Former Olympian Speaks In Warsaw
March 31, 2018 at 12:16 a.m.
Former Olympian Speaks In Warsaw
By Zach [email protected]
Hall wanted to bring inspiration to the students and help them figure out what their greatness is in life, whether that is with sports or beyond that scope.
The 2008 and 2012 Olympian reminisced on what it took for him to be great and how to make it to the highest level while running.
“I remember when I was 13 years old and thinking to myself,” he said. “My goal was to go to the Olympics, and what does it take to get to the Olympics?”
While addressing the crowd, he made it clear he knew everyone in the room has been given a special gift and that they will use that five, 10, 20 or 60 years from now.
“That’s my 100 percent honest belief,” said Hall. “They may not all be the same gifts, but they’re still gifts.”
Hall’s half marathon record of 59 minutes, 43 seconds didn’t happen overnight. He got inspiration to run when he was on his way to an eighth grade basketball game. His family passed a lake and he thought to himself that he should run around it. A couple days went by and he decided to run around the entire body of water, totaling 15 miles, with his dad.
Hall said the first step to discovering one’s greatness is finding one’s talent. The second step is sacrifice. He lost some close friends, because he wanted to run more, and his friends chose other paths.
The third step is training. Over the next four years, Hall started running 40 miles a week, then 60, 80 and finally 100 miles a week during his senior year of high school. He said the remaining step was being fearless.
The California native discussed his experience at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He started out the race near the back of the pack and knew he had to be with the runners in the front if he wanted a chance to win.
“God started to tell me that I needed to encourage the people around me,” Hall said. “Every single guy I would catch up to I would say, ‘good work, good job and let’s work together,’ and the crazy thing is, I started to feel better and began to run at a faster pace than before.”
After running professionally, Hall kept up with his encouraging attitude and works with World Vision to bring drinking water to third-world countries. With his efforts, he is able to add 10 years to someone’s lifespan by supplying fresh drinking water.
The father of four adopted daughters from Ethiopia ended the speech by telling the students to always have fun.
“It’s good to take yourself seriously and to try really hard at what you’re doing, but it’s good to be able to laugh at yourself and not take defeat and failures so hard.”
Hall wanted to bring inspiration to the students and help them figure out what their greatness is in life, whether that is with sports or beyond that scope.
The 2008 and 2012 Olympian reminisced on what it took for him to be great and how to make it to the highest level while running.
“I remember when I was 13 years old and thinking to myself,” he said. “My goal was to go to the Olympics, and what does it take to get to the Olympics?”
While addressing the crowd, he made it clear he knew everyone in the room has been given a special gift and that they will use that five, 10, 20 or 60 years from now.
“That’s my 100 percent honest belief,” said Hall. “They may not all be the same gifts, but they’re still gifts.”
Hall’s half marathon record of 59 minutes, 43 seconds didn’t happen overnight. He got inspiration to run when he was on his way to an eighth grade basketball game. His family passed a lake and he thought to himself that he should run around it. A couple days went by and he decided to run around the entire body of water, totaling 15 miles, with his dad.
Hall said the first step to discovering one’s greatness is finding one’s talent. The second step is sacrifice. He lost some close friends, because he wanted to run more, and his friends chose other paths.
The third step is training. Over the next four years, Hall started running 40 miles a week, then 60, 80 and finally 100 miles a week during his senior year of high school. He said the remaining step was being fearless.
The California native discussed his experience at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He started out the race near the back of the pack and knew he had to be with the runners in the front if he wanted a chance to win.
“God started to tell me that I needed to encourage the people around me,” Hall said. “Every single guy I would catch up to I would say, ‘good work, good job and let’s work together,’ and the crazy thing is, I started to feel better and began to run at a faster pace than before.”
After running professionally, Hall kept up with his encouraging attitude and works with World Vision to bring drinking water to third-world countries. With his efforts, he is able to add 10 years to someone’s lifespan by supplying fresh drinking water.
The father of four adopted daughters from Ethiopia ended the speech by telling the students to always have fun.
“It’s good to take yourself seriously and to try really hard at what you’re doing, but it’s good to be able to laugh at yourself and not take defeat and failures so hard.”
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092