With 1 mile to go, Yuki Kawauchi and Dathan Ritzenhein had the exact same time. Guess who won the last mile battle?

typical speculation on Letsrun wrote:

rojo wrote:

Please predict the final mile times for each Yuki and Ritz.

Go ahead and predict it now.

It’s funny that Ritzenhein has always been regarded by Letsrun as one of the toughest, gutsiest runners in the United States (think his XC races where he couldn’t walk in the finish chute or his 5,000m AR in track race) .

Then in 2018, Yuki has one tough race in abysmal conditions and Rojo feels compelled to take a little jab at Ritz’s toughness.

The both ran sh*t races today and you’re studying their last mile?!

Petty, but not unexpected Rojo.

How is it petty? One could argue Rojo is making fun of the guy who had too much left at the end.

I think it’s pretty interesting they were together with a mile to go and finished so far apart.

I think it corroborates all of the anti-Yuki sentiment.

‘Wow did you see how fast he finished?’

Yuki showboating in a lost cause.

That’s the Yuki I see.

Sumo wiper wrote:

Perhaps not 2:08 but he did run 2:09 last month.

But he hadn't left his job at that point. Far too soon to tell how full time running will play out for him.

rojo wrote:

Please predict the final mile times for each Yuki and Ritz.

Go ahead and predict it now.

Who cares. Neither one was close to where they should have been.

HRE wrote:

Sumo wiper wrote:

Perhaps not 2:08 but he did run 2:09 last month.

But he hadn't left his job at that point. Far too soon to tell how full time running will play out for him.

Yuki has to be disappointed after running a nice 2:09 at Lake Biwa on March 10th. Oh well he racked up another sub 2:20 but not a very good performance by him today.

They fell off early. Both of them. Can they be proud of how they run? I don't think they can. Yuki's most certainly disgusted with his performance. You know he is. He ran worse than Ritz considering he could run that fast at the end.

Ritz may never win another major distance race. Seems like it's time for him to look into becoming a coach at a university. Get the retirement. And move on. His star has pretty much dimmed as far as being a major running threat is concerned.

Well, that was early 20's late teens Ritz...Dude is 36 now..Body isn't going to allow for the same gutzy performances you had when you were in your late teens/early 20's as you are as a 36 yr old. I know a guy, who's currently in the Marine Corps. He turned 38 this year, made E9 already. Ran 16's for the 5k in basic training at Parris Island...Fast forward 20 years..He can't break 22 for the 5k. also, has a wife and 3 kids. He still keeps in shape since he has to for his PT requirements, but a 38 year old body is not the same as an 18 year old body..

typical speculation on Letsrun wrote:

rojo wrote:

Please predict the final mile times for each Yuki and Ritz.

Go ahead and predict it now.

It’s funny that Ritzenhein has always been regarded by Letsrun as one of the toughest, gutsiest runners in the United States (think his XC races where he couldn’t walk in the finish chute or his 5,000m AR in track race) .

Then in 2018, Yuki has one tough race in abysmal conditions and Rojo feels compelled to take a little jab at Ritz’s toughness.

The both ran sh*t races today and you’re studying their last mile?!

Petty, but not unexpected Rojo.

I'm sorry, why should anyone here care?

[quote]bartholomew_maxwell wrote:

He still keeps in shape since he has to for his PT requirements, but a 38 year old body is not the same as an 18 year old body..

I would take a team of 38 year olds over a team of 18 year olds in any distance race. Marathon, X-C, .....whatever

malmo wrote:

Let me get this straight:

Yuki ran the first half at 5:02.4 pace.

Then ran the next 12.1 miles at 5:19.5 pace

The final mile at 5:02 pace

Not seeing anything mind-blowing here.

13.1 miles 1:06:01 @ 5:02.4

25.2 miles 2:10:27 (12.1 miles @ 1:04:26) @ 5:19.5

26.2 miles 2:15:29 5:02

Yes, this ^^^

His 13.1-25.2 was 5:19 pace, that's the hardest of the three segments mentioned above BY FAR in terms of the course layout. Plus, he was running in no mans land for a lot of those miles. Once he saw a few people come back like Ritz maybe it served as a motivation builder + hills are hard to tackle when you're running solo.

The last mile flattens out very nicely. Why can't an elite marathoner with a 2:08 marathon (4:53 pace) run the last mile of a marathon that's flat in 5:02 after struggling a little in the middle miles?

And another thing, Ritz ran 5:52, that's borderline bonking. Isn't this time difference better explained by Ritz's body giving out after injuries/an abbreviated build up vs Yuki running a respectable 5:02 last mile?

you finish the marathon so you don't wreck yourself, but do not want dnf, ask ritz about that.

you have a crappy day and want to finish on a positive so you run a decent last mile, ask kawasaki or whatever.

rojo wrote:

I'm blown away by Kawauchi's last mile. He ran a 5:02.

Kawauchi ran a 2:15:29 marathon off of a 66:01 first half but finished 5:02 last mile. How is that possible both physically and/or psychologically?

Kawauchi does not have a lot of time on his hands so he was probably using the last mile of Boston to do his striders for his next marathon a few days later ...

Yukon ran much of the second half mostly alone, and it's hard mentally to keep up the pace by yourself. At the end he was catching people to run down and that probably mentally helped him pick it back up. Really not that surprising at all.

I doubt rojo or wejo could run a single mile as fast as Yuki or Ritz ran/jogged their last. Their should save some time writing stupid click-baits and go running a few times a week instead. It is a disgrace how fat and out-of-shape they are. How does a 28 low guy get reduced to this? Where is his pride. It would take so little given their talent to keep themselves in 35-40 minute 10k shape and look like a man and not like a fat slob.

I didn't know Ritz ran at the Penn Relays while in HS, did he face Webb?

rojo wrote:

Please predict the final mile times for each Yuki and Ritz.

Go ahead and predict it now.

They both ran faster and better than anyone posting here and criticizing their performance.

You had crushes on high school boys?

actually very unimpressed wrote:

Agreed.

Yuki underexerted himself over the course of the race, then sprinted in like an amateur. That’s not tough.

Dathan fullly exerted himself, to the point of crashing (perhaps like an amateur), but was at least tough.

Anyone can speed up after running much worse than one’s current fitness for 25 miles (which Yuki did by definition if he had 5-flat in the tank in a 2:15 performance).[/quote]

It's a Japanese pride thing.