Ryan Hall to take on hot LA Marathon

With temperatures expected to break records this weekend in Los Angeles, the city’s marathon may see some slow times, a hurdle for American Ryan Hall.

Hall, who holds the fastest time ever for an American over the 42.2K distance, is looking to get back to the level of fitness he saw himself at few years ago, before dropping out of the 2012 Olympic Marathon. After that, he also pulled out of the NYC Marathon that same fall and the 2013 Boston Marathon due to injuries. In 2014 he ran a underwhelming 2:17 result in Boston.

The race will be special for Hall in another way. His wife, Sara, an experienced half-marathon runner, will line up for the marathon alongside him for the first time. The two met while attending and competing for Stanford University.

Temperatures in the city are expected to break records Friday through Sunday, with the heat recaching 32 C by mid-day on Sunday with 22 per cent humidity. Race organizers, in the expectation of runners struggling with the heat, have moved the start time forward by 30 minutes to 6:55 a.m., though temperatures are expected in the low-20s even then.

The race will play host to the 2015 US marathon championships, meaning prize pots for the win will be large. The winner of each race will take home US$25,000 with finishers right down to 15th taking home some form of prize.