Dathan Ritzenhein's Road to Beijing

American distance runner Dathan Ritzenhein recently beat Australian great Craig Mottram at the Healthy Kidney 10k in Central Park. His time of 28:08 surpassed the previous course record of 28:10 set by Paul Koech in 1997. His winnings were $7500 for his 1^st place finish, as well as $20,000 for breaking the course record. Following his finish, the 24 year old "Ritz" showed his class in an effort of goodwill, by donating his $7500 check to the National Kidney Foundation.

Ritzenhein has been making headlines for his running prowess since his high school days. Running for Rockford High School in Michigan, he won back-to-back Foot Locker National Cross Country titles in 1999 and 2000. The 2000 Championship was especially intense, featuring an intense battle between Dathan and two other current distance greats, Alan Webb and Ryan Hall. Dathan came out as the champ, running the 5k course in 14:35. Ritz also placed an incredible 3^rd at the IAAF World Cross Championships in the junior division. He was the first American Junior to get the bronze medal since 1981 when Keith Brantly finished third in Madrid, Spain.

Following high school, Dathan went on to run at the University of Colorado under Mark Wetmore. He finished 4^th at the NCAA Cross Country Championships his freshman year, as well as 4^th in the 5000m at the NCAA T&F Outdoor Championships. He was injured and forced to redshirt his sophomore year due to stress fractures. He came back with a vengeance the following year, winning the NCAA Cross Country Championships, setting the collegiate record in the 10k (27:38.50), finishing 2^nd in the NCAA T&F Outdoor Championships 5000m, as well as picking up a few Big 12 titles along the way. Ritz went on to run in the 10,000m at the Olympics in Athens, but was forced to drop out of the race due to the pain brought on by his stress fracture.

After his disappointing Olympic debut, Dathan decided to run professionally. He won the 12k race at the 2005 U.S. Cross Country Championships, but faltered at the World Championships to finish 62^nd. In 2006, Ritz ran a 10k against Alan Webb, a miler. However, Alan came out the winner, running 27:34.72 to Dathan's 27:35.65. Alan outkicked Ritz off the final curve. Ritz said jokingly following the race, "Damn those milers."

On November 5, 2006, Dathan ran the New York Marathon in 2:14:01, finishing 11^th place in a strong field. This time is well under the Olympic trials A standard of 2:20. The men's Olympic Trials Marathon will be held in New York on November 2, 2007. However, it will be run on a different course than the New York Marathon.

Dathan is currently looking to run at the Track World Championships to be held in Osaka, Japan at the end of August. He will then resume marathon training to prepare for the Olympic Trials.