Ritz Talks NYC Half, Hansons-Brooks, L-Carnitine, And His Upcoming Return To The Marathon in Boston

Above the threshold of IV infused and it's still a violation...just like Team Sky and their inhalers. I thought the interview was good. LetsRun does ask the hard questions and ruffles feathers....others in this area do not. You guys don't seem to appreciate how intelligent Rojo and Wejo actually are...they have very high IQs (which probably goes over a lot of the more "average minds" on here). I've known these guys for years and they are honestly some of the smartest people I know.

Give It Up Already wrote:

rojo wrote:

Man you are good. I'll hire you for the next call and lt you do it. I think there is a natural tendenc to avoid awkward situations in interviews. When I was coaching at Cornell and knew a recruit was not going to come, I would never put him on the spot. Why not? What dod I have to lose. Well the problem is if you area total dick, you lose access to the calls and athletes.

But you are wrong when you say you think the others are going to followup on it. You've got to be kidding. The RRW on flotrack didn't even mention the word l-carnitine in it.

That's because it's freaking L-Carnitine Rojo - you act like we're talking EPO or stanozolol! The guy above pretty much nails it when he refers to it as comical.....

Hey Rojo I actually talked to the guy who did the original l-carnitine study and he claimed that magic was in carbohydrate mix, Salazar then got in touch with him and bought their supply off them. I wondered whether Ritz thinks the mix helped or not.

S. Canaday wrote:

Above the threshold of IV infused and it's still a violation...just like Team Sky and their inhalers.

I thought the interview was good. LetsRun does ask the hard questions and ruffles feathers....others in this area do not.

You guys don't seem to appreciate how intelligent Rojo and Wejo actually are...they

have very high IQs (which probably goes over a lot of the more "average minds" on here).

I've known these guys for years and they are honestly some of the smartest people I know.

Give It Up Already wrote:

That's because it's freaking L-Carnitine Rojo - you act like we're talking EPO or stanozolol! The guy above pretty much nails it when he refers to it as comical.....

Sage, why hasn't USADA busted Salazar?

Umm, he didn't wear the NOP singlet in Boston because he was no longer part of the NOP.

Sounded like he admitted to cheating during the interview.

S. Canaday wrote:

Above the threshold of IV infused and it's still a violation...just like Team Sky and their inhalers.

I thought the interview was good. LetsRun does ask the hard questions and ruffles feathers....others in this area do not.

You guys don't seem to appreciate how intelligent Rojo and Wejo actually are...they

have very high IQs (which probably goes over a lot of the more "average minds" on here).

I've known these guys for years and they are honestly some of the smartest people I know.

]

LOL

Ritz left to get away from Alberto 4 years ago. Getting out without losing the Nike contract is like getting out of a gang. Ritz agreed to say that he was still being coached by Alberto (he was not). When Boston came around Nike sent Ritz the newest NOP Kit. Nike also sent a picture of the uniform to the race to be included in the program. Ritz stood up and wore a Nike USA uniform that he still had laying around. Nike was not happy.

Notice that Mary Cain wore a NOP kit long after she left. Same thing.

Notice that Matt Centro told the press that Alberto is still his coach. Same thing.

Takin Forever wrote:

Sage, why hasn't USADA busted Salazar?

Because - like most NADOs - they want to look tough, while protecting their own athletes. A la - look how we are investigating hard, because we really are for a clean sport - nothing to see here. NOP, Rollins, Roberts, Wilson etc. are really all clean and just mistakenly may have used forbidden methods/tested positive/kissed someone or ate something/ran away from the tester.

Point in case: we only know about NOP using this forbidden method because of some fancy bears, while USADA stayed quiet. Same with Rupp's elevated testo levels. Or Centro's ABP violation.

Also, people like to downplay the importance of that, yet the normal punishment would be a four year ban, unless done unintentionally (then it's two years). But who could intentionally inject 500 ml instead of 50 ml? Wrong measurement, coincidentally? Come on...

And then rojo comes along, and says:

"I know that the L-Carnitine injections are something you had big reservations about but Alberto Salazar pressured you to take."

How do you know that, rojo? Sounds like a lame excuse of an athlete caught with his hand in the cookie jar, but yeah, let's take his word for it. Let's also believe that he as a 28 year old elite runner had to ask his coach whether a forbidden method is really forbidden.

The really sad part is that the other journalists say even less, instead of investigating why Ritz hasn't received his four year ban.

Are you guys all part of the omerta?

S. Canaday wrote:

Above the threshold of IV infused and it's still a violation...just like Team Sky and their inhalers.

