Dathan Ritzenhein

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Dathan Ritzenhein
Dathan Ritzenhein - Campaccio 2015 01.jpg
Ritzenhein in 2015
Personal information
Full nameDathan James Ritzenhein
Born (1982-12-30) December 30, 1982 (age 42)
Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.
Height5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight121 lb (55 kg)
Sport
Sport Cross country, Track and field, Distance running
Event(s) Marathon, Half marathon, 10,000 meters, 5000 meters
College team Colorado Buffaloes
Turned pro2004
Achievements and titles
Olympic finals 2004
10,000 m, DNF
2008
Marathon, 9th
2012
10,000 m, 13th
World finals2007
10,000 m, 9th
2009
10,000 m, 6th
2013
10,000 m, 10th
Personal bests
Medal record
World Half Marathon Championships
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2009 Birmingham Individual
World Cross Country Championships
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2001 Ostende Junior race

Dathan James Ritzenhein (born December 30, 1982) is a retired American long-distance runner, and current head coach of the On Athletics Club (OAC). He held the American record in the 5,000 metres (12:56.27) from 2009 to 2010, until it was broken by Bernard Lagat. [2] He is a three-time national cross country champion with wins at the USA Cross Country Championships in 2005, 2008 and 2010. Formerly a Nike athlete for the majority of his professional career, Dathan joined the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project team in 2017. In early May 2020, he announced his retirement from competition. He signed with the Swiss shoe brand On shortly thereafter in June 2020 and currently acts as the coach for the On Athletics Club in Boulder, Colorado.

Contents

Ritzenhein was a standout runner at Rockford High School in Michigan and the University of Colorado at Boulder. He was part of the high school class of 2001 which also produced distance runners Alan Webb and Ryan Hall.

Running career

High school

Ritzenhein ("Ritz") attended Rockford High School. [3] [4] Ritz set numerous state and national high school records during this time, including in the 1600m (4:05.9), 3200m (8:41.10) and 5000m (13:44.70). 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. In the 2000 Foot Locker Championship in Orlando, Florida, Ritz defeated Webb and Hall winning the 5 kilometer run in a time of 14:35, six seconds behind the course record he set the year prior. As a senior in high school, he set the Michigan high school 5 km cross country record of 14:10 at the state finals, beating the previous record by one minute. His final cross country race in high school was at the IAAF Junior World Cross-Country Championships in Ostend, Belgium where he won a bronze medal. [5]

Ritzenhein made his marathon debut in the 2006 ING New York City Marathon, finishing in 11th place with a time of 2:14:01. [6] Ritzenhein finished second in 2:11:07 at the 2008 Olympic Marathon Trials which automatically placed him on Team USA for the Beijing Olympics. [7] In the 2008 Olympic Marathon, Ritzenhein was the first American runner to cross the finish line, finishing ninth with a time of 2:11:59. His teammate, Ryan Hall, finished just behind him in tenth place. [8]

Ritzenhein at the 2009 London Marathon Dathan Ritzenhein 2009 London Marathon.jpg
Ritzenhein at the 2009 London Marathon

In January 2009, Ritzenhein placed 2nd at the U.S. Half Marathon Championship. Three months later, he set a personal best at the 2009 London Marathon, finishing 11th in 2:10:00. In May 2009, Ritzenhein and longtime coach Brad Hudson parted ways. He moved from Eugene to Portland, Oregon in order to train with Alberto Salazar's Nike Oregon Project. [9]

On August 17, 2009, Ritzenhein placed sixth in the 10,000 meters at the World Championships in Berlin, Germany, where he set a personal best of 27:22.28. [10] Eleven days later at the Weltklasse Meeting in Zurich, Switzerland, Ritzenhein placed third in the 5,000 metres, setting a new American record with a time of 12:56.27, becoming the third American to run under 13 minutes. [11] [12] At the 2009 Half Marathon Championships in Birmingham, Ritzenhein placed third with a time of 60:00, which was then the second fastest American time ever behind Ryan Hall's 59:43. [13] [14]

In the January 2012 Olympic Marathon Trials, Ritzenhein ran a personal best of 2:09:55, but placed fourth, missing a spot on the US Marathon Team by eight seconds behind the third-place finisher Abdi Abdirahman. On the evening of June 22, 2012, Ritzenhein placed third in the US Olympic Trials in the 10,000 meters and achieved the Olympic 'A' standard of 27:45.00. In poor conditions, Ritz and his teammate Galen Rupp worked together to pace the race for the first 5000 meters, with Rupp pulling away in the final three laps to win the national title. [15] On August 4, 2012, at the 2012 London Olympics, Ritzenhein finished thirteenth in the 10,000 m finals. [16] After the Olympics, he ran at the Philadelphia Half Marathon and came third, running a time of 1:00:57, which was the fastest by an American that year. [17] At the 2012 Chicago Marathon, Ritzenhein finished in ninth, setting a new personal best of 2:07:47. [18]

On May 9, 2014, Ritzenhein announced that he would leave the Nike Oregon Project to move closer to his hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was sponsored by Brooks. [19] [20] [21]

On February 13, 2016, Ritz dropped out of the 2016 US Olympic Marathon Trials. [22] [23] Ritzenhein retired from professional running in May 2020. [24] [25] [26] In an interview with Flotrack, he reminisced memories of his 16-year career. He stated that "I guess I'm not necessarily 25 and retiring in my prime. I have things that I wish that I have done in my career, but I'm also very satisfied, too. I think right now it's something that I thought a lot about the last year. I've had a lot of nostalgic moments, looking back a lot more than looking forward. So, I don't know that I had a lot more goals that I was looking to accomplish." [24]

