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Dathan Ritzenhein,
a two-time Foot Locker Cross Country Champion and 3rd-place finisher
at the 2001 World Junior Cross Country Championships is one of the
best, if not the best, high school distance runners that the U.S.
has ever seen. And all signs indicate that there will be even bigger
and better things to come for this Rockford (Michigan) High School
senior. Chris Lear, author of Running With the Buffaloes, caught
up with Ritzenhein, who will become a Buffalo himself next fall,
earlier this week. (05-23-01)
Dathan, thanks for the interview. You've
had a hell of year so far and it's coming to a close soon. What
events do you have left on your plate this season?
Hey Chris, no problem. Thanks. Yeah, my season has been great. I
have just really started to get into my track season. I have been
doing quite a few good speed sessions now so I have most of my good
running still ahead of me. I have my state meet on June 2nd and
I am hoping for a good showing there. Then two weeks later on the
15th and 16th of June I will be running in the Adidas Outdoor Championships
in the two-mile and the 4xMile relay. Then I am heading right from
Raleigh to go out to Eugene for the USA Nationals. My ex-teammate
Jason Hartmann runs for Oregon so I'm gonna stay with him for a
week and recoup. before I run the 5000m on Friday the 22nd.
You've had plenty of stateside success
this year, most notably winning Foot Locker for the second year
in a row and running 13:51 for 5k at the Penn Relays. You've also
excelled on the international stage, winning the first U.S. medal
in 20 years (in the junior boys race) at the World Cross Country
Championships with your third place finish. Is there a particular
success that stands out in your mind?
Well the World Cross Country bronze medal is my most prized success.
It is difficult to describe being up on the podium with people cheering
for the stars and stripes and saying, "Go America!" with
the flag waving in the wind. It was truly my favorite moment of
my life.
You had a chance to watch some races at
World Cross before you ran. What, did you learn from observing the
seniors race?
I got to watch three races the day before I ran and they helped
me a ton. I saw that the people that didn't go out with the Kenyans
and Ethiopians never had a chance. I wanted it bad and I wasn't
about to take my self out of the race before I started. I also found
out you can tell beforehand who is gonna do well and who won't.
With the terrible conditions I looked around and most people didn't
want to run, but me and Matt (Tegenkamp) and Josh (Spiker), that's
all we wanted to do.
One thing I notice in reviewing your year
is that you consistently perform well in the clutch. In this week's
edition of ESPN the magazine, Michael Jordan and Rick Telander
write a
piece about what it means to be a clutch performer and Jordan
says that once he performed well in the clutch (hitting the game
winner to win the 1982 NCAA basketball championship) he had the
confidence that he could do it again. For years after that, when
the game was on the line, he would think back to the first time
he came up big, and he credits that confidence with helping him
do it again and again. Before a big race, be it World Cross or the
Penn Relays, is there a race that you think about that gives you
confidence?
I feel the race that gives me the most confidence that I can do
anything is Foot Locker Cross Country. When I won my junior year
I was so dead and yet I had a monstrous kick. Then this year I had
pressure like never before. I was the defending champ and everyone
was saying it is gonna be close so I said to myself, "I'm so
strong and fast right now that I am gonna win." I had great
confidence at that point and I came out on top. The race last year
was so hot and so difficult I felt like they were gonna have to
take me to the hospital; it took me almost 15 minutes to recover
enough to walk around (I think I got a little heat stroke).
As recently as the early 90's, the only
way to find out what high school runners were running across the
country was to get outdated results in publications like Track
and Field News. Now, with sites like mensracing.com, dyestat.com,
and letsrun.com,
among others, you can check on your national rivals almost daily.
Do you use the Internet to follow the sport?
Oh yeah, I love the internet like most other teen kids. It's great,
I always know when my friends and competitors are going to run a
big race and I get online to see how they do. The internet has also
allowed me to learn the history of the sport and about the old-timers.
And
do you even compare yourself to your contemporaries or are you chasing
the ghosts of such notables as high school record holders Jeff Nelson
and Gerry Lindgren?
I
hate when people try to compare me to guys from the past. I mean
as far as times go, yeah, but you can't judge me as being the next
Prefontiane or Alan (Webb) as the next Ryun. It is cool to be mentioned
with those names but we are our own selves, too.
