Ritz says he may not do the 10,000 at the Olympic Trials

Dretch wrote:

Ritz had the better career than Solinsky and it isn't even close.

This. Not close

Well here is one dude who will go against the grain and say Ritz and Solinsky both had great careers, each achieving things the other would have liked to achieve. Solinsky would love to have been one, two, or three Olympic teams. Ritz would love to have broken 27 minutes. Were it not for bad luck they each would have reached those goals. But Solinsky will always have those sub 13s and 26:59, and Ritz will always have his 12:56. It was somewhat improbable that Solinsky was the first American to crack 27; it was equally improbable that Ritz had the American record in the 5k. Yet both happened, and they were great to watch. I wish them the best.

What are the chances the top three are all under 28:00?

Historic significance wrote:

I read that Jim Thorpe is out as well.

rofl

I hate how runner put down the sport to make themselves feel better. His comment saying Olympics is not everything contradicts his last three appearances at the Olympics and the effort that went into them. Of course now he has no more chances he'll say that. Same with Ryan Hall calling runnera scrawny after his best performances were behind him.

Why not say you had a great journey and its time to put the spikes up? Why belittle the journey of other Olympians by saying its not important? Obviously it was or you wouldn't have grinded so more much and every contract was incentive laden based on Olympic appearances.

Reston wrote:

I hate how runner put down the sport to make themselves feel better. His comment saying Olympics is not everything contradicts his last three appearances at the Olympics and the effort that went into them. Of course now he has no more chances he'll say that. Same with Ryan Hall calling runnera scrawny after his best performances were behind him.

Why not say you had a great journey and its time to put the spikes up? Why belittle the journey of other Olympians by saying its not important? Obviously it was or you wouldn't have grinded so more much and every contract was incentive laden based on Olympic appearances.

This incomprehensible post shows underscores the need for critical thinking and writing skills in the Washington, DC suburbs.

Kara will be on the track. Just watch. PDX 10k and then OT and then Rio.Yule sea..........

Boston staffer wrote:

Wow this is big News.

I wonder if Bob Kennedy will run the trials? How about Adam Goucher?

EVERYONE KNEW THIS. Just like everyone knew that Abdi had no intention of running on the track. Same goes with Kara. Anyone that ever thought different has a huge disconnect with reality.

When Ritz did not run Shamrock, there was a reason ( same with Puskedra). They were both on the start list. When neither ran Payton it confirmed that they were not running on the track

Here we are 3 weeks later and someone woke up Rojo. Embarrassing.

South Lakes wrote:

Reston wrote:

I hate how runner put down the sport to make themselves feel better. His comment saying Olympics is not everything contradicts his last three appearances at the Olympics and the effort that went into them. Of course now he has no more chances he'll say that. Same with Ryan Hall calling runnera scrawny after his best performances were behind him.

Why not say you had a great journey and its time to put the spikes up? Why belittle the journey of other Olympians by saying its not important? Obviously it was or you wouldn't have grinded so more much and every contract was incentive laden based on Olympic appearances.

This incomprehensible post shows underscores the need for critical thinking and writing skills in the Washington, DC suburbs.

and this critical post "shows underscores" the need for editing by the editor of others (was gonna type otters, but)

rojo wrote:

I just came across an article on mlive.com on him. Those of ou hoping he'd show up at Pre this week are apparently going to be disappointed.

http://www.mlive.com/sports/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2016/05/3-time_olympian_dathan_ritzenh_1.html

"If I don't come together in time for the trials, that's OK. I still don't know if I'll run the trials or not; the opportunities in the 10K are the biggest problem. If that doesn't happen, that's just the way it is."

...

"f I don't go, it'll be the first time in 16 years watching it from home on TV. That's hard to think about. But there's a lot more to the sport than the Olympic Games.

"So I haven't completely made a choice either way, but I have to make a choice on what's the smartest instead of what my gut wants."

How does he even expect to run at the trials when he hasn't run a 10k in a few years? He's gotta hit that 28:15 in the next few weeks or else he couldn't even run at the trials if he wanted to.

rojo wrote:

THat would be a great messageboard thread. Who had the better career - Ritz or Solinsky? Or who's career would you rather have - Ritz or Solinsky's?

Or better yet, do a front page poll with one or both of these questions. And my vote is for Ritz by a huge margin.

At retirement, Ritz and Solinsky's pr's will be something like the following:

Ritz 3:42/12:56/27:22/1:00:00/2:07:47

Sol 3:34/12:55/26:59/1:05?/n/a

Ritz's career was injury-riddled, yet he had plenty of good years and one great, great year, while Solinsky had that one great year and then was injured the rest of his career.

I read that Jim Thorpe is out as well.

