2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Men’s Marathon
November 3, 2007
New York City

  1. Ryan Hall, 25, Mammoth Lakes, CA         2:09:02  $60,000
  2. Dathan Ritzenhein, 24, Eugene, OR        2:11:07   40,000
  3. Brian Sell, 29, Rochester Hills, MI      2:11:40   30,000
  4. Khalid Khannouchi, 36, Ossining, NY      2:12:34   20,000
  5. Jason Lehmkuhle, 30, Minneapolis, MN     2:12:54   12,000
  6. Daniel Browne, 32, Beaverton, OR         2:13:23   10,000
  7. Nathaniel Jenkins, 27, Lowell, MA        2:14:56    8,000
  8. Meb Keflezighi, 32, San Diego, CA        2:15:09    5,000
  9. Josh Rohatinsky, 25, Portland, OR        2:15:22    3,000
 10. Jason Hartmann, 26, Boulder, CO          2:15:27 
 11. Matthew Gonzales, 26, Albuquerque, NM    2:16:14
 12. Mike Morgan, 27, Rochester Hills, MI     2:16:28
 13. Fasil Bizuneh, 27, Flagstaff, AZ         2:16:47
 14. James Carney, 29, Boulder, CO            2:16:54
 15. Steve Sundell, 25, Redwood City, CA      2:16:54
 16. Christopher Raabe, 28, Washington, DC    2:17:01
 17. Nick Arciniaga, 24, Rochester Hills, MI  2:17:08
 18. Clint Verran, 32, Rochester Hills, MI    2:17:10
 19. Matt Pelletier, 28, Warwick, RI          2:17:17
 20. Chad Johnson, 31, Rochester Hills, MI    2:17:58
 21. Joshua Ordway, 27, Dublin, OH            2:18:10
 22. Jacob Frey, 26, Oakton, VA               2:18:19
 23. Joe Driscoll, 28, Blowing Rock, NC       2:18:22
 24. John Mentzer, 31, Monterey, CA U.S. Navy 2:18:23
 25. Allen Wagner, 27, San Diego, CA          2:18:25
 26. Patrick Rizzo, 24, Rochester Hills, MI   2:18:30
 27. Sergio Reyes, 26, Los Osos, CA           2:18:31
 28. Patrick Moulton, 25, Rochester Hills, MI 2:18:35
 29. Mikhail Sayenko, 23, Bellevue, WA        2:18:35
 30. Donovan Fellows, 28, Woodbury, MN        2:18:45
 31. Miguel Nuci, 28, Turlock, CA             2:18:47
 32. Michael Reneau, 29, Rochester Hills, MI  2:18:51
 33. Macharia Yuot, 25, Chester, PA           2:18:56
 34. Dan Sutton, 27 Madison, WI               2:18:59
 35. Nicholas Cordes, 28, Ashland, OH         2:19:01
 36. Teren Jameson, 30, Taylorsville, UT      2:19:05
 37. Chris Lundstrom, 31, Minneapolis, MN     2:19:21
 38. Eric Post, 28, Centreville, VA           2:19:25
 39. Matthew Folk, 31, Canfield, OH           2:19:47
 40. James Lander, 28, La Habra, CA           2:20:09
 41. Michael Cox, 32, Princeton, WV           2:20:12
 42. Greg Costello, 26, Chicago, IL           2:20:28
 43. Luke Humphrey, 26, Rochester, MI         2:20:34
 44. John Lucas, 27, Eugene, OR               2:20:48
 45. John Service, 27, San Jose, CA           2:21:12
 46. Adam Tribble, 27, Fayetteville, AR       2:21:21
 47. Todd Snyder, 30, Shelby Township, MI     2:21:30
 48. Nick Schuetze, 25, Portland, OR          2:21:36
 49. Alan Horton, 27, Knoxville, TN           2:22:03
 50. James Nielsen, 28, Palo Alto, CA         2:22:11
 51. Robert Cannon, 24, Toms River, NJ        2:22:23
 52. Daniel Ellis, 24, Birmingham, AL         2:22:26
 53. Paul Petersen, 28, Logan, UT             2:22:34
 54. Steve Meinelt, 24, Winchester, MA        2:22:40
 55. Christopher Zieman, 35, Chapel Hill, NC  2:23:04
 56. Justin Young, 28, Superior, CO           2:23:06
 57. Nathan Wadsworth, 25, Andover, KS        2:23:08
