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Hall Fast in Record Bid

Dec 20, 2020

CHANDLER, Ariz. – Stanford graduate Sara Bei Hall '05 became the second-fastest American women's marathoner of all-time when she blazed to a 2:20:32 to win the Marathon Project on Sunday. 

The time was an 89-second improvement on the 2:22:01 she ran at the London Marathon on Oct. 4, a time that made her the sixth-fastest American at the time. In this race, over a 4.3-mile loop course, Hall attempted to break Deena Kastor's 14-year-old American record of 2:19:36 and was on pace through 18 miles, but was unable to maintain it for the remainder of the 26.2-mile race. 

Hall, 37, continues to add to what already has been a superb career. At Stanford, she was a six-time All-American, six-time conference champion, and four-time NCAA runner-up.

She won two Pac-10 individual cross country titles, was a two-time Pac-10 5,000-meter champion, and won MPSF indoor titles in the 3,000 and distance medley relay. She was a four-time NCAA runner-up in track – twice in the outdoor 5,000 and once each in the indoor 3,000 and DMR.

Hall helped Stanford to four Pac-10 cross country championships and her third-place finish led Stanford to the 2003 NCAA cross country crown. In 2015, she was among five Stanford runners named to the 12-member Pac-12 All-Century team in women's cross country. 

As a post-collegian, Hall was the 2012 U.S. cross country champion and twice raced in the World Cross Country Championships. She has won U.S. titles on the roads at distances between the mile and the marathon, and her half-marathon best of 1:08:18 is No. 6 among Americans all-time. She also won gold in the steeplechase at the 2011 Pan Am Games.

The Santa Rosa, Calif., native is married to Stanford teammate Ryan Hall '05, an Olympic marathoner, and they have four children.