SARA
HALL
RUNNING
BIO: Sara Hall is one of the most decorated athletes in US history. As a prep, she won four state California Cross Country titles and finished her career winning the 2000 Foot Locker National High School Cross-Country Championships.
Hall continued her academic and athletic career at Stanford University where she was a 7-time All-American. There she started dating her future husband, Ryan Hall. Ryan went on to become one of the greatest US long distance runners in history running the fastest marathon (2:04:58) and setting the US Half Marathon record (59:43).
Sara went on to capture 10 US National Titles ranging from the mile to the marathon. Her first was a victory over 5K in 2006, that was followed by the Road Mile in 2011, a cross country title in 2012, three consecutive victories over 10 miles from 2017-2019, a marathon title in 2017, 20k titles in 2018 and 2019, and lastly, a 10k title in NYC in 2019.
Ryan and Sara have four daughters, Hana (20), Mia (16), Jasmine (12), and Lily (9). Hana will be running collegiate cross country and track at Grand Canyon University in the fall.
STATS
2000 Foot Locker National High School Cross-Country Champion
7-time All-American at Stanford University
10-time US National Champion
Only athlete in history to win both the USATF Mile and Marathon National Titles
Fastest American Marathoner in 2019, her 2:22:16 made her the sixth fastest American in history
Tell us about your athletic background.
I started running when I was 13 and just fell in love with exploring in the trails and with competing, I started with shorter track events like the mile and 5K after collage but kept moving my way up to the marathon and now I mostly do ½ marathons and marathons.
What are your goals for 2020?
My goals are to make my first Olympic team, I have been close in the past, but I am hoping this one will be the one. That is my main focus, but I also want to just keep improving in the marathon and keep enjoying this sport as I have each year for the last 5 years.
What advice would you give your younger self?
I would give my younger is that your self-worth is not dependent on your athletic performance. I had kind of immediate success in the sport and as a result I based my self-worth around that running success, it took a lot of failure for me to realize that I am worthy of love and acceptance just for who I am, and as a result I feel more free to take big risks in races and free to fail. There is always another race, I am able to rebound a lot faster and enjoy the sport a lot more in that way.
How do you treat your recovery differently that has allowed you to be your best?
I feel like recovery is my strength as an athlete, I’ve been able to run relatively more races and more back to back races, part of that was just through experimentation and I think some of it is naturally just being a quick healer. I think also its how you take care of yourself, learning how to do the maintenance day in and day out at home, also getting great work with great therapists. All of that is a process of rebuilding your body and making sure you are staying healthy.
How do you handle your recovery?
I see recovery as an art, I am always getting new trick and tools to continue to recover faster. That’s really the name of the game, the hard training is one part but you have to be able to recover from it and stay healthy to get to race day and really benefit from that hard work. I am always trying new things and experimenting but also, I have my tried and true things that really work for me.
What do you think you have done differently to be better than everyone else?
I think something that is really helped me be successful is just getting really good at listening to my body. From the moment I wake up taking an inventory of my body, where are the tight areas, where do I need to pay some attention before I head out and run. As well just in training in general, listening to your body not pushing when you are reaching that line but finding that sweet spot of where you should be training each day.
Why Did you decide to work with Sidekick?
I was really excited to find Sidekick. I had already been doing scraping for 9 years by the time I found them and the tool I was using is no longer being produced. I really loved their line of tools and scraping has helped me so much in my career, I do it every single morning before I run pretty much without fail. I bring it with me everywhere with me, all over the world. Its so nice to be able to do self-massage on yourself before a race. I have a great team of therapists that I see regularly but I cannot bring them with me everywhere and its too expense to see them every day. So, having a tool that I can use wherever, whenever has really helped my stay injury free.
“Almost every morning for the last 8 years I’ve used muscle scraping to work through my legs before I run.”
MY FAVOURITE SIDEKICK TOOL
Echo Muscle Scraper
WHAT'S INSIDE THE SET
- Echo Muscle ScraperHandheld stainless steel muscle scraper.
- Revive Emollient SprayMade from 100% natural ingredients, apply this lubricant prior to scraping.
- Protector Case Your Echo is an investment, keep it protected at all times.
- Cleaning Towel This towel is great for wiping off excess oil on your skin after use.
