Dathan Ritzenhein has been a headliner in American distance running for more than 25 years now, ever since his sensational high school career in Rockford, Michigan. He finished 8th-1st-1st in three successive Footlocker appearances, including an epic race in 2000 against Alan Webb and Ryan Hall.
After high school, Ritzehein starred at the University of Colorado and as a professional runner for Nike. He achieved best times of 12:56 for 5000 meters, and 2:07:47 in the marathon.
Since 2000, Ritzehein has been head coach of the On Athletics Club (OAC) in Boulder, which he has nurtured from a small, underfinanced group to a global power. Recently, his athletes won the steeplechase gold medal in the Tokyo World Championships (Geordie Beamish) and set a big female course record in winning the New York City Marathon (Hellen Obiri). Also in New York, Joe Klecker made a strong marathon debut with his 2:10:37.
In this podcast interview, Ritzenhein talks about all the above, plus the evolution of his philosophy of training and racing, as well as the major changes in training, shoes, and supplements he has seen in the last 10 years.
For more on the OAC, go here. The Club's Instagram page is here. Dathan's listing on Wikipedia is here.
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