The more runner Sara Hall visited Ethiopia on training trips, running in the highlands outside of the capital of Addis Ababa, the more she fell in love with the country and its culture. She cemented her connection to the east African nation when she and her husband, marathoner Ryan Hall, adopted four sisters last year.
“Once you start the very long (adoption) process, your heart really quickly gets tied to the country just knowing your children are going to be coming from there,” Sara said. “So we made more trips to train there. It is a massive benefit training at the very high altitudes, but it was also to visit them and start to connect as a family.”
As Sara, 33, prepares for her fourth Olympic trials — competing in the 5,000 meters Thursday in Eugene, Ore. — she’s teaching her new daughters lessons about taking risks while learning to balance family and a rigorous training schedule.
Ethiopia had nearly 4 million orphans in 2014, according to UNICEF, and the couple realized there was a greater need to adopt older children and siblings rather than infants.
After learning about the sisters through a U.S. adoption agency, the Halls spent a week getting to know them before inviting them to join their family. They took the girls to their Redding, Calif., home a few days before Sara finished 10th in the Chicago Marathon in October.
Lily is 5 years old, Jasmine is 8, Mia is 12 and Hana turns 16 on Wednesday.
While overcoming minor training challenges — such as juggling Sara’s workouts with the girls’ school schedules and maintaining her energy to spend time with them — the transition from a family of two to six has been smooth and joyous. Ryan said the girls were calling them “Mom” and “Dad” from the beginning.
“Our house is so much more full of energy and talking and life and dance parties and all the fun things that come with having kids,” said Ryan, a two-time Olympian who finished 10th in the marathon at the Beijing Olympics and retired in January. “Our home always felt a little bit empty to me before adopting the girls, and now, it feels like this is how life is meant to be lived.”
Embracing the running world, Hana competed with Sara in a mother-daughter event at the Freihofer’s Run for Women 5K in Albany, N.Y., in June, finishing second. The whole family also will be at the track trials, which began Friday.
After competing in the London Marathon in April, Sara switched gears and trained for less than a month before running a 15:28.25 in the 5K at the Hoka One One Middle Distance Classic in Los Angeles.
Although her time did not automatically qualify her for the Olympic trials, the 5K lacked a complete field of 24 entries so she was invited to participate. Sara has been working with Fitbit in the leadup to trials.
“Since that (5K), it’s just gotten better and better,” said Steve Magness, who has coached Sara since 2012. “It’s almost like her legs remember how to run fast again and how to put more power and force into the ground to run quickly versus that steady marathon pace that you get adjusted to.”
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