Dathan Ritzenhein

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Dathan Ritzenhein born December 30, 1982 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He is an American track and cross-country athlete. He attended Rockford High School in Michigan and the University of Colorado at Boulder. He was part of the stellar high school class of 2001 that also produced American mile record holder Alan Webb and 2008 Olympic Marathon Trials victor Ryan Hall. In 2007 he was voted Best Male Athlete and Most Inspirational Athlete by Jamison Sports Magazine. He competes professionally for Nike, and is coached by Brad Hudson.

Contents

[edit] Achievement chronology

  • 1999 - Foot Locker national high school cross-country champion
  • 2000 - Foot Locker national high school cross-country champion
  • 2001 - IAAF World Junior Cross-Country Championships bronze medalist
  • 2001 - 4th place at NCAA Cross-Country Championships
  • 2003 - NCAA 5,000 m runner-up to Robert Cheseret
  • 2003 - NCAA and Big 12 cross-country champion while at the University of Colorado at Boulder
  • 2004 - Athens Olympics qualifier for the United States in the 10,000 m race
  • 2005 - USATF 12k cross-country champion
  • 2005 - Winner of the Belfast International Cross-Country
  • 2006 - 4th place at the Edinburgh Cross-Country, defeating Sergiy Lebid and Alistair Cragg
  • 2006 - 11th place at the ING New York City Marathon.
  • 2007 - 3rd place at the U.S. Cross Country Championships [1]
  • 2007 - 9th place 10,000 m at IAAF World Championships in Osaka, Japan
  • 2007 - 2nd place at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Team Trials, qualifying for the Beijing Olympics
  • 2008 - 1st place at the U.S. Cross Country Championships. [2]

[edit] Personal best times

  • 1,500 m - 3:42.99 (2002)
  • 3,000 m – 7:36.xx (en route) (2007)
  • 2 miles - 8:11.74 (2007)
  • 5,000 m - 13:16.06 (2007)
  • 10,000 m - 27:35.65 (2006)
  • Half-Marathon - 1:01:26 (2006)
  • Marathon - 2:11:07 (November 3, 2007, U.S. Olympic Marathon Team Trials)

[edit] High school

Ritzenhein ("Ritz") emerged as a cult figure among high school track fans during his junior and senior years at Rockford High School, especially since he graduated from high school in the same year as Alan Webb and Ryan Hall, America's other budding distance prodigies. He set numerous state and national high school records during this time, notably in the 3,200 m race (8:41.10). He won back-to-back regional (Midwest) and national titles in the Foot Locker high school championship races in the fall of 1999 and 2000. There was major build-up to the 2000 championships due to the impending clash between Ritz, Webb, and Hall. Ritz scored a resounding victory over Webb and Hall in Orlando, Florida, running the 5k course in 14:35. Perhaps more impressive, the previous year he claimed an unexpected national title while setting the course record in 14:29. As a senior in high school he set the Michigan & National high school 5k record of 14:10 at state finals, second place was 15:05.

[edit] College

Ritzenhein began to attend the University of Colorado at Boulder in the fall of 2001 to major in history and compete intercollegiately in cross country and track. During his first cross country season he finished in fourth place at the NCAA Cross Country Championships with a time of 29:11. His finish along with the second place finish of teammate Jorge Torres helped lead Colorado to the team title. The following spring he competed in the 5000 m race at the NCAA Track & Field Outdoor Championships, finishing again in fourth place with a 14:01.02. His 5000 personal record during that season was 13:27.77. Stress fractures caused him to decide to redshirt his sophomore year in both cross country and track. In the fall of 2003, Ritzenhein once again competed in cross country. He won the Big 12 title, and then outkicked Ryan Hall of Stanford to win the NCAA Cross Country Championships individual title. His winning time was a 29:14.1. In the spring of 2004 Ritzenhein ran a 27:38.50 in his debut at 10,000 m at Stanford to set the collegiate record in the event. The next day he won the 5000 m at the Big 12 Outdoor Conference Championships. Ritzenhein concluded his collegiate season by placing second to Robert Cheseret of Arizona in the 5000 m at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Ritzenhein harbored hopes of competing in the Olympic Games at the end of the summer in Athens, but shortly after the NCAA meet he developed a stress fracture in his foot. He limped through the Olympic Trials in the 10,000 m, finishing last, but was able to make the team because the two other athletes with Olympic qualifying times did not go to Athens, Bob Kennedy having dropped out of the Olympic Trials race with an Achilles tendon injury and Meb Keflezighi chosing to focus solely on the marathon. Ritzenhein ran the Olympic 10,000 m, but dropped out mid race due to pain caused by his stress fracture. Shortly after the Olympics he decided to forego his remaining collegiate eligibility in order to run professionally. At this time he changed coaches from Mark Wetmore to Brad Hudson.

