US great Ryan Hall looks to reclaim his mojo in Gold Coast marathon

ARGUABLY the best American marathon runner of all time, Ryan Hall, will tackle the Gold Coast Airport Marathon next month.

LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 15: ASICS elite athletes Ryan and Sara Hall check out the ASICS LA Marathon course above Dodger Stadium one month before the race on February 15, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jonathan Moore/Getty Images for ASICS)

HE’S arguably the best American marathon runner of all time and in a month he will be racing on the Gold Coast.

Olympian Ryan Hall this week confirmed that he will tackle the gold label Gold Coast Airport Marathon in July with his wife Sara, who will race in the half marathon.

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Dual Olympian Hall’s 2011 Boston Marathon time of 2.04.58 is an American record.

However, Hall will be looking to recapture his marathon mojo.

At the Los Angeles Marathon last month he was unable to finish the event, leaving the course a frustrated figure.

The DNF (Did Not Finish) comes on the back of dropping out of the marathon event at the London Olympics.

But a return to form here at the Gold Coast would be a sentimental result for the running world and Hall.

Ryan and his wife Sara, who will race in the half marathon. Picture: Getty Images

The pair will join 150-plus fellow Americans in the estimated 3000-strong contingent of international runners. Sara said they were extremely excited about being part of the Gold Coast marathon family.

“We have a close connection to Australia as Ryan’s parents lived there for two years and his brother was also born there,” she said.

“It’s somewhere he has wanted to visit for a long time but never had the opportunity until now.”

Gold Coaster and 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games marathon gold medallist Michael Shelley has taken on 32-year-old Hall in the Olympics in the past and said it was a coup for the Coast to be able to attract international talent of this the calibre.

Ryan Hall leading a pack of runners during the 2015 ASICS LA Marathon earlier this year. Picture: Getty Images.

“I know he ran 2.04 in Boston a few years ago so he’s a great runner,” he said.

“That’s sensational news that he’s coming out here for the race.

“By having that quality of athlete come out here hopefully it is a real motivating factor for a lot of kids in the future to start running.”

Shelley said the Gold Coast Marathon’s improved standing as an elite-level fixture would be likely to have an impact on the event’s ability to draw a large and competitive field.

“It’s great firstly having the gold label and then the calibre of athletes like Ryan Hall coming here — it’s great for the event because it’s putting it on the map,” he said.

“It makes people think about coming to the Gold Coast as an opportunity to run a marathon which is good for tourism and the Gold Coast community.”