Paralyzing blow
Shay's death leaves friends, fellow runners puzzled
Posted: Saturday November 3, 2007 3:11PM; Updated: Saturday November 3, 2007 3:11PM
Three runners took seats at a press conference table late Saturday morning. In the middle was Ryan Hall, 25, who had just delivered a transcendent performance in winning the U.S. men's Olympic marathon trials. On a relentlessly hilly Central Park course, Hall had run the second half of his race in a withering one hour, two minutes and 45 seconds and finished in a Trials record of 2:09:02, validating his position as the most promising young distance runner in the country and potentially the first native-born U.S. runner to challenge the best marathoners in the world in more than two decades. He had run the last quarter mile shaking his fists and waving to the crowd gathered on the finishing slope.
To Hall's right was Dathan Ritzenhein, 24, who had finished second in the trials, another significant step in fulfilling the promise that made him one of the most publicized high school runners in history. He had run the New York City marathon a year ago and found his tank empty at 21 miles in Central Park, fading to a disappointing 11th-place finish. He was still unsure what awaited him in the final miles of a marathon.
To the left was Brian Sell, a 29-year-old grinder from the Michgan-based Hansons-Brooks Distance who had led the 2004 Olympic Trials with three miles to run and said before Saturday's race that if he didn't make the team he was going to dental school. Instead, he reeled in the likes of former world-record holder Khalid Khannoucchi, 2004 Olympic silver medalist Meb Keflezighi and 2004 Olympian Dan Browne in the final eight miles and made his first Olympic team with a third-place finish.
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