Ritz 3rd in baa10k in 28:12

He was perhaps the best xc runner we have had, at least as a junior, given his performance (3rd) against very much higher competition than in Craig Virgin's day (all power to him, a great runner for his time and still an all-time great high schooler). He was third behind Bekele and Teg was fifth that day in Belgium. Add to that 12:56, 27:22 in a hot, tactical championship, and the bronze medal in the world half championship, rounded up to 60:00, in a tactical race once again. If he'd focused on the track with the occasional half and always world xc in the winter, we'd have seen top ten and maybe a medal in cold/rainy conditions at world xc as well as possibly 12:53/26:50s and an American record at the half certainly, but obviously his injury problems were his achilles heel (his achilles heel, literally, was the issue after that 12:56/27:22 year).

huge BR fan....... wrote:

Great to see him crushing the roads. Hope he does the big road circuit for a few years. Nobody cares about track.

I with you on this point. Ritz should go racing ambassador mode and just race his ass off. Seems as if every time he "trained up" for a race he ended up injured and never got to do the actual race.

Ritz ran 28:12 on a course where Shalane 30:52. At best, he's probably in 27:40 track shape (and I think that's generous). That's not going to get him to Rio.

???HUH???? wrote:

Skinny fat wrote:

Goes to also prove that ritz is not and never was a marathoner. In all of his career name a bad performance below the marathon besides his 2005 world cc race? I'll wait... There isn't one. All his "bad races" comes from his marathons. It's sad to think about what might had been had he really used that 8:11/ 12:56 speed and took the Kennedy route instead of believing he something that he isn't.

??? Kennedy route??? His 12:56 is faster than Kennedy. They have the same number of championship medals. And ritz is minutes faster than Kennedy in the 1/2 and full marry.

But BK did lead the Olympic 5k final in the last mile and did have spikes named after him. So there's that.

Check their lists of 5 fastest 5k times. Besides, I don´t remember Kennedy running HM´s and marathons in his prime years.

The US has only ever had four great XC runners: Dorris Brown Herritage, Lynn Jennings, Craig Virgin and Pat Porter. There were a bunch of good ones, though.

Surely if there was ever a case for a petition this would be it. 3 time Olympian and multiple WC team member, Junior XC and World half bronze, former AR record holder. And he just ran under the standard on the road, proving his fitness. From a cynical point of view, Nike gets him in their singlet out front pushing the pace trying to get Olympic standard and also acting as a rabbit for Rupp.

Ritz was actually fourth, not third, according to the Race Results Weekly story

Not Nomar wrote:

The US has only ever had four great XC runners: Dorris Brown Herritage, Lynn Jennings, Craig Virgin and Pat Porter. There were a bunch of good ones, though.

No love for Deena Kastor's back to back silver medals at World Cross?

The men's 10,000 is on Friday, July 1, 2016, just too soon.

He won't make the team. As good as this performance was, Hassan Mead just ran 13:04 and Ben True is much sharper coming off 13:12 and 3:36. No way he beats Rupp either.

&$&YGUasfi6p wrote:

The men's 10,000 is on Friday, July 1, 2016, just too soon.

In my experience (obviously not at such an elite level) you can recover (both physically and mentally) from a 10k on the road a lot faster than one on the track. And let's not fool ourselves, it was only 10k; until a few years ago the 10k in the Olympics had rounds.

pat porter was also a great one but lacked the track credentials to be confident against the level of competition at the international level in the last 15 years.

Bingo!

jjjjjj wrote:

solid shape--he should be running the Trials 10k, no doubt.

TOTALLY TRUE.But incredibly difficult to earn a living when 10k's and 13.1's are you strengthhe was in a tough place and is an optimistic guy - if it were us, we'd probably do the same and think we could adapt tot he marathonthink it through as if it were you

Skinny fat wrote:

28:12 is way more competitive over every marathon time he's ever run besides the 2:07 ish in Chicago. His fastest time after that is 2:09.55. My argument is ritz spent past 10 years training so much for marathon and not racing he probably missed out on some peak performances. After a summer of 12:56/27:22 why would u not really hone that speed and get faster. He cramps badly in every marathon. Even as early as 9 miles in LA heat. He isn't a marathoner. I still believe he could challenge for a medal at world xc. But his mind is all over the marathon.

might be wejo wrote:

Ritz ran 28:12 on a course where Shalane 30:52. At best, he's probably in 27:40 track shape (and I think that's generous). That's not going to get him to Rio.

Since when is a road race just about time, the course, temps and the competition can all make a big difference. That effort is way better than a 27:40, I would say it is closer to a 27:30. Even with this race in his legs, I would say he is close enough to give it a shot. If Mead and True opt for the 5K, I would say he has about a 50% chance. Btw, the USOT 10,000 is usually slow and I can't see 3 guys beating him except perhaps Rupp, Mead and True.

"He was perhaps the best xc runner we have had, at least as a junior, given his performance (3rd) against very much higher competition than in Craig Virgin's day"

Um, no. Rono, Virgin, Lindsay, Meyer...and when those guys got out of college they actually raced against each other often. Not the current strategy of 3 or 4 races a year garbage.

"(all power to him, a great runner for his time and still an all-time great high schooler)"

Do some research.

http://archive.dyestat.com/state/mi/2in/prins/ritz.htm

http://archive.dyestat.com/state/mi/2in/prins/bloom.htm

http://archive.dyestat.com/state/mi/2in/prins/index.htm

This is a very solid performance for him. Highly unlikely he would have made the team. There is a BIG difference being in 28:12 road 10K shape and being in sub 27:40 track shape which is what it will probably take to make the team. Ritz can still make a good living running 1-2 marathons a year for this next Olympic cycle. He will only be 37 when the 2020 Trials are run. Remember Meb made the team at 36. Hopefully Ritz will run some different marathon these next 4 years. He should run 1 or 2 Japanese marathon like Tokyo and Fukuoka. If I were him for 2017 run Tokyo and New York. In 2018 run Boston and Fukuoka. For 2019 he should do only 1 marathon and for that he should run in the World Championships. That would be a perfect plan leading up to the 2020 Trials.

He should run the trials 10 but if he doesn't it is because he doesn't really want to run it.