Ritz to run NYC Marathon

[ILRun1]

http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_3866039

[wsdistance]

woah

[Zat0pek]

I think its great that he's not waiting until he's past his prime to move. Gotta do it sometime; no doubt in my mind it'll be his best event.

[TCtheJUMPER/RUNNER]

Can't wait!

[homeless]

I bet he beats Armstrong ;)

[runsaints]

I think its great that he's not waiting until he's past his prime to move. Gotta do it sometime; no doubt in my mind it'll be his best event.

Exactly my thoughts. Best move he could possibly make.

[GeorgieTheK]

I bet he beats Armstrong ;)

that's making an assumptions that he:

a) makes it to the starting line
b) doesn't drop out


look, everyone in the world knows that ritz is the most talented distance runner this country has produced in the last 20 or 30 years. no one doubts his natural abilities, and the longer the race, the better he seems to run.

however, ever since high school the question with ritz has been health. he just hasn't been healthy long enough to show what he's really capable of doing. we get small peeks into his talent by his ability to run national class times off very little training. but, invariably, his progress is stalled once again.

the marathon, while it might be his best event, is a risky proposition for him. it takes many, many healthy months to run a competitive marathon, let alone one that will open people's eyes.

what's a normal marathon preparation? say 7 months for a guy who hasn't run one before? looking at that, ritz has to be 2 months in to training right now, and stay healthy throughout the summer (i'm guessing this means no USATF, no europe). a half marathon in september as a tune up. maybe some other road races.

as always, it is "we'll see" with ritz.

[Scotty]

A good move, but my thinking is that the marathon MAY not be his best event. I believe that Ritz will get down in the 27:15 range soon, and that's serious stuff. I realize that he is not yet there, but assuming he reaches that point, it would require a real fast marathon to top it.

I'd love to see him run 2:09:xx........he's an easy guy to root for.

As George said, we'll see.

[homeless]

shoot, it's "we'll see" with any serious distance athlete. injuries suck. but yes, he has been heavily injury prone.

any updates on the Armstrong camp? :D I'd love to see him go 2:30's

[RockyRegion]

he is very Gerr Lindgren like with the injuries...and they even look alike

[jaguar]

Yeah, I would question his body's durability. He has definitely matured the past 2 years, but I don't know if he's quite 'figured it out'. To train for and race in a marathon, you need consistency.

[jrun]

Him running the 5K is like an 800 (meters)," Hudson said. "He was born to run 4:45 (per mile) pace."

I thought this was an interesting quote by Ritz's coach, Hudson.

While Ritz may surely have great(er) potential at longer distances, that does not negate the development needed at shorter distances. I think that development at the shorter distances is essential. I mean, to act as if 5k is an 800 is like saying that Ritz has zero speed. I think it's a partial cop-out at development. I understand what others have said in the past--including people on the board like Zat0pek--who say Americans wait entirely too long to move up in distances...distances that they will undoubtedly have greater success in. While true in many instances, I still think a "traditional" line of development is essential and that Ritz has more time to do exactly that. He's only, what, 23? After all, he has been hurt often for the past 3 or so years. Who can say he's topped out his 5k/10k potential? This is a guy who ran 13:27 as a freshman and--off injuries--won NCAA XC Nationals and ran 27:38.

And 4:45 pace? That's 2hr 4min marathon pace. Hudson thinks he can seriously be comfortable at this pace...for 26+miles? I know Hudson doesn't explicitly state that in the interview, but still...

Wish him all the best.

[DCsoloRunner]

A good move, but my thinking is that the marathon MAY not be his best event. I believe that Ritz will get down in the 27:15 range soon, and that's serious stuff. I realize that he is not yet there, but assuming he reaches that point, it would require a real fast marathon to top it.

I'd love to see him run 2:09:xx........he's an easy guy to root for.
.
I think(and I know he already does high mileage) that once you start doing marathons(and I'm quoting a prevelant dallas runner) your legs are marathons only from now on. If he gets serious about this, I don't see him ever pring in the 10k again. But you're definatley right, He's easy to root for.

