The Best is Yet to Come

Will November 3 be a special day for Dathan Ritzenhein?

By Cecil Harris

Many athletes would wilt under the pressure of being labeled “the future of U.S. distance running.” But Dathan Ritzenhein has been called that since his days as a schoolboy star in Rockford, Michigan. And he merely takes it in stride because his results strongly suggest the label fits.

Before he turned 22, Ritzenhein helped lead the University of Colorado to the 2002 NCAA Cross Country Championships title, won an individual NCAA cross country title, set a U.S. collegiate record in the 10,000 meters and qualified for the 2004 Olympics. And he accomplished all that despite being beset with injuries. (A stress fracture in his foot led to a DNF in the 10,000 meters at the Athens Olympics.)

Since turning pro three years ago “Ritz” has excelled in international events. He placed third in last year’s BUPA Great North Run in England, finishing ahead of 2004 Olympic marathon gold medalist Stefano Baldini of Italy, two-time world marathon champion Jaouad Gharib of Morocco, and 2002 ING New York City Marathon champ Rodgers Rop of Kenya. In May, Ritzenhein won the Healthy Kidney 10K, in a Central Park-record time of 28:08, against a tough field of competitors including the two-time defending champion Craig Mottram.

Despite all of Ritzenhein’s success in shorter races, many believe his best performances are yet to come—in the marathon. His impressive marathon debut at age 23—an 11th-place finish in 2:14:01 in the ING New York City Marathon 2006—broadened his fan base and fueled his passion to become America’s next great marathoner.

“I really expected to feel a little nervous, but instead I just felt really excited and ready to go,” he said after his first marathon. “I put in so much work for this race that I just wanted to see the fruits of my labor. When the gun went off, it was liberating. It was a chance for me to prove what I’ve been doing all fall.”

Now that Ritzenhein has a world-class marathon under his belt, he enters the U.S. Olympic Men’s Marathon Trials as a major threat to grab one of the coveted berths representing Team USA in Beijing. Nobody would dare overlook him.

“Dathan is a strong contender,” said Abdi Abdirahman, one of Ritzenhein’s rivals at the Trials. “He’s a young runner with a lot of talent and a lot of confidence. He’s one of the guys to beat.”

That is, if he stays healthy. Injuries have at times obscured Ritzenhein’s brilliance. There was the aforementioned withdrawal during the Olympic 10,000-meter race. He also injured a nerve in his foot a few days before the 2005 U.S. Outdoor Track Championships, prematurely ending his season. In February 2006 he ran stride for stride with leaders Ryan Hall and Jorge Torres at the USATF Cross Country Championships in New York’s Van Cortlandt Park before faltering to a fourth-place finish after which he was diagnosed with walking pneumonia.

An injury also caused Ritzenhein to miss the weather-delayed USA 8K Championships on March 18, which many elite runners regarded as a dress rehearsal of sorts for the U.S. Olympic Trials because the 8K race covered much of the same terrain in Central Park. Two months later, on May 19, at the Healthy Kidney 10K, Ritzenhein was able to experience the Central Park course and his victory proved that he was in phenomenal shape. At the 2007 USATF Outdoor Championships, Ritzenhein finished the 10,000 meters in third place, which qualifies him for the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Osaka, Japan, August 25-September 2, 2007.

Ritzenhein left the University of Colorado and coach Mark Wetmore in 2004 with a year of eligibility remaining to turn pro and work with coach Brad Hudson. “Coach Wetmore’s program was very good in terms of providing overall aerobic development; I really think he’s one of the best coaches out there,” Ritzenhein said. “But I did feel there were a few things missing— strengthening components that will hopefully eliminate the kinds of injuries I've had. When I started working with Brad, I told him what I believed I was lacking, and he looked at my program and told me what he thought I was lacking. Most of the differences between Coach Wetmore’s program and Brad’s are in the ‘extras’ I'm doing now—hill sprints, drills, power-oriented things. Also, I don't do 90 to 100 miles a week in seven runs like I used to; I do 11 or 12 runs a week.”

Ritzenhein, who married his former Colorado teammate Kalin Todebusch in June 2006, recently moved from Boulder, CO, to Eugene, OR. Boulder’s altitude had been hard on him; Eugene has softer trails to run on.  The move to Eugene also brings Ritzenhein in closer touch with mentor Alberto Salazar as well as Nike’s headquarters, where he can use cutting-edge treadmills and training equipment.  Hudson’s support of Ritzenhein is clearly evident; he moved to Eugene as well.

Assuming he’s fit on November 3, the 5-8, 125-pound Ritzenhein will be one of the youngest contenders at the Trials, but also among the most competitive. In 2006 he could have run his first marathon on a flat course in Chicago or Berlin and posted a faster time. But he opted for the more strategic and physically grueling race in New York City, because of what it would mean for him and the sport if he competed well on the biggest stage.

“It would be a career highlight,” he said. “It would be like [achieving] superstar status. It would be like Alberto Salazar. He’s one of the most famous American distance runners of all time, and winning in New York is what really launched him onto that platform. A win in New York would do the same thing for me. I’m going to give it my best shot and I’m not going to count myself out of the race. I’ve prepared myself as well as possible.”

Ritzenhein has always taken an analytical approach to running. He’s aware that the challenge he faces at the Trials will be unlike any he has ever undertaken.

“The marathon is much different from the track,” he said. “On the track if you go out too hard, you die but you don’t really die. In the marathon if you go out too hard, you could be walking. So I want to avoid that. I want to be as aggressive as I can, but I also want to be smart because I think that will give me the best shot to finish in the highest place possible.”