Six months ago, following a disappointing performance in the London Marathon, Dathan Ritzenhein was worried his running career was stymied in mediocrity.
Now he's talking excitedly about the 2012 Olympic marathon. His third-place finish in Sunday's World Half Marathon Championships in Birmingham, England, is his latest success since switching to coach Alberto Salazar in June.
Ritzenhein revitalized his career in August, finishing sixth in the 10,000 meters at the world championships and breaking the U.S. 5,000 record.
Sunday he finished behind winner Zersenay Tadese of Eritrea, who won the event for a fourth consecutive time, covering the 13.1 miles in 59 minutes, 35 seconds. Kenya's Bernard Kipyego finished second in 59:59, one second ahead of Ritzenhein.
Ritzenhein's time of 60:00 is the second-best time in U.S. history behind Ryan Hall's 59:43.
"I guess I would have liked to have run one second faster," Ritzenhein said of just missing the 1-hour barrier. "But the time didn't matter. It was a matter of competing.
"It was so important for me. I wanted to establish myself as having real potential for 2012 in the marathon."
Ritzenhein, 26, did it in his usual style by grinding away on a wet course in windy weather. He pushed the pace early, led the chase group when Tadese began pulling away after six miles and then held off several late challengers.
"Late in the game he easily could have been fifth or sixth," said New York City Marathon director Mary Wittenberg. "So encouraging. I'd like every high school kid to see what I saw today. He didn't panic, just calm under pressure combined with a relentless drive to medal."
Salazar, who rates Ritzenhein's performance as if he had run 59:40 due to the tough course and conditions, said the American could have finished second easily if he had conserved energy rather than pushing the chase pack.
"He and this Eritrean (fifth-place Samuel Tsegay) did all the work and then the Kenyan picked them off," Salazar said. "He would have gotten second if he wasn't so aggressive. But that's what you want, aggressiveness.
"That's one thing I've got to teach him: you need to relax. He's always pressing too hard. You think, 'God, why doesn't he just tuck behind that guy for awhile.' But it's a great thing to see. He's a pit bull. He just hates to have anyone passing him."
The plan is for Ritzenhein to take two weeks off from running, then have two weeks of jogging before resuming training for the World Cross Country Championships in March.
Though both he and Salazar agree the marathon is his best event, Ritzenhein may not run his next 26.2 miler until the fall of 2010. "He'll return to win here," says Wittenberg, already recruiting him against Chicago and Berlin.
Says Ritzenhein, "It'll be a second debut for me. I'll feel like a different runner than before."
After finishing 11th in London in 2:10, when he had hopes of a breakthrough, Ritzenhein left coach Brad Hudson, with whom he had been training in Eugene, Ore. By June he was with Salazar, based in Portland.
"He obviously was in good shape from all his training with Brad," said Salazar, a former New York and Boston marathon winner. "It was a matter of doing faster stuff to make him more efficient, faster, and psychologically getting into his head. He's a different guy approaching races and having fun."
Salazar, who has his runners work with a sports psychologist, wants to continue improving Ritzenhein's psyche and form. "He's got the ability in terms of strength," Salazar said. "It's a matter of teaching him to relax physically and mentally so he's running easier.
"He's fighting too hard from the beginning with his upper body. He's got an unbelievable engine, but he's never learned how to relax. Dathan is never just flowing. Dathan is always pressing, pressing, pressing. That's pretty easy to fix."
Ritzenhein, a prep star in Rockford, Mich., and a college star at Colorado, should be able to relax during his break.
"It's been a great turnaround for me," he said. "It's brought new life to me. It's brought me back to where I thought I would be. I had stagnated over a couple of years. The changes have been amazing."
Now he's talking excitedly about the 2012 Olympic marathon. His third-place finish in Sunday's World Half Marathon Championships in Birmingham, England, is his latest success since switching to coach Alberto Salazar in June.
Ritzenhein revitalized his career in August, finishing sixth in the 10,000 meters at the world championships and breaking the U.S. 5,000 record.
Sunday he finished behind winner Zersenay Tadese of Eritrea, who won the event for a fourth consecutive time, covering the 13.1 miles in 59 minutes, 35 seconds. Kenya's Bernard Kipyego finished second in 59:59, one second ahead of Ritzenhein.
Ritzenhein's time of 60:00 is the second-best time in U.S. history behind Ryan Hall's 59:43.
"I guess I would have liked to have run one second faster," Ritzenhein said of just missing the 1-hour barrier. "But the time didn't matter. It was a matter of competing.
"It was so important for me. I wanted to establish myself as having real potential for 2012 in the marathon."
Ritzenhein, 26, did it in his usual style by grinding away on a wet course in windy weather. He pushed the pace early, led the chase group when Tadese began pulling away after six miles and then held off several late challengers.
"Late in the game he easily could have been fifth or sixth," said New York City Marathon director Mary Wittenberg. "So encouraging. I'd like every high school kid to see what I saw today. He didn't panic, just calm under pressure combined with a relentless drive to medal."
Salazar, who rates Ritzenhein's performance as if he had run 59:40 due to the tough course and conditions, said the American could have finished second easily if he had conserved energy rather than pushing the chase pack.
"He and this Eritrean (fifth-place Samuel Tsegay) did all the work and then the Kenyan picked them off," Salazar said. "He would have gotten second if he wasn't so aggressive. But that's what you want, aggressiveness.
"That's one thing I've got to teach him: you need to relax. He's always pressing too hard. You think, 'God, why doesn't he just tuck behind that guy for awhile.' But it's a great thing to see. He's a pit bull. He just hates to have anyone passing him."
The plan is for Ritzenhein to take two weeks off from running, then have two weeks of jogging before resuming training for the World Cross Country Championships in March.
Though both he and Salazar agree the marathon is his best event, Ritzenhein may not run his next 26.2 miler until the fall of 2010. "He'll return to win here," says Wittenberg, already recruiting him against Chicago and Berlin.
Says Ritzenhein, "It'll be a second debut for me. I'll feel like a different runner than before."
After finishing 11th in London in 2:10, when he had hopes of a breakthrough, Ritzenhein left coach Brad Hudson, with whom he had been training in Eugene, Ore. By June he was with Salazar, based in Portland.
"He obviously was in good shape from all his training with Brad," said Salazar, a former New York and Boston marathon winner. "It was a matter of doing faster stuff to make him more efficient, faster, and psychologically getting into his head. He's a different guy approaching races and having fun."
Salazar, who has his runners work with a sports psychologist, wants to continue improving Ritzenhein's psyche and form. "He's got the ability in terms of strength," Salazar said. "It's a matter of teaching him to relax physically and mentally so he's running easier.
"He's fighting too hard from the beginning with his upper body. He's got an unbelievable engine, but he's never learned how to relax. Dathan is never just flowing. Dathan is always pressing, pressing, pressing. That's pretty easy to fix."
Ritzenhein, a prep star in Rockford, Mich., and a college star at Colorado, should be able to relax during his break.
"It's been a great turnaround for me," he said. "It's brought new life to me. It's brought me back to where I thought I would be. I had stagnated over a couple of years. The changes have been amazing."
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