Ritz vs Webb in Central Park March 15th Olympian Abdi Abdirahman and former champion Jorge Torres also added to Men’s 8K Championship field by: New York Road Runners
*Message Board Thread on this Race
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Who Will Win the US 8k Champs?
Dathan
50.5%
Alan
28.0%
Abdi
15.5%
Other
6.0%
Total Votes: 2343
New York, February 20, 2008—Dathan
Ritzenhein will take on fellow Olympian Alan Webb in a renewal of one
of America’s leading long distance rivalries at the Central Park
Challenge on Saturday, March 15. In addition to Ritzenhein, New York
Road Runners president and CEO Mary Wittenberg today also announced
Olympian Abdi Abdirahman and 2005 USA 8K Championship winner Jorge
Torres.
The event, which
will feature the USA Men’s 8K Championship, Women’s Invitational, and
NYRR 8000 people’s race, is expected to draw a host of America’s best
distance runners from the mile to the marathon. The races will be
contested over the 8K (4.97-mile) distance with a total prize-money
purse of $70,000—$20,000 of which will go to the top male and female
finishers ($10,000 each).
Ritzenhein holds a
5-2 advantage in races against the previously announced Webb, a 2004
Olympian and the American mile record-holder. The rivalry dates back to
1999 when they were two of the premier high school runners at the Foot
Locker National High School Cross Country Championships. In that race,
Ritzenhein captured the victory in a course-record 14:29.83; Webb was
eighth. The pair has taken turns in the top spot in their last two
meetings; Webb won the 10,000-meter race at the Payton Jordan Cardinal
Invitational in 2006, and Ritzenhein won the 2-mile at the Prefontaine
Classic last year.
“Stars since high
school, Alan and Dathan are among the most exciting and accomplished
runners the United States has ever seen,” Wittenberg said. “They are
both riding high heading into the Olympic year, and we are honored they
have chosen the Central Park Challenge to make their 2008 New York City
debuts. Fan favorite Abdi and former champ Torres won’t allow anyone an
easy win.”
Ritz Webb
Ritzenhein, 25, of
Eugene, OR, will return to Central Park, the location of two of his
greatest career successes to date. Last November, he earned a berth on
the 2008 Olympic Team in the marathon after finishing second in an epic
U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Men’s Marathon race in Central Park. Prior
to that in 2007, Ritz won the Healthy Kidney 10K in a Central Park
record of 28:08.
“Alan [Webb] and I
seem to have been attached at the hip since high school,” Ritzenhein
said. “Every time we race it seems to be an exciting competition, and
hopefully it will be another one at the USA 8K Championship. I was
surprised at both how good I felt in the USA Cross Country
Championships and at my fitness. I hope to carry that momentum into
this race and the rest of the season.”
Abdirahman, 31, of
Tucson, AZ, had a stellar 2007 following his second-place finish in the
2007 USA 8K Championship—he won three national titles at the 10,000
meter, 10K, and 10-mile distances. He was also the runner-up in the NYC
Half-Marathon Presented by NIKE last August.
In 2005, fresh off
his 13th-place finish at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships,
Torres, 27, of Boulder, CO, ran away from Abdirahman at the USA 8K
Championship to win his first U.S. title as a professional. In 2006, he
won the U.S. national title in the 10,000 meters. Torres’ twin brother,
Edwardo, who finished ninth at the USA Cross Country Championships, is
also entered in the race this year.
Track & Field
Olympic Trials contenders James Carney, Aaron Aguayo, Ian Dobson, Josh
McAdams, Ed Moran, and Bolota Asmerom were also announced. Carney, 29,
of Boulder, CO, most recently won the 2008 U.S. Half-Marathon title in
January in Houston. Aguayo, 24, of Tempe, AZ, made his first World
Championships team last summer in the 3000-meter steeplechase after
completing his eligibility at Arizona State University in 2007. Dobson,
26, was the 2005 NCAA indoor champion, and currently trains with Team
Running USA in Mammoth Lakes, CA. McAdams, 27, of Orem, UT, was the
2007 USA champion in the 3000-meter steeplechase and a gold medalist in
that event at the 2007 Pan American Games. Moran, 27, of Williamsburg,
VA, was the 2007 Pan American Games gold medalist in the 5000 meters.
Asmerom, 29, of Eugene, OR, was a 2000 Olympian for Eritrea, and became
a U.S. citizen in 2002. He has twice finished third twice at the USA 8K
Championship, in 2004 and 2007.
Ritzenhein, Jorge
Torres, and Moran all experienced early-season success this past
weekend at the USA Cross Country Championships in San Diego, earning
qualifying spots on the IAAF World Cross Country Championships team.
The men will compete in the championships in on March 29 in Edinburgh,
Scotland. Ritzenhein powered his way to a convincing victory in the 12K
race with a time of 35:03, while Torres finished second (35:29), and
Moran was fourth (35:42). In total, six athletes scheduled to compete
in the 8K finished in the top 10: Carney (sixth place, 35:56), Max King
(seventh, 35:57), and Edwardo Torres (ninth, 36:01).
A $10,000 bonus
will be awarded to any winner who breaks the existing American 8K
record of 22:04 for the men (Alberto Salazar, 1981) or 24:36 for the
women (Deena Kastor, 2005).
1999 Foot Locker National High School Cross Country Championships December 11, 1999, Orlando, FL 5K
Ritzenhein: first, 14:29.83 CR
Webb: eighth, 15:05.87
2000 Foot Locker National High School Cross Country Championships December 9, 2000, Orlando, FL 5K
Ritzenhein: first, 14:35
Webb: second, 14:55
2001 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships November 19, 2001, Greenville, SC 10K
Ritzenhein: fourth, 29:11
Webb: 11th, 29:38
2005 U.S. Cross Country Championships February 13, 2005, Vancouver, WA 12K
Ritzenhein: first, 36:59.9
Webb: DNF (about 5 km)
2005 Prefontaine Classic June 4, 2005, Eugene, OR 2 mile
Webb: second, 8:11.48 NR
Ritzenhein: sixth, 8:23.45
2006 Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational April 30, 2006, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA 10,000 meters
Webb: first, 27:34.72 DB
Ritzenhein: second, 27:35.65 PB
2007 Prefontaine Classic June 10, 2007, Eugene, OR 2 mile
Ritzenhein: fourth, 8:11.74 PB
Webb: ninth, 8:23.97
50.5%
28.0%
15.5%
6.0%
