1. Early career

2. College career

3. Postcollegiate career
    Team Fast Break  Front Runner Athletics   Olympic Trials  

4. References

marathon: 2:09:30

Patrick Hall (born August 31, 1984) is a retired American cross country and road racing athlete who competed for Covenant College and last competed professionally for Front Runner Athletics in Chattanooga, TN. Hall is currently the assistant coach for the cross country and track & field teams at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Early career

Hall began his running career at Chattanooga Christian School as a freshman in 1999. In his freshman cross country campaign, Hall contributed at the TSSAA Cross Country State Championship meet in Nashville, TN as the team's fifth runner when he finished in 68th place, helping the team to a third-place finish.

In 2000, as a sophomore, Hall again finished as the team's fifth runner at the State Championship meet, however, that year he finished in 18th place overall and the Chattanooga Christian School Chargers finished in second place, only four points behind Franklin Road Academy, 57-53.

In between seasons, Hall established the prestigious 454 Club, which emphasized pain tolerance over speed.

Hall's junior year, 2001, found him leading the team at the State Championship meet with a 9th-place finish, and once again CCS finished in second place to FRA, this time 31-13. On the track that same school year, Hall qualified for the State Championship meet in the 800, 1600, and 3200, where he finished in 7th (2:06.21), 4th (4:39.65), and 4th (10:12.36) place, respectively.^[1]

In 2002, Hall's senior cross country season, he finished in 3rd place at the Cross Country State Championship meet, once again leading the Chargers across the finish line, and once again to a second-place finish behind Franklin Road Academy (80–61).^[2] On the track, Hall qualified for the State Championship meet in the 800 and 1600. He finished in 7th place in the 800 with a time of 2:06.10, and finished in 4th in the 1600 when he ran a then-school record of 4:36.34. (That record has since been bettered by Matt Coniglio, Chattanooga Christian School Class of 2009.)

After graduating from high school in May, 2003, Hall went on to run cross country and study history and philosophy at Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, GA.

College career

Hall qualified for the NAIA Cross Country National Championships in both his junior and senior years. As a junior, he placed 12th at the NAIA Region XII Championship in Louisville, KY when he covered the 8 km course in 27:38.16; he was only the second runner to cross the line not representing Virginia Intermont College. At the National Championship meet, which was hosted on the same course as the Region XII Championship, he finished in 185th place and ran 27:04.30. In 2006, his senior year, he finished in 144th place at Nationals (again hosted in Louisville) and crossed the finish line in 27:02.65. He was also a 2006 Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete.^[3]

Postcollegiate career

On March 25, 2007, Hall made his post-collegiate debut and his marathon debut at the ING Georgia Marathon in Atlanta, GA. He finished in 13th place with a time of 2:44:26.^[4] Later that year he won the locally prestigious Missionary Ridge Road Race in 25:16, a 4.7 mile affair that always draws competitive athletes.^[5]

On April 19, 2008 Hall finished in 3rd place at the Chickamauga Chase 15k at Chickamauga Battlefield when he clocked a 51:54 for the distance.^[6] He made a second effort at the marathon distance at the 2008 Bank of America Chicago Marathon in October. Expecting to improve upon his personal best, he struggled late in the race and finished in 2:52:51, good for 237th place.^[7]

In 2009, he again opened his season at that year's edition of the Chickamauga Chase, where he finished in 2nd place in 52:21.^[8] However, he took a hiatus from competitive racing for several months. He resumed his career in November at the Chattanooga Sports Barn Turkey Trot 8k, which he won in 26:40.^[9] On December 12 he competed in the USATF National Club Cross Country Championship race, representing the Chattanooga Track Club. At that event he ran an enormous personal best over the 10k distance—on any surface—when he finished in 159th place while clocking 33:00.^[10] On New Year's Eve, December 31, Patrick finished in 3rd place at the Karen Lawrence Race for St. Jude 4 miler, in a time of 21:00.^[11]

Team Fast Break

In January, 2010, Patrick joined the newly created Team Fast Break, and concluded his time as an unattached athlete.

On March 20, Team Fast Break opened their spring season at the Gateway Bank & Trust 5k in Ringgold, GA. Patrick led the team—and the rest of the competitors—across the finish line as he won in 15:46.^[12] A few weeks later, Hall made his debut at the 10 mile distance in Louisville's Papa Johns 10 Miler, where he came in 7th place and ran 55:04.^[13] He concluded his spring season at the Kentucky Derby miniMarathon on April 24. He finished in 4th place while running 1:13:34 for the half marathon distance.^[14]

Front Runner Athletics

Hall's position on Team Fast Break was short-lived as, following his summer acquisition of the assistant coaching position at UT-Chattanooga, he joined cross-town rival Front Runner Athletics. After the jersey swap, Hall raced at the 2010 Bank of America Chicago Marathon, where he finished in 33rd place in his age group and crossed the line in 2 hours, 35 minutes, 42 seconds.^[15] Hall again raced at USATF National Club Cross Country Championship in Charlotte, NC in 2010, where he finished in 245th place in 33 minutes, 52 seconds.^[16] After the Clubs race, Patrick Hall tentatively retired from the sport of competitive racing, citing a lack of drive and the need to re-align his focus on other matters such as baking cakes for small families.

Olympic Trials

In January 2012, Hall led at halfway point but finished second behind Meb Keflezighi in the Olympic marathon trials in Houston, Texas with a time of 2:09:30, securing his spot on his second Olympic team. At the Olympics in London, Hall dropped out of the marathon around the eleven mile mark while he ran this race with a hamstring injury.

References

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