Big Bear plans sendoff for Ryan Hall

Big Bear resident Ryan Hall, who is favored to medal in the marathon event at the Beijing Olympics, will be given a community sendoff with a pep rally on Aug. 4 at the Big Bear Middle School football stadium.

Gates open at 4:30 p.m. and the ceremony begins at 5:30 p.m., with Hall scheduled to do a lap around the track.

“I’m just blown away from the amount of support the community has given me,” Hall said.

In addition to the pep rally, Big Bear has established a special campaign titled, “Move a Million Miles for Ryan Hall,” which is a community spirit initiative designed as a moral support booster for the Olympic medal hopeful.

The goal of the campaign is to reach 1 million miles in honor of Hall by Aug. 24, the date of the Olympic marathon. As of July 15 there were 2,610 participants signed up for the program, with 659,980 miles logged. Check out this video of Hall.

-- Debbie Goffa and Pete Thomas

Photo: Ryan Hall at the Olympic trials. Credit: Victor Sailor