Ryan Hall (born October 14, 1982, in Kirkland, Washington)[2] is a retired American long-distance runner who held the U.S. record in the half marathon from 2007 to 2025.

He graduated from high school in the same year as Dathan Ritzenhein and Alan Webb, behind whom he finished in the 2000 Foot Locker Cross Country Championships.

Hall was the California state cross country champion during his junior and senior seasons at Big Bear High School.

[7] Hall competed at the Peregrine Systems U.S. Open at Stanford in the 1500 meters, running 3:42.70, and at the 2001 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

Ryan Hall's college career at Stanford University started with injuries that held him back from the promise he showed in high school.

In 2001, Hall won the Murray Keating Invitational in his college debut and finished 76th at the NCAA Men's Cross Country Championships.

He was named the Pac-10 Cross Country Athlete of the Year after leading Stanford to the NCAA Championship by finishing 2nd to Colorado's Dathan Ritzenhein.

He earned his first-ever individual NCAA Championship by winning the 5000 meters in 13:22.32, finishing less than a second ahead of his teammate Ian Dobson in a race where the two runners dominated.

[16] Hall was featured on the cover of the September 2008 Runner's World magazine and talks about his "run for glory" in the marathon in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Kenya's Geoffrey Mutai ran 57 seconds under the recognized world record at the time, in winning in 2:03:02, and credited Hall with setting - and maintaining - a fast early pace.

After his disappointment at the Olympics, Hall signed up for the New York City Marathon for later that year, but was unable to run it and withdrew from the race[27] (before it was cancelled due to Hurricane Sandy) in September.

Spurred on and inspired by his friend Matthew Barnett (who also completed the race), Hall left his shoes, literally, at the final finish line in Sydney – a symbolic act to signify the end of his running career.

[36][37] (+) En route in race at longer distance (*) Wind-aided and point-to-point course Hall married his college girlfriend Sara Bei, also a professional runner, in September 2005.

Chad was following in his sister-in-law's footsteps, as Sara Hall (née Bei) won the girl's championships in 2000, the same year Ryan himself finished 3rd.

In 2009, Ryan and his wife Sara 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.