Athletics: Hall ready for prize fight on streets of London

Most Sunday mornings you will find Ryan Hall in church. This weekend, however, the committed Christian will have another call on his time as he runs his first marathon in the London event. As he put it yesterday with a touch of humour: "I'll be busy."

That he will, as he faces a field that includes the world marathon record holder Paul Tergat, the multiple Olympic champion Haile Gebrselassie and his two US colleagues, Meb Keflezighi, the Olympic silver medallist, and former world record holder Khalid Khannouchi.

This 24-year-old from Big Bear Lake, California, could hardly have chosen a more daunting occasion for his debut over 26.2 miles. But he is full of excitement about what he might discover about the event, and himself, once he sets off through the capital's streets.

Four months ago, Hall announced his potential to the wider world by becoming one of the handful of runners to have completed a half-marathon in under an hour. His timing of 59min 43sec at the Houston event indicated two things - that his career as a promising middle-distance runner, who won the national collegiate 5,000 metres title in 2005 may be over, and a new career as an outstanding marathon runner may be about to begin.

"Winning in Houston was a great thing for me," he said. "There's definitely been an increase in interest from the public and sponsors in me since then, and I wouldn't be here this week if it wasn't for that half-marathon."

The quietly spoken Hall, who is married to US cross-country runner Sara Bei, is happy to acknowledge that he is ambitious. But it is not an ambition that grates. "I think of myself as more of a dreamer," he said. "I believe anything is possible. I have to run smart in the first half of Sunday's race because I want to finish strongly. But I have prepared well and I am looking forward to getting out there."

Hall has been running up to 130 miles per week at the Team USA training venue of Mammoth Lakes, California, more than 7,000 feet above sea level. He is comfortable in the environment, however, given that the place where he was brought up was at similar altitude. The circumstances of Hall's first run there offered clear evidence of his talent, accompanying his father Nicky, an accomplished triathlete, around Big Bear Lake on a 15-mile run. He was 13 at the time.

Hall is a devout Christian, but he does not hold the same qualms about racing on a Sunday as did Britain's Olympic triple-jump champion Jonathan Edwards, who avoided jumping on the Sabbath early in his career because of his religious beliefs. "I don't see running as work," Hall said. "I feel I can worship God by running just as well as I can by singing in church."