Noooooooooooo...!

jjjjjjj wrote:

At retirement, Ritz and Solinsky's pr's will be something like the following:

Ritz 3:42/12:56/27:22/1:00:00/2:07:47

Sol 3:34/12:55/26:59/1:05?/n/a

Ritz's career was injury-riddled, yet he had plenty of good years and one great, great year, while Solinsky had that one great year and then was injured the rest of his career.

High school and college accomplishments pls?

I beat Solinksy in XC when he was a freshman (I was a junior) That's my claim to fameWisconsin wasn't that competitive as a running state (15:40's could usually win the state meet) and I think Solinsky could have run much faster times in a different state. I know that's a lot of coulda woulda, but the state records are soft.That being said, Ritzenhein had a better career. He went to a lot of Olympics. Had a national record, has a great marathon PB. Has frankly just been around and in more races. Solinsky's one year where he ran 26:59 and under 13:00 3 times was amazing. (Webb ran 1:43, 3:30 and 3:46 in a 22 day span, by the way)Solinsky was a big winner in college but Ritz's 10k USA born record was impressive (27:38). Let's call it a draw for college. Ritz was a freak high school XC runner, with amazing times and some national titles and a 13:44 5k. I'll give the H.S. edge to RitzenheinHigh schoolSolinsky was born in Junction City, Wisconsin and he attended high school at Stevens Point Area Senior High (SPASH). Solinsky dominated the competition after his freshman year, winning the state cross country title three times. He won 11 state medals, eight state titles, led the nation in time on six different occasions, and earned four 1st Team All-American awards. He broke Wisconsin high school state records in the indoor 1600 m, the indoor 2-mile, and the outdoor 3200 m. He also broke state meet records in cross country and the outdoor 3200 m. He is the 2nd athlete in Wisconsin state history to ever win 3 straight 3200 meter championships (Ben Porter is the first). As a Junior Chris finished Runner up to Bobby Lockhart from Virginia in both the Nike Indoor Championships 2 Mile and the Adidas Outdoor Classic 2 Mile Championships. His winning time of 14:41 at the 2002 Foot Locker National Cross Country Championships gave him a 21-second winning margin,[3] the largest margin of victory in the history of the meet. He finished his high school career with personal records of 4:03.80 (1600 m) and 8:43.24 (3200 m).High schoolRitzenhein ("Ritz") emerged as a cult figure among high school track fans during his junior and senior years at Rockford High School, especially since he graduated from high school in the same year as Alan Webb and Ryan Hall, America's other budding distance prodigies. He set numerous state and national high school records during this time, notably in the 1600m (4:05.9) 3200m (8:41.10) and in the 5000m (13:44.70). He won back-to-back regional (Midwest) and national titles in the Foot Locker high school championship races in the fall of 1999 and 2000. There was major build-up to the 2000 championships due to the impending clash between Ritz, Webb, and Hall. Ritz scored a resounding victory over Webb and Hall in Orlando, Florida, running the 5k course in 14:35. Perhaps more impressive, the previous year he claimed an unexpected national title while setting the course record in 14:29. As a senior in high school he set the Michigan high school 5k record of 14:10 at state finals; second place was 15:05. His final cross country race in high school was at the IAAF junior world cross-country championships in Ostend Belgium where he won a bronze medal.

2Lazy2Google wrote:

jjjjjjj wrote:

At retirement, Ritz and Solinsky's pr's will be something like the following:

Ritz 3:42/12:56/27:22/1:00:00/2:07:47

Sol 3:34/12:55/26:59/1:05?/n/a

Ritz's career was injury-riddled, yet he had plenty of good years and one great, great year, while Solinsky had that one great year and then was injured the rest of his career.

High school and college accomplishments pls?

Another career poorly served by Salazar.

Too many kids who aren't good students taking stats and not understanding statistic type I and type 2 errors are where 95% of these snarky posts come from over the years.

you want him to say its 15.99 years since he sat out?

slow starter wrote:

Another career poorly served by Salazar.

Dathan is playing all of you and your all in on it. DATHAN IS DONE. Take a look at the trials. He dropped out at 8 miles and hasn't raced since. 8 miles at 5 minute pace is all he has done this year. Actually he hasn't raced since October 2015.

It has been 7 months without injury that he has run 8 miles at 5 minute pace and some of you are shocked that he is not running on the track. DATHAN IS DONE. He will run Chicago and disappoint. Just sit back and watch. He had a wonderful career but it is over.

The Marathon Trials are emotional.

Ritz said he was coming back to the track. NO LONGER IN HIM

Luke Puskedra was another. NEVER SERIOUS

Kara Goucher was another. NOT REALISTIC

Abdi said the same thing when pulling out of the marathon trials. SORRY FANS

Remember when Neely Spence would tweet #road to Rio ?

These are all people that are saying what the public wants to hear.

The men's marathon team for Rio was by far the easiest distance event to make the US Olympic team in. We have a first timer, a master and a journeyman representing us. Ritz has to be kicking himself for no taking the trials more seriously.