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USA Track & Field
USATF Honors Ryan and Sara Hall with Visa Humanitarian Athletes of the Year Award
From USA Track & Field; with local contribution and photos taken at Pacers store by DrewDecember 7, 2009
Indianapolis, IN
"We Never Run Alone: Run with Us"
2008 Olympian Ryan Hall and his wife, 1500m runner Sara Hall, who announced on September 24, 2009 the formation of The Hall Steps Foundation--a charitable initiative to fund programs creating a better life for youth living in poverty in the United States and abroad--have been named Visa Humanitarian Athletes of the Year by USA Track & Field. The award was annouced shortly before USATF's 2009 Annual Meeting held December 2-6 in Indianapolis, IN.
On Sunday, December 6, Ryan and Sara Hall attended previously scheduled local fundraiser events for the Hall Steps Foundation hosted by Pacers Running Stores and the Road Runners Club of America: they participated in a fun run at the Pacers Pentagon Row store in the morning (Pacers reported attendance of 120), signed autographs (photo at left), and attended an evening reception in Bethesda, MD hosted by Eve Mills, RRCA Program Services Director. Also on Sunday, Sara posted a tweet that she and Ryan "saw a photo in the west wing [during a tour of the White House] of President Obama playing basketball in ASICS [shoes, the company that sponsors the Halls as athletes]!"In 2009, Ryan Hall finished third in the Boston Marathon, running 2:09:40. It was the first time an American male has finished on the podium since 1984. Hall then finished fourth overall in the ING NYC Marathon in 2:10:36 to take second in the USA Championship race. Also in New York this year, Sara Hall took third place in the Fifth Avenue Mile in a race that was so close that first through fourth place all finished in 4:23.
Photos below: Andre Williams at the Pacers cash register during the Halls visit to sign autographs. And four members of the GWU Men's Cross Country team (left to right: Zach, team captain Andrew, Dan, Alex) waited in line to meet the Halls.
Ryan and Sara launched the Hall Steps Foundation with a vision to use running's lessons and encourage people to take "small steps" toward the goal of tackling issues like clean water, sex trafficking, and leadership development. Domestically, the foundation plans to create mentoring programs for at-risk youth to train for a race with an adult runner.Said Sara Hall, "Ryan and I are very honored to receive this award, and wish we could be there to accept it in person! Both of us hope through our charitable work, including founding The Hall Steps Foundation, to leave a positive mark on our sport and inspire lives along the way! Our goal through The Hall Steps Foundation is to engage the running community in social justice efforts, and we are excited to see the response of the running community so far! We are very thankful to Visa and USATF for providing us with events and a platform on which to compete, and it is great to give back with all we've been blessed with.
We will be using the funds from the award to go towards our social justice efforts through The Hall Steps Foundation. Thank you very much!"The Halls announced their foundation in New York City two months ago, where Sara ran the Continental Airlines Fifth Avenue Mile on September 26, and Ryan the ING New York City Marathon on November 1. They donated their winnings from those races to the foundation. Their charitable venture is a function of Fun 4 Kidz, an organization providing opportunities for disadvantaged children. The Hall Steps Foundation, in connection with the New York Road Runners, also funded a Young Runners program in each of the five boroughs in New York City, helping more than 200 children learn the value of running.
"Ours can by its very nature be a selfish sport, but we are blessed that many American track and field athletes give back to their communities," USATF CEO Doug Logan said, "Sarah and Ryan Hall are incredible examples of how a humble selflessness can make running a vehicle to help others. That charity is a prime motivator for both of them is an example we can all learn from, in running and in life. It is with great admiration that I congratulate Ryan and Sara on receiving this richly deserved award."
"As a long-standing partner of USA Track & Field, Visa is proud to present the Visa Humanitarian of the Year to Ryan and Sara," said Michael Lynch, Head of Global Sponsorship Management, Visa Inc. "They are amazing role models and continue to inspire in and out of competition. We're proud to recognize their work with this award."
For more information on the Hall Steps Foundation, see www.thestepsfoundation.org.
About Visa
Visa is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable digital currency. Underpinning digital currency is VisaNet, one of the world's most advanced processing networks capable of handling more than 10,000 transactions a second, with fraud protection for consumers and guaranteed payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank, and does not issue cards, extend credit, or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa's innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: Pay now with debit, ahead of time with prepaid, or later with credit products. For more information, see www.corporate.visa.com.