I thought the interview was good. LetsRun does ask the hard questions and ruffles feathers....others in this area do not.

You guys don't seem to appreciate how intelligent Rojo and Wejo actually are...they

have very high IQs (which probably goes over a lot of the more "average minds" on here).

I've known these guys for years and they are honestly some of the smartest people I know.

]

having seen what youve seen from these two, and knowing a little bit about how deduction works, wouldnt you say its something like infinitely more plausible that (1) you haven't met many bright folks in your life, and (2) there just aren't many bright folks in the running world?

Hey Sage,

Robert Scribner is one of the smartest guys I know. Remember him? You lived with him for a couple years. He has some great stories and opinions about you? Your defense of Rojo makes me ask the question, Should we believe the opinions of all guys that we think are smart?

We all know Sage wrote:

Hey Sage,

Robert Scribner is one of the smartest guys I know. Remember him? You lived with him for a couple years. He has some great stories and opinions about you? Your defense of Rojo makes me ask the question, Should we believe the opinions of all guys that we think are smart?

No dog in this "back and forth game", but it's not about being super smart, it's simply about being smart enough Sage.

Memorizing facts and what you read may get you on Jeopardy, but it doesn't necessarily make you smarter than many others around you, or make you "average".

Glorifying the brothers for "points" and to bring others down in the process can also be looked at as an attempt to raise your own ego.

I don't know Robert Scribner, but I guarantee you that I know many people who have better thinking skills, regardless of his stories about Sage being true or false.

Sage,

I really enjoyed your satire post. In fact I almost believed you were serious.

Should be 'Ritz Talks NYC Half, Hansons-Brooks, and His Upcoming Return To The Marathon in Boston. Dodges L-Carnitine questions.'

tartarm wrote:

Sage,

I really enjoyed your satire post. In fact I almost believed you were serious.

It wasn't satire, but nice try on the attempted save.

rojo

"...a bit of tortured soul as he previously had balked at taking thyroid medication in the quantity Salazar wanted him to take..."

"I know that the L-Carnitine injections are something you had big reservations about but Alberto Salazar pressured you to take,"/

Ok, this is pretty dumb. You are trying to portray Ritz as some kind of victim of the evil Al Sal. I like Ritz, but to accuse him of breaking doping rules and then portray Ritz as some kind of innocent collateral damage is pretty daft.

Knower of the facts wrote:

Ritz left to get away from Alberto 4 years ago. Getting out without losing the Nike contract is like getting out of a gang. Ritz agreed to say that he was still being coached by Alberto (he was not). When Boston came around Nike sent Ritz the newest NOP Kit. Nike also sent a picture of the uniform to the race to be included in the program. Ritz stood up and wore a Nike USA uniform that he still had laying around. Nike was not happy.

Notice that Mary Cain wore a NOP kit long after she left. Same thing.

Notice that Matt Centro told the press that Alberto is still his coach. Same thing.

You don't have a clue do you. Just typing words with the hope to impress you have knowledge.

Ritz's contract came do, he was offered less. In his own words he was ready for a change of scenery and wanted to be closer to home. He was burnt out and needed a change, again his own words.

Boston doesn't ask for picture of uniforms for the program, they ask for a head shot to be included in the bio they writeup.

Ritz probably wore what he was most comfortable in, yes the USA uni.

Mary wears what she had in her dresser and what they were sending her. She was not going and buying new gear.

Editor's note. The post above is factually incorrect. Without further ado, here is the "uniform guide" for the 2015 Boston Marathon. Ritz was supposed to wear a black NOP singlet.

And here is what he actually wore:

pert wrote:

More pre-race hype by Ritz. I expect a 62 minute performance than a DNF at the Marathon, followed by excuses. Hoping for better results but not likely to happen

Do you realize youre tearing down not only a national hero but someone who beyond a once in a generation talent was integral to the resurgence of American Distance Running?

There is a very good chance that you and I would not be having this discussion without his existence. Ritz definitely carried the torch for a while.

Ritz may very well have tip toed the line between clean and the darkside but because he was influenced by someone else. But then he probably thought long and hard about continuing after being exposed these practices and decided to refrain because he knows right from wrong. I dont think there is an ounce of evil will power in someone like Ritz. Dude's heart pumps kool aid. No way he headed any large drug operation and wilfully cheated. He is not your guy.

I am thankful for everything he has done to serve the sport. Truly one if the greats

I'm a big Ritz fan, really I am. It would be great to see him hammer out a great marathon again. That said, I think Ben True will beat him at the NYC Half and Rupp will beat him in Boston (if he even finishes).