STATS
2000 Foot Locker National High School Cross-Country Champion
7-time All-American at Stanford University
10-time US National Champion
Only athlete in history to win both the USATF Mile and Marathon National Titles
Fastest American Marathoner in 2019, her 2:22:16 made her the sixth fastest American in history
SARA
HALL
PROFESSIONAL RUNNER
BIO: Sara Hall is one of the most decorated athletes in US history. As a prep, she won four state California Cross Country titles and finished her career winning the 2000 Foot Locker National High School Cross-Country Championships.
Hall continued her academic and athletic career at Stanford University where she was a 7-time All-American. There she started dating her future husband, Ryan Hall. Ryan went on to become one of the greatest US long distance runners in history running the fastest marathon (2:04:58) and setting the US Half Marathon record (59:43).
Sara went on to capture 10 US National Titles ranging from the mile to the marathon. Her first was a victory over 5K in 2006, that was followed by the Road Mile in 2011, a cross country title in 2012, three consecutive victories over 10 miles from 2017-2019, a marathon title in 2017, 20k titles in 2018 and 2019, and lastly, a 10k title in NYC in 2019.
Ryan and Sara have four daughters, Hana (20), Mia (16), Jasmine (12), and Lily (9). Hana will be running collegiate cross country and track at Grand Canyon University in the fall.
Tell us about your athletic background.
I started running when I was 13 and just fell in love with exploring in the trails and with competing, I started with shorter track events like the mile and 5K after collage but kept moving my way up to the marathon and now I mostly do ½ marathons and marathons.
What are your goals for 2020?
My goals are to make my first Olympic team, I have been close in the past, but I am hoping this one will be the one. That is my main focus, but I also want to just keep improving in the marathon and keep enjoying this sport as I have each year for the last 5 years.
What advice would you give your younger self?
I would give my younger is that your self-worth is not dependent on your athletic performance. I had kind of immediate success in the sport and as a result I based my self-worth around that running success, it took a lot of failure for me to realize that I am worthy of love and acceptance just for who I am, and as a result I feel more free to take big risks in races and free to fail. There is always another race, I am able to rebound a lot faster and enjoy the sport a lot more in that way.
How do you treat your recovery differently that has allowed you to be your best?
I feel like recovery is my strength as an athlete, I’ve been able to run relatively more races and more back to back races, part of that was just through experimentation and I think some of it is naturally just being a quick healer. I think also its how you take care of yourself, learning how to do the maintenance day in and day out at home, also getting great work with great therapists. All of that is a process of rebuilding your body and making sure you are staying healthy.
How do you handle your recovery?
I see recovery as an art, I am always getting new trick and tools to continue to recover faster. That’s really the name of the game, the hard training is one part but you have to be able to recover from it and stay healthy to get to race day and really benefit from that hard work. I am always trying new things and experimenting but also, I have my tried and true things that really work for me.
What do you think you have done differently to be better than everyone else?
I think something that is really helped me be successful is just getting really good at listening to my body. From the moment I wake up taking an inventory of my body, where are the tight areas, where do I need to pay some attention before I head out and run. As well just in training in general, listening to your body not pushing when you are reaching that line but finding that sweet spot of where you should be training each day.
Why Did you decide to work with Sidekick?
I was really excited to find Sidekick. I had already been doing scraping for 9 years by the time I found them and the tool I was using is no longer being produced. I really loved their line of tools and scraping has helped me so much in my career, I do it every single morning before I run pretty much without fail. I bring it with me everywhere with me, all over the world. Its so nice to be able to do self-massage on yourself before a race. I have a great team of therapists that I see regularly but I cannot bring them with me everywhere and its too expense to see them every day. So, having a tool that I can use wherever, whenever has really helped my stay injury free.
“Almost every morning for the last 8 years I’ve used muscle scraping to work through my legs before I run.”
MY FAVORITE SIDEKICK TOOL
Echo Muscle Scraper
WHAT'S INSIDE THE SET
- Echo Muscle ScraperHandheld stainless steel muscle scraper.
- Revive Emollient SprayMade from 100% natural ingredients, apply this lubricant prior to scraping.
- Protector Case Your Echo is an investment, keep it protected at all times.
- Cleaning Towel This towel is great for wiping off excess oil on your skin after use.