Ryan Hall Running Houston Half Marathon

He’s doing it to familiarize himself with the Olympic Trials course.

The American-record holder in the half marathon is returning to racing. Ryan Hall has announced that he’s going to run in the U.S. Half Marathon championships on January 30th in Houston.

Houston has special significance for Hall. Four years ago, he became the first non-African runner to clock a sub-hour half marathon there.

“With the 2012 Olympic Marathon Trials just a year away now, I am excited to return to a very special place for me to check out the course that all U.S. marathoners will be racing in an effort to make the Olympic team,” said Hall. “Running the course of a marathon is always helpful, but racing the actual course before the marathon is an even bigger advantage.”

Hall is expected to face stiff competition in the race from the likes of last year’s runner-up, Patrick Smyth and third-place finisher Brent Vaughn. Late last year, Hall parted ways with longtime coach Terrence Mahon and has been coaching himself for the last four months.

For More: Chron.com