Ritz apologizes for World XC comments

Montesquieu · 2013-03-04T20:31:05-05:00

I think this shows some class. http://dathanritzenhein.competitor.com/ I want to take a moment to apologize to for some comments I made to Runner’s World this week about the World XC Championships. I understand there has been some backlash and I really regret how my comments came off. I was asked if I was sad to not be attending the World XC Championships. I thoughtlessly said that the race was no longer significant, and that was why I was not running it. That comment came off as careless and wrong. I know that, especially to the athletes who are competing there, it can be a very important step in international development. I experienced that at one point in my career; winning a bronze medal in 2001 in the junior race really changed my perspective on what was possible. I would never want to minimize the importance that it can hold to other athletes. What I really wanted to say was that, at this point in my career, it isn’t the right choice for me to go there this spring. The World XC Championships is still an incredibly deep field of runners and you have to be very sharp to be competitive. It is going to be a long year for me; I want to have a great track season and still be ready to run a great marathon in October. That means I need to be in a phase of training right now that is much more geared toward being ready for a half-marathon. Having run the World XC Championships multiple times, I know you need to be sharp. I recall going out faster in that race than any other race I have run and still being buried! World XC is an amazing race with great loyal fans. That makes it one of the most amazing experiences out there for an athlete to be part of. That is one reason why it’s unfortunate that it’s now held only every two years and that, reportedly, there is no longer much interest from bidders to host the event. So to the athletes competing and the fans who were upset, I apologize for my earlier comments and wish our team USA the best of luck!

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13 years ago 03/06/2013 3:19am EST

re: longjack

Dathan is entitled to his opinion. But we are allowed to pass judgement based on his opinion.

Dathan is no longer a major player in American distance running and 10 years from now high school kids will have no idea who he is. This harsh reality is becoming clear to Dathan and he is cashing out. Take a look at Bob Kennedy and recognize that HS kids today have no idea who he is. Kennedy was bigger than Ritz in his prime.

I will always remember Bob Kennedy but history won't. I will alway remember Dathan, but history won't.

The sad part for Dathan is that those that remember will remember him for his attempts to demean those that are becoming more relevant as he becomes less. Your reputation is not something that the NYRR can buy.

13 years ago 03/06/2013 4:30am EST

re: under the nike umbrella

Dathan, who you say is "no longer a major player," made an Olympic team in 2012 and had the fastest marathon time in the U.S. by quite a lot. I'm not sure Hall, Meb, or Abdi could touch him in the marathon anymore.

Please explain who he demeaned.

His statement about world cross country is accurate. A growing number of nations don't are about it anymore, and many of the top Kenyans and Ethiopians do not care.

13 years ago 03/06/2013 5:42am EST

re: Querfeldein

Querfeldein wrote:
If you want to make XC more relevant to professional runners looking to make a living from the sport, it has to reach a broader audience in the US and Europe. One easy way to accomplish that: make it part of the Olympics, preferably the Winter Games. That would also make the Winter Games much more relevant to a large part of the world's population.

This would help. When the Nationals were in NYC, I went and there were big crowds.

It's pure racing but it has to have meaning- the team concept everyone talks about to make track more popular is what makes XC great.

I coach at a HS and NO ONE thinks of our XC team as an individual sport- athletes, staff, students- all see us as a team that wins and rarely loses.

There you go- loop courses, teams, top athletes. They'll get name recognition that will carry over to the track.

Indoor track can be more of a sprint, middle distance thing.

13 years ago 03/18/2013 1:02pm EDT

re: ukathleticscoach

ukathleticscoach wrote:
The main reason for that has been that our best runners are not good enough to compete in the world xc

That's horses**t. If we bothered to put together an A-team of Rupp, Ritz, a healthy Teg, Derrick, etc., they'd have a very good shot at the podium.

That's what's frustrating, is despite the whining about the perceived lack of competitiveness in U.S. running, we're actually making great improvements, but don't have the support to put together a real team to prove it.

13 years ago 03/18/2013 1:32pm EDT

re: Fastnbulbous

Most of the Kenyans/E Africans at World XC are probably doped up. There's too many athletes competing there to properly test everyone. If I were a pro, I wouldn't bother with World XC.

13 years ago 03/18/2013 1:39pm EDT

re: asdfasdfa

That is so lame. Let's just assume everyone is cheating so why bother competing. Give up and go home.

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