Interview with Sara Hall

I have an exciting interview that you runners are going to like.

ZOOMA race series and Muscle Milk Light were able to put me in contact with elite runner Sara Hall so I could badger her with tons of questions and act like a totally unprofessional journalist.

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Some of Sara’s many running accomplishments:

7-time All American, 2006 US Road 5k Champion, 2006 5th Avenue Mile Champion 2011 Millrose Games Champion, 2012 Cross Country National Champion, 4-time runner up at US Indoor Nationals (3,000 meters)

So let’s get to the interview…

Hi Sara, it’s exciting that your mom is running the ZOOMA Great Lakes race with you!  I’d love for my mom to run a race with me.  {hint, hint, Mom…} 

How did your mom get into running and do you have any advice for those women out there who are really just starting running and maybe struggling with motivation or where to begin?

My mom got into running 2 ½ years ago, which was funny because all those years I was living at home and running she didn’t really have time for or interest in it. She says the impetus to begin running was when she hit the “frumpy fifties”- her metabolism slowed down and she knew she’d need to do something to keep the weight off and stay healthy.

 

I was excited of course to see her start something I love, and just kept encouraging her that you have to “get over the hump”. When you’re first starting, it’s so painful and uncomfortable, and that’s why many people quit. But if you just push through for a few weeks, you will get over the hump and it will become enjoyable!

 

That is what happened with her, and now she is just as addicted as I am. It’s funny, she gets grumpy like me when she has to miss a run now! So I always encourage people to start slow and small, and gradually build into it, and know that it will get easier and more enjoyable.

^{{Sarah and her mom Karen after Karen completed her first marathon}}

We all know that you’re a professional athlete married to a professional athlete – do you and Ryan ever train together?

Ryan and I are fortunate to run together usually ever day. Fortunately our training run pace is the same, though our hard workout paces are vastly different!

 

It’s been a great thing for our relationship to have that quality time together. As we all know, on a run conversation flows differently than anywhere else, and we love talking about our goals and dreams for the future as well as what God is doing in our lives in the moment.

 

We have also been able to travel the world together and explore so many areas, making life-long memories.

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What is a typical day like for you?  How much time is spent training?

An average day of training involves around 11 miles of running (I run 80 miles for the week) alternating 3 hard workouts with lots of easy training runs around 7-8 min/ mile pace.

 

My hard workouts are usually some form of interval session on the track where I am running paces specific to my race, a tempo run that is at “marathon pace”, and a long run around 15 miles. So depending on what day it is, I spend more time training on my hard days than easy ones.

 

But almost all days I get up, eat breakfast right away (Muscle Milk Light in pancakes- the perfect blend of carbs and protein for sustained energy) and drink 24 oz of water. I head out for a run or workout usually an hour later.

 

If it’s a hard day, I usually don’t get back for 3 hours or sometimes more. I will stretch, do self massage, and have a Muscle Milk shake for recovery within 30 minutes of the workout. Then I shower, eat lunch, and rest for a bit before I head out to do my second run, followed by weights.

 

By that time I’m pretty tired, so I head home for dinner and usually some kind of low-key activity at night like watching a movie or going to a church service/activity. It’s a full time job for sure! I estimate I train between 4-7 hours a day, depending on what day it is.

{Last year Sara won the inaugural NYRR Dash to the Finish Line 5k and actually set the record for the fastest time ever run in a NYC 5K with a time of 15:56}

What are some of the best parts of being a female pro athlete and what are some of the struggles?

To be honest, I’ve never really thought about the differences between being a female vs. male professional athlete. I think that’s a testament to how far we’ve come, I am thankful to grow up in a time period where women have great opportunities to pursue careers in all fields.

 

There are struggles my husband and I both face with being professional athletes in general. It can be a pretty all-consuming lifestyle, it’s impossible to just leave your work at the office. You become pretty emotionally invested and when you’re injured and it isn’t going well it can be pretty difficult.

 

We travel quite a bit and are rarely in one place for more than a week, so that can make it difficult to build community and get involved in things at home. But despite the downsides we are thankful to be paid to do what we love!

Any sweet perks or met any athletes that you’ve been starstruck by?

There have been many sweet perks that we are still blown away by! Getting as much Muscle Milk, ASICS gear, Oakley sunglasses, and others that we need is pretty amazing.

 

We’ve gotten to travel to some amazing places for free and met a lot of amazing people, many of whom aren’t celebrities but inspire us in how they live.

 

I will always remember competing on some amazing platforms, from Madison Square Garden to the middle of 5^th Avenue in New York to small villages in Italy. It’s been quite a ride!

What is coming up next on your schedule after ZOOMA Great Lakes?

I’m still figuring that out, as I’m just starting my season. I am hoping to do some fall road races and maybe challenge myself with some distances that are further than I’ve ever raced before. I’m going to see how my training goes first though. I’ve had some setbacks from a couple accidents, so my training is still coming along.

When you’re training and competing at such a high level nutrition becomes incredibly important.  Do you follow a specific diet?

I really love food, all kinds, but I’ve learned to crave healthy food. I still enjoy some “junk” foods like ice cream on a regular basis, but for the most part I follow the Anti-Inflammatory Diet. It focuses on foods that minimize inflammation in the body, usually foods that are lower in sugar and refined carbohydrates and choosing certain meats over others. I also really liked the book The Maker’s Diet, it has a very similar program.

 

It can be difficult when traveling a lot, but we’ve learned to adapt and how to eat healthy on the road.

I was just reading the October issue of Runner’s World and read about Ryan’s love for pancakes.  Can you share a recipe with us?

Sure! You can find it here: http://ryanandsarahall.com/favorites/

 

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{Not Ryan Hall}

For the runner who wants to get faster, break a PR, or hit a new distance record, what advice would you have for them?  How about someone coming back from an injury?

My biggest piece of advice is to enjoy the journey. I feel like when you are enjoying yourself in training, the rest follows, but when you are pressing to try to make something happen, that’s when injuries or burnout happens. It takes confidence to listen to your body and take that extra rest day if you need it.

Lastly, I know your Christian faith is central to you and Ryan’s lives; can you tell us a little more?

Our relationship with Jesus is the most central thing in our lives. Our day may have a lot revolving around running, but we strive to have our hearts in tune with God as much as possible.

 

Our faith is a big reason why we moved to Redding, CA, where we live for our sea level training (in addition to Flagstaff, Arizona). We moved to Redding to be part of a church community that is really thriving and that we’ve received a lot from being a part of. All of our decisions are guided by what we believe God is calling us to do.

 

We were fortunate to both grow up in Christian homes, but there is definitely a point where our faith became our own and we longed to experience God for ourselves. We’ve had some really fun encounters with God in our journey so far and looking back can completely see how His hand has guided us in our lives. Running is just part of the journey of following Jesus!

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Thanks Sara for the interview and good luck to you and your mom at ZOOMA Great Lakes!

You can read more about Sara and Ryan’s foundation, The Hall Steps Foundation that fights global poverty, on their blog.

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