[ElHollingsworth]

that's making an assumptions that he:

a) makes it to the starting line
b) doesn't drop out


look, everyone in the world knows that ritz is the most talented distance runner this country has produced in the last 20 or 30 years. no one doubts his natural abilities, and the longer the race, the better he seems to run.

however, ever since high school the question with ritz has been health. he just hasn't been healthy long enough to show what he's really capable of doing. we get small peeks into his talent by his ability to run national class times off very little training. but, invariably, his progress is stalled once again.

the marathon, while it might be his best event, is a risky proposition for him. it takes many, many healthy months to run a competitive marathon, let alone one that will open people's eyes.

what's a normal marathon preparation? say 7 months for a guy who hasn't run one before? looking at that, ritz has to be 2 months in to training right now, and stay healthy throughout the summer (i'm guessing this means no USATF, no europe). a half marathon in september as a tune up. maybe some other road races.

as always, it is "we'll see" with ritz.

no. it wouldnt appear that way nor can you compare him to kennedy. webb has walked all over him since high school.

[GeorgieTheK]

no. it wouldnt appear that way nor can you compare him to kennedy. webb has walked all over him since high school.


"since high school." ritz killed him in distance races in h.s. webb obviously more a middle distance guy then

ritz ran 13:44 in high school, a time that kennedy didn't best until his sophomore year in college.

look, if you want to debate that kennedy or webb were better distance runners when they were younger, be my guest. most people who have been around the sport will tell you that as a distance runner, there was no one in between lindgren/pre and ritz.

we're there other guys who ran fast? yes.
has ritz fulfilled the promise he showed in high school? no.
are there a half dozen U.S. runners now who are as good as ritz in distance races? yes.

but talent-wise? you'd be hard pressed to say that.

[maineXCrunner16]

Meb would be America's best distance runner in the last 10 years. Dan Browne has prove he is better than Ritz. Kennedy owns the fastest 5k time for an American, and is up there with Meb, but I give Meb the edge because of the silver.

Ritz may have potential to be a contender on the world stage, but he isn't there yet, nor is he the best distance guy in America.

[the430miler]

no. it wouldnt appear that way nor can you compare him to kennedy. webb has walked all over him since high school.
lol webb has walked all over everybody since highschool

[Beans]

Can't wait!

to get injured!

[Scotty]

Ritz may not be the very best, but he is certainly among the top handful of distance guys (5k/10k/XC) the US has produced in the last 30yrs. I believe that this was George's point.

[GOGETA SS4]

Here we go folks, Dathan Ritzenhein being a risk-taker, I'm f'uckng excited.

[DCsoloRunner]

So now that Ritz is moving to the marathon cause he's obviously scared of Webb, when will Webb start moving up to the marathons? [/note sarcasm]

[papa46]

Ritz may not be the very best, but he is certainly among the top handful of distance guys (5k/10k/XC) the US has produced in the last 30yrs. I believe that this was George's point.

That would be a reasonable position. Saying that there was "no one" between Lindgren/Pre and Ritz with comparable distance talent is myopic. Craig Virgin was a faster HS two miler than Ritz and his career stands up pretty well. Also, equating talent with HS times is sketchy. Kennedy didn't do the mileage in HS that Ritz did. That hardly makes him less "talented." Mark Nenow also ran relatively little in HS but had perhaps the most ideal "lungs on legs" physique of any American distance runner. An extreme talent.

[daman]

A good move, but my thinking is that the marathon MAY not be his best event. I believe that Ritz will get down in the 27:15 range soon, and that's serious stuff. I realize that he is not yet there, but assuming he reaches that point, it would require a real fast marathon to top it.

I'd love to see him run 2:09:xx........he's an easy guy to root for.

As George said, we'll see.Todd Williams tried this and it didn't work out all that great.

[Dragonsoul]

This is very interesting and suprising! Good luck to him, and I want to see what he does in a half marathon!

What races are he scheduled in this summer?