Ritzenhein: "I definitely come back in pretty good shape."

By Ken Goe, The Oregonian

Dathan Ritzenhein is rested, ready and eager for the USA Cross Country Championships on Saturday at Plantes Ferry Park in Spokane.

"I love cross country and I'm super excited for cross country this year," Ritzenhein said.

Ritzenhein won the 12-kilometer race in 2005 and 2008, beating the field by nearly 15 seconds in 2005 and by 26 seconds in 2008.

"Hopefully I can win another one, then get back to altitude and pick up where I left off in the fall," he said.

That would be at a very high level. In August, Ritzenhein finished sixth in the 10,000 in the IAAF World Championships with a time of 27:22.28, the best place and time ever by a U.S. runner at that distance in a world championship meet.

Less than two weeks later, Ritzenhein ran a record-shattering 5,000 at a late August meet in Zurich, finishing in 12 minutes 56.27 seconds. That took down Bob Kennedy's 13-year-old U.S. record of 12:58.21.

In October, Ritzenhein put the capper on a sparkling two months by placing third in the World Half-Marathon Championships in Birmingham, England, becoming the first U.S. runner to medal in a half-marathon world championship.

Now, here comes Ritzenhein again.

"He's 100 percent," said Alberto Salazar, Ritzenhein's coach, looking ahead to Saturday's race. "He's in the same shape now he was three or four weeks before Berlin. He's doing similar workouts."

In all, it looks like Ritzenhein's decision in May to move up I-5 from Eugene and join Salazar's Nike-based Oregon Track Club Elite/Portland training group has paid off.

Salazar shifted Ritzenhein's training to include more speed work on the track and less grinding mileage. Salazar also insisted Ritzenhein take a couple of two-week breaks.

"You need to train really hard," Salazar said. "But you also need rest."

Ritzenhein has had injury problems in the past, and chose not to run as a precaution two weeks ago in Seattle when he felt some minor foot pain. Doctors checked the foot, and couldn't find a problem.

"My workouts have gone well," Ritzenhein said. "I definitely am coming back in pretty good shape."