Dathan Ritzenhein

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. 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.

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. 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.

Ritzenhein made his marathon debut in the 2006 ING New York City Marathon, finishing in 11th place with a time of 2:14:01. Ritzenhein finished second in 2:11:07 at the 2008 Olympic Marathon Trials which automatically placed him on Team USA for the Beijing Olympics. 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.

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.

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. 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. 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.

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. On August 4, 2012, at the 2012 London Olympics, Ritzenhein finished thirteenth in the 10,000 m finals. 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. At the 2012 Chicago Marathon, Ritzenhein finished in ninth, setting a new personal best of 2:07:47.

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.

On February 13, 2016, Ritz dropped out of the 2016 US Olympic Marathon Trials. Ritzenhein retired from professional running in May 2020. 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."

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.

Coaching career

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

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).

References

External links

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archive September 9, 2008

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New Yorker profile of Ritzenheim and Coach Alberto Salazar

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ritzenhein, Dathan
1982 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Grand Rapids, Michigan
Track and field athletes from Michigan
American male marathon runners
Olympic track and field athletes for the United States
Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Colorado Buffaloes men's cross country runners
Colorado Buffaloes men's track and field athletes
21st-century American sportsmen