There's also been much speculation that ease and comfort of American
life has contributed to our lack of success in developing international-caliber
distance runners. Bearing in mind that a sample size of one has
no statistical relevance whatsoever, did you grow up playing video
games and taking a carpool to school or would you say you were considerably
more active than the typical American youth as a grade schooler?
I was as active as they came. I did football for four years, baseball
for five years, I did triathlons, I swam, I did everything. We never
sat in front of the TV playing video games. I preferred to be outside.
American kids do have it easy compared to the Africans but I don't
think [the activity] was [what made the difference]. I think we
just didn't give distance running as much attention as it needed.
I mean if only 12.6 scholarships are going to be given for running
and like 80 are for football, then you're naturally going to focus
on what you have more opportunity in. It all comes from our society
-- in my opinion.
People run and race for myriad reasons.
Why do you race?
I race and run because I love it and I am good at it. If I wasn't
good at running I would probably still do it but I wouldn't be in
love with it. I love competing and the satisfaction after a hard
workout or a great race will always bring me back. Then there is
just running -- I love it. I would go out and just run a 30-mile
trail run if it didn't make me feel like crap for a week.
Former national 10k champ Mike Mykytok
was fifth at the national cross country championships as a high
schooler and won the New Jersey state 3200 meter title as a senior...and
took runner-up honors to an all-county football player in the voting
for his high school's best athlete. So, whaddya think -- do you
have a lock on the best athlete award at the Rockford graduation?
Well I'm pretty sure that I've got that one in the bag. We already
had the senior mock elections and I got "most athletic"
so that's definitely mine. Although, we do have a swimmer in our
school that was the fastest high school 50m freestyle in the country
this year -- but hey, he's not even close (laughs).
Did you go into high school wanting to be a runner or did you fall
into it getting ready for another sport, or because you got cut
from football, cheerleading or whatever?
Yeah, I wanted to be a great runner. I ran 10:24 in 8th grade track
in the two-mile and I was like, Hey, I'm not cutting it in football,
let's do something I'm good at.
I read that Alan Webb is into the guitar.
Do you have any musical inclinations or outside interests of note?
No way -- I suck at anything musical. Last year for prom Brian Smith
and I sang to our dates when we asked them and we got it on camera.
Let's just say nobody will ever be seeing that tape. But I really
have no good talents besides running so I don't partake in many
things that require skill -- although I can do very good impressions
of Chris Farley and the alien dude from Men in Black.
You've been interviewed more than any high
school runner in recent memory. What's the worst question you've
been asked, and how many times have you heard that oh-so-witty,
"you run (fill in the blank) miles...I don't even drive that
far!" Also, do you ever wish the press would leave you alone,
or worry that all the press will put too much pressure on you?
I have been asked so many stupid questions that sometimes I don't
even acknowledge [them]. My personal favorite is "Hey, you
want to race?" I say, "No because I would kill you."
The press isn't
bad until the end of the season -- then I hate them. I only really
give them interviews if they contact me. If they want me to call
them I'm like, Yeah, right. I am 18 and school is almost over.
Call me some other time. Not you though, Chris (laughs).
Your coach, Brad Prins, has done a fantastic
job with you and the Rockford program...How has he shaped your work
ethic and training philosophy?
He is really the reason why I as good as I am. He really has taught
me enough that I could easily coach myself, or someone else. I don't
agree with all his stuff but he is the boss and I do it. But we
have worked out by now that I play a large part in what I do. He
makes the workouts but on non-workout days I pretty much choose
what to do. And I know what I need to do so it works out great.
You couldn't have gotten where you are
without working hard. Now, as the season nears its final stages,
you'll be dropping the volume and sharpening up. Will you miss the
long runs and the volume? Do you prefer the track work to the long
stuff?
Well, I love mileage. I love to go out and do long runs. But contrary
to popular belief I really haven't done high mileage except this
year and the summer of my junior year. I have had maybe 25 weeks
this year of 80+ miles and about 40 weeks of 70+ miles so I have
been doing the mileage this year and I will truly miss it for about
those 4 weeks of intense stuff. But I am keeping up semi-long runs
of 12 miles all the way 'til the week before [National Scholastic
Outdoors] in Raleigh so I will be strong for USA's.