 58. Konrad Knutsen, 31, Carmichael, CA       2:23:31
 59. Steven Moreno, 30, Oakland, CA           2:23:34
 60. Ryan Meissen, 29, Mukwonago, WI          2:23:38
 61. Terrance Shea, 33, Cambridge, MA         2:23:44
 62. Matt Levassiur, 26, Alamosa, CO          2:23:58
 63. Zachary Schendel, 29, Minneapolis, MN    2:24:10
 64. Aaron Sharp, 27, Port Hueneme, CA        2:24:15
 65. Corey Stelljes, 26, Madison, WI          2:24:19
 66. David Williams, 36, Milwaukee, WI        2:24:57
 67. Cecil Franke, 39, Dublin, IN             2:25:01
 68. Eric Heins, 30, Cape Girardeau, MO       2:25:01
 69. James McGown, 33, Sidney, NE             2:25:10
 70. Marzuki Stevens, 33, San Francisco, CA   2:25:18
 71. Lance Parker, 26, Austin, TX             2:25:32
 72. Jason Delaney, 27, Golden, CO            2:25:57
 73. Michael McKeeman, 31, Ardmore, PA        2:26:15
 74. Andy Martin, 32, Los Osos, CA            2:26:23
 75. Trent Briney, 29, Rochester Hills, MI    2:26:29
 76. Thomas Kutter, 27, Loganville, GA        2:26:34
 77. Edward Baker, 28, Palo Alto, CA          2:26:37
 78. Nick Stanko, 26, Haslett, MI             2:27:23
 79. Chris Wehrman, 31, Chicago, IL           2:27:33
 80. James Jurcevich, 31, Columbus, OH        2:27:33
 81. Thomas Greenless, 25, Walnut Creek, CA   2:27:44
 82. Pete Gilman, 32, Rochester, MN           2:28:09
 83. Casey Moulton, 25, Pelham, NH            2:28:29
 84. Matthew Byrne, 32, Philadelphia, PA      2:28:40
 85. Danny Mackey, 27, Portland, OR           2:28:45
 86. Brad Poore, 29, Davis, CA                2:29:14
 87. Karl Dusen, 25, New York, NY             2:29:31
 88. David Danley, 27, Roosevelt, UT          2:29:32
 89. Christopher Banks, 29, Albuquerque, NM   2:30:22
 90. Sean Sundwall, 34, Snoqualmie, WA        2:30:41
 91. Jeff Jonaitis, 26, Tinley Park, IL       2:30:45
 92. Michael Wardian, 33, Arlington, VA       2:30:54
 93. Marc Jeuland, 28, Carrboro, NC           2:31:31
 94. Kyle Baker, 31, Grand Rapids, MI         2:31:37
 95. Donnie Franzen, 28, Chicago, IL          2:31:53
 96. Jason Ryf, 36, Oshksoh, WI               2:32:26
 97. Jonathan Little, 26, Kansas City, KS     2:33:03
 98. Martin Rosendahl, 29, Rochester, MI      2:33:58
 99. Nicholas McCombs, 26, Toquerville, UT    2:34:56
100. Ben Rosario, 27, St. Louis, MO           2:36:09
101. Justin Patananan, 27, Palmdale, CA       2:38:36
102. Antonio Arce, 30, Santa Clarita, CA      2:39:20
103. Steven Frisone, 36, Placentia, CA        2:39:32
104. Thomas McGlynn, 35, Burlingame, CA       2:42:41
DNF - Ryan Shay, 28    (collapsed)
DNF - Abdi Abdirahman 

NEW YORK -- Is American distance running making a comeback? Today in Central Park, Ryan Hall, Dathan Ritzenhein, and Brian Sell convinced the world that American marathoning is not only entering a revival, but its top contenders are well equipped to dominate.
     Under skies clouded by the threat of Hurricane Noel, history was made at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Men's Marathon on a hilly multi-loop course. Hall, already the American marathon debut record-holder (2:08:24) and half-marathon record holder (59:43), broke yet another record with his 2:09:02 win-the fastest Trials time ever. Following Hall's near two-minute lead, Ritzenhein and Sell completed the team.
