What Dathan is doing by going through a full track season and then hitting a big fall marathon is exactly what I hoped Ryan Hall would catch on to.
Expect Ritz to lay down a monster time in the marathon if he stays healthy. That's all he needs to do, stay healthy. And 2:06, maybe even 2:05 high, is calling his name.
My favorite guy to root for, no question.
mgm wrote:
What Dathan is doing by going through a full track season and then hitting a big fall marathon is exactly what I hoped Ryan Hall would catch on to.
Expect Ritz to lay down a monster time in the marathon if he stays healthy. That's all he needs to do, stay healthy. And 2:06, maybe even 2:05 high, is calling his name.
My favorite guy to root for, no question.
THIS!
I thought that Ritz looked fantastic today. I would have loved to see him make a hard charge with 500 or 600 meters to go to take the sting out of some of the kickers.
mgm wrote:
What Dathan is doing by going through a full track season and then hitting a big fall marathon is exactly what I hoped Ryan Hall would catch on to.
Expect Ritz to lay down a monster time in the marathon if he stays healthy. That's all he needs to do, stay healthy. And 2:06, maybe even 2:05 high, is calling his name.
My favorite guy to root for, no question.
I agree. I only wish he had an opportunity to break 27 this year. He might still. If you watched his interview, he basically said he was looking forward to the marathon, that he wasn't used to this fast track running, and, although it was fun to be out there mixing it up with the big guns, it would prepare him well for Chicago. He was clear that he won't be running the 5,000, even if he made the team, because it would take another week out of his training. I'm sure his goal is to be able to maintain last year's 3:00 per kilo pace for the full way this year, maybe the AR. But everything has to come together in the marathon. Either way, he should stay with track as long as possible, because it sets him up well for the marathon.
Ritz' best fall seasons were after full track summers (2009/2012). Had he run a marathon rather than his 60flat in 09, he probably would have run 2:06 that fall.
The single best thing to happen to Dathan was not making the Olympic team in the marathon. He was able to work on his speed a bit last spring/summer in anticipation for the 10,000, he was able to experience the Olympics, he still got paid for a fall marathon... where he PRd, and it set him up well for a return to the track this year.
Ritz would do well, and would probably last longer, if he ran 1 fall marathon, cross, summer track through 2016... exactly this year/2009s schedule and similar to last year's.
If he stayed healthy and followed that schedule, I see Ritz under 13:00 and probably at high 26:40s, low 26:50s at some point in the next 3 years before topping out and starting to slow down.
He would comfortably make mid 6 figures on this schedule, and after Rio, he could dedicate himself to the marathon for the next cycle.
I just finally got to watch this race. Was Ritz wearing flats? Or are those specially made-for-him flats with a spike plate ?
It is amazing that Ritz is the only one of the "big three" from the class of 2001 to maintain his track speed. If you lined up all three for a mile or 1,500 right now Ritz would win. Hall gave up on track after one season out of college and his marathoning has paid the price. Webb has other problems.
Ritz was amazing last year, coming off of 2 years of injuries and no track racing to run 13:14 in his first track 5,000 was very impressive as was making the Olympic 10,000 team and getting the A standard in the pouring rain at the trials. Here's hoping he can link a few years together and then we will see some really amazing things. Stay on the under water treadmill Ritz!
ignorant turd wrote:
I just finally got to watch this race. Was Ritz wearing flats? Or are those specially made-for-him flats with a spike plate ?
Would you provide a link where one can watch this race please?
Many thanks.
There is at least one decent YouTube video..just go find it there on search. But like many who saw it, you have to sit through the insufferable Tom Hammonds commentary who barely mentioned Ritz and virtually none of the top Kenyans. Took him a while to figuring out who won...Not sure Derrick got any mention either. Its all Rupp and Farah, all of the time in Hammonds mind.
Easiest thing to do is click on the TV Broadcast folder and look for Men's 5000 in there. The main folder is too unwieldy. Best sight of them is before the start during introductions.