Two young runners met at a Foot Locker Western Regional track meet their senior year of high school. But they already had history.
She was well known as one of California’s best, so he’d heard of her. He began to pay attention when his dad pointed out how she had congratulated the girls who beat her when she failed to make nationals, then credited her faith in Christ with helping her deal with that difficult loss.
While signing an autograph at a state meet, she noticed he had written a Scripture reference next to his already scrawled signature. She e-mailed him to encourage him in his faith, and their friendship was born.
Sara Bei and Ryan Hall (see “Ryan Hall Goes the Distance”) learned more about each other at the regional meet, began dating the first week of their freshman year as track teammates at Stanford University and were married three months after college graduation.
Teamwork
“We’ve known each other for so long that we can really support and encourage each other to keep looking to the Lord,” Sara says. “We’re a team, and we’re really striving after our goals together. Even our ministry goals and things like that are shared.”
Sara’s Olympic goal was to win the 1,500 meters (0.93 mile) in Beijing. Though she made it to the finals at the U.S. Olympic trials, unfortunately, she did not make the team. Traditionally Sara has focused on the 5K (3.1 miles); she won the U.S. national championship last fall. But a few weeks later when she won the prestigious Fifth Avenue Mile in New York City, she loved the faster speed and found an Olympic focus.
But long before dreaming of the Olympics, Sara has had a desire to serve God on the missions field.
“Ever since I was little and we’d draw pictures of what we wanted to be when we grew up, I would draw myself in Africa, giving Bibles to the people,” she says.
Sara and Ryan today run as spokespersons for World Vision, helping to raise awareness and funds to provide clean water and food to Africa. “I’m really excited to one day be able to go there myself,” she says. 
