Ritz has left Salazar. Did he ever say why? Are they on good terms?

Montesquieu wrote:

My in-laws live in Grand Rapids, MI. I've visited there for over thirty years. Not in my wildest dreams could I live there: restaurants are dreadful; little high culture; much, much too religious for me; completely homogenized place. However, if you value religion, Christianity of various stripes in particular, and you enjoy family activities, and you want a simple, comfortable manner of living (including relatively little traffic), and you like parks and the beach (the Holland State Park and the Grand Haven beach are 40 minutes away), and you like living in a place that's safe, AND you and your wife grew up there, west Michigan is the place for you. I have met many people from there (too many for my taste) who would never want to live anywhere else. Ritz (and his wife) is, I think, one of those people. It's also possible that he wanted to move exclusively to the roads, and didn't think the kind of intensity that Salazar leans towards would be needed, and in fact might be harmful. However, he really wanted to get home. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

straight from SEA wrote:

He moved to a much better place to raise a family,

whoah! Isn't Portland a great place to raise a family?

Montesquieu wrote:

My in-laws live in Grand Rapids, MI. I've visited there for over thirty years. Not in my wildest dreams could I live there: restaurants are dreadful; little high culture; much, much too religious for me; completely homogenized place. However, if you value religion, Christianity of various stripes in particular, and you enjoy family activities, and you want a simple, comfortable manner of living (including relatively little traffic), and you like parks and the beach (the Holland State Park and the Grand Haven beach are 40 minutes away), and you like living in a place that's safe, AND you and your wife grew up there, west Michigan is the place for you. I have met many people from there (too many for my taste) who would never want to live anywhere else. Ritz (and his wife) is, I think, one of those people. It's also possible that he wanted to move exclusively to the roads, and didn't think the kind of intensity that Salazar leans towards would be needed, and in fact might be harmful. However, he really wanted to get home. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

fdsafdasf wrote:

Did Ritz ever explain why he left Salazar? Are they on good terms? I hope Ritz beats Rupp. I still think Ritz will hit one of his final marathons out of the park. He has a 2:05 in him, given his 5000 personal best.

Dathan Ritzehein Takes On New Challenges, Begins Coaching Career

May 9, 2014

Beaverton, OR – Dathan Ritzenhein, a three-time Olympian, has accepted an assistant coaching position at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan. With this new opportunity, Ritzenhein will be departing the Nike Oregon Project.

Ritzenhein has been one of the greatest success stories for the Nike Oregon Project. After joining the Nike Oregon Project in 2009, Ritzenhein broke the American Record in the 5,000m with a time of 12:56.27, won a bronze medal at the 2009 World Half Marathon Championships with a time of 60:00 (2nd fastest American, All-Time), won the 2010 USA Cross Country Championships, qualified for the 2012 United States Olympic team at 10,000m, and ran a personal best in the marathon of 2:07:47 at the 2012 Chicago Marathon (3rd fastest American, All-Time).

Ritzenhein will continue to run for Nike in his quest to qualify for his fourth Olympics. Alberto Salazar, Head Coach for the Nike Oregon Project, will remain as a training advisor to Ritzehein.

“All of us at the Nike Oregon Project will tremendously miss Dathan, Kalin and their two children. We wish them the very best as Dathan starts transitioning to his new career. Dathan is a world class athlete, and I’m certain he will be a world class coach,” said Salazar.

Dathan commented, "For the past five years I have been blessed to be part of the Nike Oregon Project. I would not have been able to reach the level I have without the support of such an amazing group. I will miss my teammates and coaches very much but I am very thankful and excited for the opportunity ahead. I want to thank all the athletes and staff for their support, friendship and knowledge and especially Alberto who has never given up on me."