At halfway Ritz was on 2:09:22 pace. At 35k, Ritz was still on 2:12:12 pace. He ran 2:16:19.

Obviously Dathan has to go into this race with the mindset that he can run well off the training he's done. That's just who he is. He and the Hansons took a risk by sacrificing a bit of fitness for health and it got him to the starting line in one piece, however I think it's pretty obvious he could have benefitted from getting a little stronger.

He hadn't finished a marathon since like 2016, so I have to think this race will simply serve as a stepping stone to get some good momentum started going into his races going forward. It's not a great result by any means, but he's healthy now and maybe he can build on this. The guy ran 61 earlier this year, he's hardly finished.

Not bad considering he trained for 8 weeks.

rojo wrote:

At halfway, Ritz was on 2:09:22 pace.

At 21 miles, he was still on 2:11:45.

At 35k (21.748), he was still on 2:12:12 pace.

He ended up running 2:16:19.

If that type of fade seems crazy, it's not. His last mile was still sub-6. He ran it in 5:52.

How could you possibly come up with that conclusion? That's a death of epic proportions. He won't be walking right for the next week. I feel for the guy.

Go Coach Ritz wrote:

Not bad considering he trained for 8 weeks.

Which Hanson are you? Lol

What about Abdi who faded worse? What about former champion Wesley Korir who dropped out after going out with Ritz?

Why in the name of blue heavens was he surging and leading and running 2:08 pace?! It just boggles the mind. He should have just relaxed and ran a 1.05.30 - 1.06, then come back strong.

25 years of competitive running and he still can't figure this out.

It makes perfect sense why Parker chose him as a coach now.

#stinsoned wrote:

It makes perfect sense why Parker chose him as a coach now.

Match made in heaven.

Congratulations Ritz!

malmo wrote:

rojo wrote:

At halfway, Ritz was on 2:09:22 pace.

At 21 miles, he was still on 2:11:45.

At 35k (21.748), he was still on 2:12:12 pace.

He ended up running 2:16:19.

If that type of fade seems crazy, it's not. His last mile was still sub-6. He ran it in 5:52.

How could you possibly come up with that conclusion? That's a death of epic proportions. He won't be walking right for the next week. I feel for the guy.

I gotta go with malmo here rojo. That a big fade. 64/72 split with it all coming in the last 10k is ouch. A 5:52 is like 2:34 pace which is an agonising crawl for an elite with his speed.

Sharpest bulb in the crayon box wrote:

What about Abdi who faded worse? What about former champion Wesley Korir who dropped out after going out with Ritz?

I was standing around 35k. Ritz looked pretty bad when he came by but Abdi was absolutely crawling. Making the 2020 team was already a stretch but looks very much like a pipe dream at this point

Boston just seems like a poor course choice for Ritz. He's never been able to reign himself in and relax during a race. If you've watched Ritz race over the years, you knew this blowup was inevitable.

Shadrack had generally the same pattern, but with a slightly lesser fade

Talking up Ritz in the marathon is like talking up an Alan Webb comeback in the mile. It's over guys.

I don't think he will ever run a good marathon again. Maybe he will put together a few decent half marys but he is finished with the full mary.

Ritz has old legs. There comes a point for many elites where the wheels will just never hold together for more than 20 miles at a fast pace.

Ritz has been there for the last 5 years at least.

Ritz's problem is that he can't put in the miles required to convert his excellent aerobic talents into marathon strength.

Banana Bread wrote:

I don't think he will ever run a good marathon again. Maybe he will put together a few decent half marys but he is finished with the full mary.

He is literally Bekele then, ey?

He should just stick to half marathons at this point. He can still win them as shown in New Orleans. The marathon was never his thing.