[edit] Post-collegiate/professional

Ritzenhein began his professional career on December 31, 2004 when he finished 3rd in a 10 km road race in Italy. In January of 2005 he won the prestigious Belfast International cross country race, and seemed to be in great form. Ritzenhein won the U.S. Cross Country Championships in the 12 km for his first senior national title. Before the World Cross Country Championships expectations were high and some prognosticators even predicted a top 10 finish, but Ritzenhein faded after going out with the leaders and ended up placing 62nd. Ritzenhein's 2005 track season began with a 13:22.23 5000m personal record and a 7:43.95 3000m. In a much anticipated 2 mile race that included high school rival Alan Webb, Ritzenhein ran 8:23.45, which was a solid performance, but was overshadowed by Webb's 8:11.48 for the American record. A few days before the U.S. Outdoor Track Championships Ritzenhein injured a nerve on his foot in a freak accident. This injury effectively ended his season.

On February 19, 2006, Ritzenhein faltered in the USATF national cross-country championships at Van Cortlandt Park. Leading with Hall and Jorge Torres for several circuits of the 12K course, he dropped off badly near the end as Ryan Hall ran away from the field. Ritzenhein finished nearly a minute behind Hall and finished fourth in the race. He qualified for the team but appeared to be hurting badly after the race, leading some to question his fitness heading into the IAAF World Cross-Country Championships April 1-2. Ritz was diagnosed with walking pneumonia after the USATF national cross-country championships and forfeited his spot on the US team.

He again competed against Alan Webb in a 10-km race at the Cardinal Invitational at Stanford University. Webb and Ritz battled throughout, but Webb eventually beat Ritzenhein. In the 5000 m at the U.S. Outdoor Track Championships Ritzenhein finished 3rd behind Bernard Lagat and Matt Tegenkamp. Ritzenhein's time of 13:16.61 was a personal record. He then went to Europe and ran two 5000 m races. He won his first race in Switzerland, and then ran respectably in an elite field in Rome.

Ritzenhein finished second (2:11:07) in the 2008 Olympic Marathon Trials which automatically placed Dathan on Team USA for the Beijing Olympics. [3]

[edit] Future assessment

Many argue that Ritzenhein has sub-27:00 10,000 m potential, but others say that his true potential will be reached in the marathon later in his career. Ritzenhein raced his first marathon, the New York Marathon on November 5, 2006 and finished 11th in 2:14:01 (5:06/mile pace). "Ritz" has been plagued by injuries, specifically stress fractures, that have hindered his seasons. Some question whether Ritz has the natural leg speed to compete someday with the Africans on the track. Most world-class 5000–10,000 m runners can run 52–55 seconds for the last lap of a race, which takes tremendous turnover and natural speed at the end of a long distance race.

[edit] Personal

Ritzenhein is married to Rockford native and University of Colorado distance runner Kalin Toedebusch and the two have a baby girl. He currently lives and trains in Eugene, Oregon.

[edit] References

  1. ^ USATF - Events - 2007 USA Cross Country Championships
  2. ^ USATF - Events - 2008 USA Cross Country Championships
  3. ^ USATF - Events - 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Men's Marathon

[edit] External links

[edit] Video/Pictures