You'll be joining the Torres Brothers,
Steve Slattery and the rest of the Colorado Buffaloes next year.
How did you decide to attend CU and run for Mark Wetmore?
Well Chris, you know Wetmore. I love his coaching methods and he
is just funny as hell. He is so pessimistic and funny that it is
great. Everyone I know is intimidated by him because they think
he's nuts, but I think he is great. But most importantly I think
he truly cares about all his runners and I think he is one of the
best coaches out there. Then JD, (assistant coach Jason Drake) you
know him, he is just funny. He has all those [women] (that he coaches,
people…) and he's just great. The guys are great, too. They
work so hard and that's what I'm about. I want to work my ass off
and they do too so I will be right in there. I felt I really clicked
with them and I think we will be a force to be reckoned with come
next fall and many seasons after that.
Adam Goucher started thinking about being
an Olympian as a high schooler. On June 22nd you'll get to run against
him and the other U.S. elites at the USA's. What are you hoping
to take away from the experience, and when you think of representing
the U.S. in the Olympics, what event do you see yourself running?
I think about it all the time. I have the same dream as most athletes
-- to be the best of the best and the Olympics is what the best
do. I can't wait to race Adam, even though he will dust me, and
those other guys because I know I can be right there in the front
in a couple of years. I think that I will ultimately be a 10,000m
runner and I think I can be one of the best as long as I keep my
mind set on it.
As far as you've come, you still have a
long way to go to make an impact on the world level as a senior.
What aspect of your running do you think you'll have to improve
in coming years to make that step?
I think my speed will definitely have to come down. But I believe
that speed comes from strength and that is something I have plenty
of. Also, what good is speed in a 10,000 if you can't be close enough
to the lead to make a move with a kick? I think many people underestimate
how much speed comes from strength.
I ask all my interviewee's this final question,
and you're not exempt...You're stuck on a desert island with only
one book, one movie, and one CD to entertain you. What are they?
Hey Chris if I'm on an island with only a book, a movie, and a CD,
I wouldn't have a CD player to play it with, or a TV and VCR either.
(Chris Lear notes: good point, the kid is sharp.) But if I had all
those things it would have to be Once a Runner -- sorry Running
with the Buffaloes is a close second! (Lear notes: dangit!),
Meet the Parents -- come on it doesn't get any better than
Gaylord Focker -- and the CD would have to be Tom Petty and the
Heartbreakers Greatest Hits -- [you've] got to love running down
a dream, if you're a runner.
Thanks
for your time, Dathan. I'll leave you to your homework and singing
lessons. Best of luck to you as you wrap things up this spring...
Hey Chris thanks for the interview opportunity. Go Buffs!
Chris
Lear is the author of Running
With The Buffaloes, due out on June 8th. He lives in Boulder,
Colorado.
(May
23, 2001)
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A
Memorable Year:
At the 2000 Foot Locker T&F Championships, anchoring Rockford's
winning 4 x 1,600m relay. (Ritzenhein also won the previous day's
3,200m in 8:48 and anchored Rockford's winning DMR later that day.)
Photo: Victor Sailer
Ritzenhein smashes his own course record at the 2001 Foot Locker
Midwest XC Regional, running 14:35 to win by 33 seconds.
Defending his Foot Locker Cross Country National Championship (Dec
'00), winning by 20 seconds.
Photo: Bryan J. Myers
At the 2001 U.S. XC World Trials, finishing second to Wisconsin
redshirt freshman, Matt Tegenkamp in a close race. Ritz went on
to finish 3rd at the World XC Championships while Tegenkamp finished
5th.
Photo: Victor Sailer
Dueling with Anthony Famiglietti and finishing a close 2nd in the
Penn Relays 5,000m in 13:51.69, the 2nd-fastest U.S. High School
time ever.
Dathan
Ritzenhein Links:
Fast-Preps.com
Interview
Buff
recruit 3rd in World XC Meet
World
XC Photo | American
Ritzenhein creates a surprise
Ritzenhein
has great expectations
Trio
keys U.S. track future
A
Brief Chat with Dathan Ritzenhein
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