Boston Marathon 2024: Sara Hall reveals unique reason behind participation in the event

American distance runner Sara Hall recently revealed the unique reason behind her competing at the Boston Marathon 2024 on April 15. The 40-year-old shared a social media video inviting fans to support her in her noble cause for the betterment of Ethiopian women.

Sara Hall became the second-fastest American woman to run a half-marathon in 2022, clocking in under 1:07:15. The athlete also boasts a gold medalist in the 3000m steeplechase in the 2011 Pan American Games. In 2020, Hall bagged the silver medal in the London Marathon and a bronze medal at the Chicago Marathon in 2021.

Last year, Sara Hall recorded a master's time of 2:25:48 at the Boston Marathon 2023, taking the seventeenth-place finish.

This year, the 40-year-old will once again compete at the Boston Marathon for a special cause. The American athlete shared a video on X (formerly known as Twitter) to state that she would be in action at the Boston Marathon to raise micro-loans on the platform GoFundMe for women in Ethiopia.

Hall said in the video:

"This year I’m gonna be committing my race to helping bring women in Ethiopia loans to start their own businesses. This is one of my favorite ways I have seen aid happen because it gives people the dignity of being able to provide for their own families and work their way out of poverty.

"It's just a small loan that can help someone be able to start a small business that they then repay and it gets lent to the next person which they then repay and just keeps getting paid forward."

Hall also said that she feels bothered by people starving and dying around the world. Competing at the Boston Marathon is her small step towards eradicating humanitarian injustices.

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Sara Hall on her fifth-place finish at the 2024 US Olympic Trials Marathon

Hall at World Athletics Championships Oregon22 - Day Four

On February 3, Sara Hall secured the fifth position at the 2024 US Olympic Trials. The marathoner had a great lead in the first 18 miles of the race. However, after the 19th mile, Hall had severe cramps in her leg and neck. Between 25 to 26 miles, she was overtaken by American runner Jessica McClain.

Although Hall failed to secure an Olympic birth, her timing of 2:26.06 was recognized as the new American master’s record, surpassing Des Linda’s 2:27.35 from the 2023 Chicago Marathon.

Post-marathon, Sara Hall expressed her delight about the efforts and determination that she put into her performance. She mentioned in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter):

"5th at the Olympic Trials marathon. This one hurts more than any of the other 7, and yet I feel proud and have no regrets. Was in 3rd/could see 3rd the whole last lap as I battled through cramps. Never stopped believing, fought every step."

Moreover, marathoner Fiona O’Keeffe topped the US Olympic Trials Marathon with a timing of 2:22.20. She was followed by Emily Sisson (2:22.42) and Dakotah Lindwurm (2:25.31) in the second and third place, respectively.