Ritz Says Alan Webb is His Biggest Competitor

I saw that interview last night, and thought several things were intersting. One, was confirmation that he "feels the weight of the world" on his shouldrers "sometimes." I know it's easier said than done, but if he wants to run faster, he's gonna have to learn to rid himself of that emotional weight. That weight is all in his head, but it has real, physical consequences.

I also thought his "eat less--weigh less" strategy the week before nationals as a way to combat the heat was pretty naïve. And that this news was a surprise to Hudson! Wow. Overall, a very illuminating look into the Ritz world..

And man, if that dog was mine, he'd have been strangled to death a long time ago. Or poisoned!!

He was probably talking about his biggest Letsrun message board rival!

The question was "biggest rival", not "biggest competitor".

I've seen Ritz and Webb go at it twice, once in the 10k at cardinal and another time in the 12k at usa cross in vancouver. I believe it.

It also seemed pretty clear that the "unfair" criticism that shows up here, and elswhere, does in fact get to him. No one's above criticism, but man, some of it's pretty below the belt and unnecessarily vicious.

i think that what he was referring to was who he believes people view as his biggest rival. Not necessarily that he views Alan that way.

Ritz is not even in the same league as Webb. Not even close. Ridiculous comment. Webb can race Ritz at Ritz's best event -- Ritz is barely on a college level at Webb's best event.

Webb undoubtedly has had a bigger impact on the world scene than Dathan has, but I'll point out that Webb was 8th at World Champs, while Dathan was 9th. Take that for what you will...

Webb has the number one time in the 1500m, mile, and a top (2?) time in the 800m. Ritz is still a big step back.

They don't have to be on the same level for Ritz to consider him a big rival. Shoot, look at the Texas vs. Texas A&M football "rivalry." A&M has one less than half as many times as Texas, yet those yahoos eat sleep and breath that rivalry.

Ritz said he considers Webb his biggest rival. It's his opinion. That doesn't mean Webb has to see it that way.

Alan probably sees Lagat, or maybe Ramzi or Big Balls as his main competitor. He probably doesn't even see Ritz as a rival, which is about how close these two are these days. When Ritz becomes the 8th best all-time in any event, he can talk about Webb being a rival.

Webb finished 8th and many, including Alan, were disgusted with how he performed. Ritz finished 9th and that's probably the best he can do. The difference is that between a world leader and an also-ran. Ritz just doesn't want to face up to how things have changed.

Let me enlighten you.

Most of the "criticism" is not really aimed at Ritz per say. The "criticism" is mostly aimed at the people who pump up Ritz like he is the greatest thing since CheeseWhiz and PBR. Sub 13 and 27 predictions, he'll medal at World XC ... etc. Also, he seems to contribute to this somewhat himself - he spouts off some stuff which indicates that he obviously doesn't think while his mouth is moving. Again much of the bashing that goes on is simply bashing of the people who make these lofty predictions.

You guys are a lot like the infamous "Britney Fan" on youtube. ... watch it ...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=7KHISQIWot0

Just substitute the words "Britney" with "Ritz" ... "Leave Ritz alone .... Please ... uuhhhh wahhh ... anyone one who has a problem with Ritz .... whahhh ... you deal with me ... because he's not well right now .... whahhhh .... leave him alone ... whahhhaaa .... sob ..."

I am sure that there are quite a few discussions between himself and his coach about goals and dreams. Based on my own observations, I can say without much doubt that a mature adviser knows when to pull back on the reins and rein in some of the youthful enthusiasm and passion.

Anyone can get into a car and mash on the accelerator, but to navigate a race car around a track or road course at a fast speed, the driver must know when to apply the brakes; let off of the accelerator; turn the steering wheel; and when to pit. If the car keeps driving into the wall, for whatever reason - then there is need for re-evaluation.

There are also legit criticisms - he seems to have no direction which is probably a direct reflection on his coach. Sometimes "his event" is the marathon, then 10k, then cross country, then the roads, etc. A seasoned coach with a clear vision and proven system would be ideal - however, Ritz is an adult who has chosen his own path, sometimes the path that is chosen is the wrong one.

Nathan who?

orbitboy wrote:

They don't have to be on the same level for Ritz to consider him a big rival. Shoot, look at the Texas vs. Texas A&M football "rivalry." A&M has one less than half as many times as Texas, yet those yahoos eat sleep and breath that rivalry.

Ritz said he considers Webb his biggest rival. It's his opinion. That doesn't mean Webb has to see it that way.

I thought A&M one won the other day.

did Hudson say he was going to be totally a marathoner after Beijing?

You have a point--to a point. However, by claiming that Ritz and Britney are analogous kind of "shines the light" on the fact that you aren't very capable of treating Ritz fairly. Hey, I wish Ritz the best. But as my previous posts show, I'm certainly not afraid to offer fair criticism, either. But when you do something like compare him to Britney, it makes you look like your differences with him are of the personal, sour grapes variety. It also doesn't help that your personal criticisms are delivered anonymously, on a message board, i.e, in such a way as that you'd never have to back them up for real.

Make no mistake, Hudson will always fabricate an excuse for a poor performance by Ritz. It will NEVER, however, be something he himself did to cause that poor performance. Never. Ultimately, if Hudson's athletes run well - Hudson is responsible. If Hudson's athletes run poorly, it's because the trails were too hard. If they get injured, it's the altitude. And speaking of altitude - since Hudson is no longer a true believer in living/training at altitude, did he express that sentiment on to his other athletes - you know, the guys still living/training at altitude?

word up wrote:

I thought A&M one won the other day.

"The other day"? No. Last year, yeah. But overall history is 73 wins for Texas, 35 for A&M, and 5 ties. For A&M, it's a big rivarly. For Texas, much less so.

His best event is probably cross country. The problem is that nobody in the US makes a living at cross country. Nobody cares. The real issue is this. The US just matched the medal count from the 1964 Olympics. These are the 1500 PB times for the medalists (and the almost medalist--Teg):

3:26

3:34

4:06 (female)

Could Ritz beat Alan Goucher's wife in a 1500?

The US 4th place finisher in Osaka in the 5000 has a slightly faster 1500 PB than the Kenyan 4th place finisher in the 1500. Ritz' PB in the 10000 is actually within a few seconds of Lasse Viren's. The difference is that Viren's time was a world record, and if Ritz in Viren ran those times now, they would get lapped by Bekele if he ran his PB. Even if Ritz had the same endurance Bekele has, he'd get totally blown away in the last lap. This is how much the sport has changed. People here don't want to face up to it, nor probably does Ritz. Salazar gets it, Wetmore doesn't, so you know who has a medal and who doesn't.

Same problem Bob Kennedy had: great endurance, no wheels. As Lagat shows, you can win without the mileage if you run the mileage you run fast enough...but you can't win without the wheels.

This is a lesson that Billy Mills got from Gammoudi over 40 years ago, but many don't want to get because it means they have to work harder and hurt more (like Mills training with Igloi guys when he was running the 10000 and Marathon).