathon, held in Chicago, Illinois, on Sunday, October 11. The elite men's race was won by Kenyan Dickson Chumba in a time of 2:09:25 hours and the women's race was won by another Kenya ...

in 2:31:14, running an Olympic Standard time. ;2016 Hall improved her marathon best with 2:30:06 on April 24, 2016, finishing 12th at the

2016 London Marathon The 2016 London Marathon was the 36th running of the annual marathon race in London, England, which took place on Sunday, 24 April. The men's elite race was won by Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge and the women's race was won by Kenyan Jemima Sumgong. ...

. ;2017 On February 26, 2017, Hall again improved her marathon best with a 2:28:26 sixth place performance at the

2017 Tokyo Marathon The 2017 Tokyo Marathon ( ja, 東京マラソン 2017) was the eleventh edition of the annual marathon race in Tokyo, Japan and was held on Sunday, 26 February. An IAAF Gold Label Road Race, it was the first World Marathon Majors event to be held ...

. On October 1, 2017, Hall won the Women's US 10 mile road championship in the

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in stat ...

, in 53:43, 2 seconds ahead of

Natosha Rogers Natosha Rogers (born May 7, 1991, in Littleton, Colorado) is a long-distance runner from the United States. Rogers won the gold medal in the 5000 meters at the 2022 NACAC Championships. She is the 2012 National runner up in the 10,000 meters. ...

. She narrowly lost the equalizer competition male winner

Shadrack Kipchirchir Shadrack Kipchirchir (born February 22, 1989) is a Kenyan-born American distance track and field Olympian specializing in the 10,000 m. Following in his brothers footsteps, Kipchirchir enlisted in the U.S. Army in October 2014 and joined the U. ...

, but later it was discovered the women were supposed to be given a 6:18 lead, while they were actually given 6:10, so both runners were give the $10,000. On October 29, 2017, Hall again improved her marathon best with a 2:27:21 fifth place performance at the 2017 Mainova Frankfurt Marathon. On December 3, 2017, Hall won the Women's U.S. Marathon in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

at 2017 California International Marathon in 2:28:10. ;2018 On May 27, Hall was third in the 2018 Ottawa Marathon in 2:26:19. In July 2018, she placed 3rd at Women's US 10 km road championship at the

Peachtree 10K The Peachtree Road Race (branded AJC Peachtree Road Race for sponsorship reasons) is an American 10-kilometer run held annually in Atlanta. After being held on Independence Day (United States), Independence Day from 1970 to 2019, the race was c ...

in 32:41. On September 3, 2018, she won the Women's US 20 km road championship at

Faxon Law New Haven Road Race The New Haven Road Race is a 20 kilometer road race held in New Haven, Connecticut which was started in 1978. The race is held during the Labor Day weekend. History The first year the race was contested was in 1978, when nearly 1,200 runners s ...

20 km in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...

in 1:09:04. On October 7, 2018, Hall won the Women's US 10 mile road championship in the

, in 52:47, repeating her 2017 victory and edging out

by 1 second. ;2019 On September 29, 2019, Hall finished fifth in the

Berlin Marathon The Berlin Marathon (german: Berlin-Marathon, ) is a marathon event held annually on the streets of Berlin, Germany on the last weekend of September. Held annually since 1974, the event includes multiple races over the marathon distance of , inclu ...

, finishing in a personal best time of 2:22:16. Just one week later, on October 6, 2019, she won the USATF 10 mile championships for the third time in a row in a time of 53:11. ;2020 On October 4, 2020, Hall finished 2nd in 2:22:01 at the

2020 London Marathon The 2020 London Marathon was the 40th running of the annual marathon race in London, United Kingdom, which took place on 4 October 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the race was postponed from 26 April and only allowed elite participants; th ...

behind

Brigid Kosgei Brigid Jepchirchir Kosgei (born 20 February 1994) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who specialises in the marathon. She won the 2018 and 2019 Chicago Marathons, the 2019 and 2020 London Marathons and the 2021 Tokyo Marathon. Kosgei is the curr ...

. On December 20, 2020, Hall finished first at the Marathon Project in a personal best 2:20:32 in

Chandler, Arizona Chandler is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and a suburb in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). It is bordered to the north and west by Tempe, to the north by Mesa, to the west by Phoenix, to the ...

, running with male pacers with the goal of breaking the US record, missing

Deena Kastor Deena Michelle Kastor (née Drossin; born February 14, 1973) is an American long-distance runner. She was a holder of American records in the marathon (2006-2022) and numerous road distances. She won the bronze medal in the women's marathon at ...

's 2:19:36 record by just under one minute. ;2021 On October 10, 2021, Hall finished third at the

Chicago Marathon The Chicago Marathon is a marathon (long-distance foot race) held every October in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the six World Marathon Majors. Thus, it is also a World Athletics Label Road Races, World Athletics Label Road Race. The Chicago ...

with a time of 2:27:19. ;2022 On January 16, 2022, Hall broke the American record in the

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcu ...

at the

Houston Half Marathon The Houston Marathon is an annual marathon usually held every January in Houston, Texas, United States, since 1972. With thousands of runners and spectators, it is the largest single day sporting event in the city. It is run concurrently wit ...

, finishing in 1:07:15 to lower the previous American record set by

in 2018 by ten seconds. New record was set by

Emily Sisson Emily Sisson (born October 12, 1991) is an American distance runner who holds the North American record in the marathon, set Oct. 9, 2022, at the 2022 Chicago Marathon, where she ran 2:18:29 to finish second, becoming only the second non-Africa ...

finishing in 1:07:11 on 7 May 2022 on

USATF USA Track & Field (USATF) is the United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running and racewalking (known as the sport of athletics outside the US). The USATF was known between 1979 and ...

. On March 6, 2022, Hall finished eighth at the Tokyo Marathon with a time of 2:22:56. On July 18, 2022, Hall finished fifth at

2022 World Athletics Championships The 2022 World Athletics Championships was the eighteenth edition of the World Athletics Championships. It was held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, United States, from July 15–24, 2022, with the country hosting that competition for the f ...

in the marathon with a time of 2:22:10.

Personal life

Hall has been married to U.S. Olympic marathoner Ryan Hall since 2005. The two met at Stanford, where they both competed collegiately. In 2009, they formed the Hall Steps Foundation to empower the running community to use the energy and resources that fuel runners' athletic achievements for social justice efforts. Both are committed

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

. The couple adopted four sisters in 2015.Ryan and Sara Hall Adopt 4 Ethiopian Sisters
Competitor.com

References

External links

official website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Sara 1983 births Living people Sportspeople from Santa Rosa, California Track and field athletes from California American female middle-distance runners American female long-distance runners American female marathon runners American female steeplechase runners American female cross country runners Pan American Games track and field athletes for the United States Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2011 Pan American Games Christians from California Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games 20th-century American women 21st-century American women