During his career, Ritzenhein regularly trained at St-Moritz, Switzerland at 5,900 ft (1800 m) above sea-level, to prepare for his major competitions. [27]

Coaching career

In August 2020, Ritzenhein was named the head coach of the newly formed On Athletics Club, based in Boulder, Colorado. [28] Notable OAC athletes include Hellen Obiri, Yared Nuguse, Geordie Beamish, and Oliver Hoare. [29]

Personal life

Ritzenhein is married to Rockford native and former University of Colorado distance runner Kalin Toedebusch. The two have a daughter Addison (born 2008) and a son Jude (born 2011). [20]

References

  1. ↑ "Dathan RITZENHEIN - Athlete Profile". IAAF . Archived from the original on April 8, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  2. ↑ Dick Patrick (August 28, 2009). "Ritzenhein breaks 13-year-old U.S. 5K mark at Swiss meet". USA TODAY. Archived from the original on August 31, 2009. Retrieved August 30, 2009.
  3. ↑ Breithaupt, Therese. "Throwback: Dathan Ritzenhein Wins Foot Locker in 2000". MileSplit United States. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
  4. ↑ Gault, Jonathan. "I Was Bored, So I Went Back and Watched Ritz, Webb, & Hall Battle at the 2000 Foot Locker Cross Country Championships". LetsRun.com. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
  5. ↑ Layden, Tim. "Ready to Rock High schoolers Alan Webb and Dathan Ritzenhein are the best young American distance running duo in 37 years". SI.com. Archived from the original on August 4, 2017. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
  6. ↑ Meb's Race: Better Luck Next Time Archived July 4, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ "USATF - Events - 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Men's Marathon". Archived from the original on December 22, 2019. Retrieved December 22, 2019.
  8. ↑ Athletics Men's Marathon Detailed Results - The official website of the BEIJING 2008 Olympic Games
  9. ↑ Battaglia, Joe (May 18, 2009). "Ritzenhein changes coaches". Universal Sports. Archived from the original on May 22, 2009. Retrieved May 18, 2009.
  10. ↑ "Ritzenhein, Rupp give U.S. top-eight finishes in 10,000". Archived from the original on September 10, 2012. Retrieved August 29, 2009.
  11. ↑ Doug Binder (August 28, 2009). "Dathan Ritzenhein's 5,000-meter record shows U.S. is 'closing the gap'". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on August 30, 2009. Retrieved August 30, 2009.
  12. ↑ "IAAF 5000 Metres All Time". Archived from the original on January 13, 2010. Retrieved January 24, 2010.
  13. ↑ Dick Patrick (October 12, 2009). "American Ritzenhein breaks through with third in half marathon". USATODAY. Archived from the original on October 13, 2009. Retrieved October 12, 2009.
  14. ↑ Running USA (October 12, 2009). "World Half Marathon Championships: A Bronze Medal for Dathan Ritzenhein". Washington Running Report. Archived from the original on July 15, 2011. Retrieved October 20, 2009.
  15. ↑ Layden, Tim (June 22, 2012). "Children of the Internet era, Webb, Ritzenhein know intense scrutiny". Sports Illustrated . Archived from the original on June 27, 2012. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  16. ↑ "Olympic Track & Field - Men's 10,000m Final Schedule & Results | NBC Olympics". Archived from the original on August 7, 2012. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  17. ↑ Biwott and Cherop dominate at Philadelphia Half Marathon Archived November 19, 2012, at the Wayback Machine . IAAF (September 16, 2012). Retrieved on January 22, 2013.
  18. ↑ Gugala, Jon (October 7, 2012). Course record for Kebede, Baysa dethrones Shobukhova - Chicago Marathon report Archived February 18, 2013, at the Wayback Machine . IAAF. Retrieved on February 2, 2013.
  19. ↑ "Ritzenhein leaves Oregon Project - Flotrack". Archived from the original on May 12, 2014. Retrieved May 9, 2014.
  20. 1 2 "Olympian Dathan Ritzenhein moving back to Grand Rapids area". May 9, 2014. Archived from the original on May 11, 2014. Retrieved May 9, 2014.
  21. ↑ "Fifth Third River Bank Run 25k - Videos - Dathan Ritzenhein on Moving Back to Michigan - Fifth Third River Bank Run 25k 2014". Archived from the original on May 12, 2014. Retrieved May 9, 2014.
  22. ↑ "Dathan Ritzenhein drops out of U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials". February 14, 2016. Archived from the original on April 22, 2016. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  23. ↑ "Dathan Ritzehein 'just in shock' after dropping out of Olympic marathon trials". February 14, 2016. Archived from the original on May 8, 2016. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  24. 1 2 Monti, David (May 7, 2020). "Dathan Ritzenhein Retires At 37". Flotrack, Flosports . Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  25. ↑ "Dathan Ritzenhein Hangs 'Em Up: We Pick Our 5 Favorite Moments from His Career". LetsRun. May 7, 2020. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  26. ↑ J. Wallner, Peter (May 7, 2020). "Dathan Ritzenhein retires - 'I've been blessed with an amazing, long career'". mlive. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  27. ↑ Dathan Ritzenhein's Blog/ Archived August 31, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  28. ↑ "On Establishes Pro Group in Boulder to Be Coached by Dathan Ritzenhein; Joe Klecker Is Group's First Signing | LetsRun.com". www.LetsRun.com. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  29. ↑ "Hellen Obiri Defends Her Title and Wins the 2024 Boston Marathon | Runner's World". www.RunnersWorld.com. April 15, 2024. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
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