Ryan Patrick Vail (born March 19, 1986) is an American long-distance runner. Vail had a college running career at

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

, where his success led him to road race competitively. He is best known for blogging his high mileage training. He has been featured in publications such as

Runner's World ''Runner's World'' is a globally circulated monthly magazine for runners of all skills sets, published by Hearst in Easton, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Before its acquisition by Hearst, it was founded and published by Rodale, Inc. in Em ...

for his training methods. Vail also works for

Brooks Sports Brooks Sports, Inc., also known as Brooks Running, is an American sports equipment company that designs and markets high-performance men's and women's sneakers, clothing, and accessories. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, Brooks products are ...

as a sponsored athlete. He is married to his former Oklahoma State cross-country teammate, Eva Tomankova.

Running career

Vail began training year around during his junior year at Centennial High School. He then went on to

where he was the leader of the 2009

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Cross Country National Championship team. Immediately after graduating from

Oklahoma State Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

, Vail signed a contract with

. Vail participated in the 2012 Olympic Trials, where he was a top finisher. Vail was also the top American finisher in the 2013 New York Marathon, and at the

2014 London Marathon The 2014 London Marathon was the 34th running of the annual marathon race in London, England, which took place on Sunday, 13 April. The men's elite race was won by Kenyan Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich and the women's race was won by Kenyan Edna K ...

, where he finished 10th in 2' 10" 57, his personal best.

Personal records

* Marathon 2:10:57 *

Half Marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcut ...

1:02:04 * 10 mi road 47:13 * 15 km road 43:43 * 10 km 27:44.07 * 5 km 13:28.11 * 3 km indoor 7:52.17 *

1500m The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athlet ...

3:42.80

Awards and achievements

* 5 time All-American at Oklahoma State University * 11th place debut at the 2012 Olympic Marathon Trials (2:12:43) * 6th place 2012 Olympic Trials 10 km * 3rd place Gate River Run (USA 15 km Championships) 2013 * 1st US finisher at the 2013 ING NYC Marathon (13th) in 2:13:30 * 10th place 2014 Virgin Money London Marathon (2:10:57) * 3rd place USA Track and Field Championships - 10 km * 9th place 2014

TCS New York City Marathon The New York City Marathon (currently branded TCS New York City Marathon after its headline sponsor (commercial), sponsor) is an annual Marathon (sport), marathon () that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest mar ...

* Top 6 finish in the following U.S. Championships: * 2005 USA Junior Cross Country Championships * 2009

USA Cross Country Championships The USA Cross Country Championships is the annual national championships for cross country running in the United States. The championships is generally held in mid-February and it serves as a way of designating the country's national champion, a ...

* 2010

* 2010 Gate River 15 km USA National Championships * 2011 Gate River 15 km USA National Championships * 2011 USA Outdoor National Championships (10 km) * 2011 USA Half-Marathon National Championships * 2012 Track and Field Olympic Trials 10 km * 2013 USA Cross Country Championships * 2013 USA Track and Field Championships (10 km) * 2013 Gate River Run (USA 15 km Championships) * 3rd place 2014 USA Track and Field Championships - 10 km * 5th place

2015 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2015 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships were held at Hayward Field, University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. Organized by USA Track and Field, the four-day competition took place June 25–28 and served as the national championships i ...

- 10 km

Blog

Vail is known for his blog
ryanvail.blogspot.com
He first began blogging in 2012. Vail keeps a record of his training and upcoming races through his

blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order s ...

. He also shares his workout regiments he completed that day. Vail offers advice and gives fellow runners pointers on what gear is the best on the market. Fans have the ability to communicate with Vail through the comments section in his blog. They can also communicate through his

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

, @ryanvail.

References

External links