Ritz looked great tonight

I could see a 2:05 high if he stays healthy and has consistent training through Chicago. But that is a big IF, seems like he always has injuries that he doesn't mention until well after the fact (eg in a pre-Oxy interview he mentioned how last year before Oxy he missed 2 weeks of running b/c of a knee injury). I think they have his marathon fueling down and I look forward to him building on his fitness.

Who?

Such ignorance is shocking--you really don't know who Montesquieu was?

run 10ks wrote:

Who?

Ritz was good but does he not remember Ritz here last year where he ran faster?

1 Mo Farah Nike O T C 13:12.87

2 Juan Luis Barrios Nike 13:13.54

3 Sam Chelanga Nike O T C 13:14.05

4 Dathan Ritzenhein Nike O T C 13:14.72

5 Adrian Blincoe New Balance 13:23.73

6 Rory Fraser UK Athletics 13:27.87

7 Scott Bauhs Mammoth TC 13:28.40

8 Elliott Heath Unattached 13:28.65

9 Brandon Bethke Michigan Elite 13:29.26

10 Bolota Asmerom Unattached 13:30.33

No, I don't know him. I'm not really much of a runner.

Fair enough, but last year Ritz ran over his head and could not have run faster. If you watched the race tonight you would have seen that with better pacing, and looking to run fast, Ritz could have run low 13:00s. But in any case, last year Oxy was his best race on the track. This year he will do something special.

fan boyz wrote:

Ritz was good but does he not remember Ritz here last year where he ran faster?

1 Mo Farah Nike O T C 13:12.87

2 Juan Luis Barrios Nike 13:13.54

3 Sam Chelanga Nike O T C 13:14.05

4 Dathan Ritzenhein Nike O T C 13:14.72

5 Adrian Blincoe New Balance 13:23.73

6 Rory Fraser UK Athletics 13:27.87

7 Scott Bauhs Mammoth TC 13:28.40

8 Elliott Heath Unattached 13:28.65

9 Brandon Bethke Michigan Elite 13:29.26

10 Bolota Asmerom Unattached 13:30.33

13:15 and 13:12 winning times this year and last.

ritz was 2 seconds back of mo in both cases.

very fine results for both given that both are facing challenges.

ritz has moved back to track after the marathon.

as for Mo, he's come off a real tough and productive year.

so look for him to just go for wins until he's peak. he's saving it.

i bet ritz is thinking sub 27 for the 10k by now.

run 10ks wrote:

Who?

Ryan Fenton. You probably didn't hear him broadcasting because it costs $50 a month for flotrack.

Montesquieu wrote:

Ryan Fenton stated it on the broadcast, and it's true: Ritz has not looked this good since Zurich--thin, strong, snap in the legs, immediate change in gears. Currently, he is the third fastest American in the 5000, and the third fastest American in the marathon. After this year he will be the third, or even second, fastest American at 10000, and if he stays healthy (never a sure thing in his case), look for a top six finish at Worlds and a 2:06 something in Chicago.

I agree with this. In the right race, Ritz can probably go sub-26:59. And I'm sure he's looking to sustain that 3:00 per kilometer pace for the entire marathon. A lot of it depends on him staying healthy and the conditions during the race. He needs to find a fast 10,000, because I doubt he can get it at Pre, and who knows if Chicago will be really hot this year or windy?

I really want Ritz to get in a fast 10k and go sub 27. In 2011 the 10k at Pre was the Ethiopian trials and had pacers going out on 26:50 pace. Hopefully they have good pacers there and Ritz can make a serious attempt at sub 27. For all the racing Ritz has done he has never really been in a fast 10k. His pr is still from the world championships in 2009 where the first 5k was really slow. If Ritz gets in the right races I think he is going to end this year with some damn solid PRs.

Norweegian wrote:

run 10ks wrote:

Who?

Ryan Fenton. You probably didn't hear him broadcasting because it costs $50 a month for flotrack.

12 loser

Norweegian wrote:

run 10ks wrote:

Who?

Ryan Fenton. You probably didn't hear him broadcasting because it costs $50 a month for flotrack.

10/10

Just looked at the race again. Ritz closed in 4:06/3:00.67/1:57/1:26/58 on my watch.

I think we see him sub 27 this season , sub 13 , best form in years.

Would like to see him not run a fall marathon , recover from long track season , enjoy a few road races in the fall , run London or Rotterdam in the spring for the fast time.

I just watched the race and wow is Ritz fit. The time does not do that race justice. He looks to be as good as he was when he set the American record. Good things are in store for Ritz.

http://www.flotrack.org/coverage/250716-USATF-Oxy-High-Performance-Meet-2013/video/710218-M-5k-H01-Oxy-2013-Farah-and-Ritz-have-the-pop

So, Ritz was hurt in 2010 and 2011, maybe getting six months of training in out of twenty-four. We forget that following his breakout season in 2009 (27:22 for sixth at Worlds in 75 degree temperature, followed by 12:56, followed by 60:00) that there was no follow up season. Last year he managed to go 2:09:55 on four months of training, but I think he went so deep in that race, he dug a hole for himself. After that it was catchup, and he wound up running four 10000 meter races--Cardinal Invite, Hengelo, Trials, Olympics--after not having run on the track for two years. It shouldn't be a surprise, especially looking back, that last year, with the exception of Oxy, he looked sluggish and maybe even a bit heavy all year. He didn't look great at the Oregon Twilight, but he looked better than last year, and 7:47 for his first race on the track since the Olympics, and training through it, wasn't bad. But--and this is why I posted on another thread how ripped he looked in the Flotrack pictures from Park City--looking at him at him this weekend at Oxy, he looked so supple and aggressive. Indeed, after the race, Farah appeared more tired than Ritz was. If he has no hiccups (always a big "if" in his case), I can see him doing something akin to 2009.

Canova>God wrote:

I just watched the race and wow is Ritz fit. The time does not do that race justice. He looks to be as good as he was when he set the American record. Good things are in store for Ritz.

http://www.flotrack.org/coverage/250716-USATF-Oxy-High-Performance-Meet-2013/video/710218-M-5k-H01-Oxy-2013-Farah-and-Ritz-have-the-pop

I agree. Ritz didn't even look that winded after Oxy and closed very well. Does anyone know if he is running the 10,000 at Prefontaine? I wonder where he is going to get his chance to go after that sub-27:00.