Career
He was a distance runner and competed in the Marathon for the United States. Olympic team in the 1908 Summer Olympics and 1912 Summer Olympics, but did not finish either race. He did not finish the race 1909. He came in fifth place in 1910 with a time of 2:38:24, and ninth place in 1911 with a time of 2:36:15.
In 1909, he finished third place in the Yonkers Marathon, with a time of 2:49:40.
"The roads in parts of the course were muddy and rough and Ryan"s performance was a remarkable one." He finished seven minutes ahead of the second-place finisher, Charles Cook. On May 27, 1911, against an array of international athletes, Ryan came in second place in a marathon sponsored by the Polytechnic Harriers in London, England with a time of 2 hours 50 minutes and 45 seconds.
The course for this race as nearly identical to the 1908 Olympic marathon.