     The first two miles opened in a modest 11 minutes, with Michael Wardian leading the pack. The chase pack caught up at six miles, where Fasil Bizuneh of Boulder, CO, took the reins for a 5:19 seventh mile. Bizuneh's lead was short lived, as Abdi Abdirahman coasted into the top spot at mile eight for the next two miles, where he increased the pace to just under 5:00-per mile. At mile 10, 2004 Trials winner Alan Culpepper led the pack, which consisted of Hall, Meb Keflezighi, Ritzenhein, and Dan Browne. Culpepper, suffering from severe hamstring fatigue, would drop out at mile 16.
     After a 4:55 11th mile, American marathon record-holder Khalid Khannouchi departed from the chase pack and began to chase the leaders. Hall assumed a slight lead after the halfway mark, passed in 1:06:17. He soon tossed aside his cap, took control of the race, and never looked back.
     Hall, of Mammoth Lakes, CA, later said he was "surprised by his [fast] splits." He maintained a serene expression for the remainder of the race. His second half was an astounding 1:02:45, which is unofficially the fastest half-marathon ever run in Central Park. His 18th mile was his fastest (4:32). After the race, Hall called the day a "dream come true" in which, after taking the lead, imagined himself "at home in Mammoth on a training run with [his wife] Sara riding her bike beside me and encouraging me."
     Ritzenhein, of Eugene, OR, relied on his experience running in Central Park, where he set a course record in May at the Healthy Kidney 10K (28:08), to hold on to second place. The modest Ritzenhein reported that he was nervous between miles 21 to 25 due to cramping, and only became confident of his runner-up finish with 800 meters to go. He took the number two spot in 2:11:07.
     The fight for the final coveted spot began around mile 17 between Browne, a 2004 Olympian in 10,000 meters and the marathon, and 2004 Olympic marathon silver medalist Keflezighi. At this point, the effects of the challenging course began to show, and drama ensued. Keflezighi dropped back, suffering from stomach pain, and calf cramping caused Browne to stop and stretch for a few seconds. Although he didn't know it then, this was Sell's window of opportunity. The 2006 Boston Marathon fourth-place finisher and possibly the hardest working man in Rochester Hills, MI, Sell surged past Browne in the 23rd mile; meanwhile Khannouchi unleashed another gear. Sell's average 160-mile weeks paid off in the end, and he rounded out the 2008 U.S. Olympic Marathon Team with a 2:11:40 finish. Khannouchi, who had been suffering from a foot injury and was racing in new orthotics, finished fourth in 2:12:34, and will serve as the Olympic marathon alternate.

New York, November 3, 2007—Five-time USA champion and former NCAA champion Ryan Shay, 28, of Flagstaff, AZ, collapsed about 30 minutes into the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Men’s Marathon this morning after running the first 5˝ miles of the race. He was immediately given CPR and transported by ambulance to Lenox Hill Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 8:46 a.m.
     Shay was a native of Michigan who graduated from Notre Dame University in 2002. He won the 2001 NCAA 10,000-meter title and was a nine-time All-American. He was the 2003 USA Marathon champion, the 2003 and 2004 USA Half-Marathon champion, the 2004 USA 20K champion, and the 2005 USA 15K champion. Shay had a marathon personal best of 2:14:09, which he set at the ING New York City Marathon 2004.
     Heralded as one of the top entrants at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Men’s Marathon in Birmingham, AL, Shay suffered a hamstring strain in that race and finished 23rd. He qualified for the 2008 trials race with a 2:14:58 third-place finish at the 2006 Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon/USA Marathon Championships; the time placed him 13th on the list of qualifiers. He had a strong buildup to the Trials race with performances including third (1:17:23) at the USA 25K Championships in May, eighth (28:54.34) at the AT&T USA Outdoor Championships in June, and fifth (1:01:21) at the USA 20K Championships in September.
     Shay previously trained with Team USA California (now Team Running USA), the Mammoth Lakes, CA-based group that includes Olympic medalists Meb Keflezighi and Deena Kastor, and 2008 Olympic Trials champion Ryan Hall.
     Shay’s wife, Alicia (Craig) Shay, was an NCAA champion and record-holder while attending Stanford University, and is a professional distance runner. The couple had married in July.
     Shay was known for his love of running and his strong competitive instincts. “Competition brings out the best in me, and I love this sport,” he said in an interview with New York Road Runners in September. “Every chance I have to speak at a high school about the sport, I do it.”
     Ironic how Sara (Bei) Hall and Alicia (Craig) Shay were teammates for 4 years at Stanford and Sara's husband wins today and Alicia's passes away.