Look we don't really care what Ritz could do on the Japan course. Do I think Fernando Cabada is a flat out better long distance runner then Dathan Ritzenhien we all have our own opinions and I do think Cabada is a better distance runner then Ritzenhien. The thing is all the Ritz fans are gonna be Ritz fans and always want to throw well Ritz could have done this or that but bottom line is Cabada ran faster in a tougher race. This makes him a stud. He ran his first marathon like A PRO!
Bill Rodgers put up a 2:28 his 1st time out...so shut up. His 2:09:55; 2:09:27 ARs, plus 4 x NYC & 4 x Boston wins says it all.
That was never the case with Shorter or Rodgers or others that ran both New York and Fukoka. Although we all expected there to be some sort of "ritz conversion" that you would want to factor in. Truth of the matter is that Fernando had a better debut than Ritz.
Why is this such a bone of contention? Ritz is a good runner. Cabada is also a good runner. Ritz has a faster 10,000 PR. Cabada has a faster marathon PR. If they meet up a bunch of times head to head I predict they will both win some and lost some. Good luck to both of them. I am rooting for both.
It would be interesting to see them both run in Boulder this Feb.
The real bone of contention is that Ritz has lots of hype, but doesn't deliver the goods. He went to the big school, has the big 10K PR, the big shoe contract, lives the big lifestyle in Boulder and has a coach - who for some reason gets a free pass from many people here. Cabada, on the other hand lives in Bristol, VA, trains hard, has a coach who has his act together and simply delviers when it counts.
statistical anomalist wrote:
It would be interesting to see them both run in Boulder this Feb.
Only if they plan on running a marathon. Cabada is not in the same league as Ritz in Cross. Much like Brian Sell. However, Ritz is behind both of them in the marathon and will remain behind them until he finds a competent marathon coach.
A coach is not the only key I was a teamate of Fernando although I think simmons is a tremendous coach I am better off on my own and there are plenty of people out there are the same way. Remember coaching is a big part of it but once you learn the basics you can do it on your own your workouts will hurt more because it is all you that motivates and drives yourself. But once you have a kid and other things change in life you start realizing that you need to make the time and motivate you!