Putting on the Ritz

Dathan Ritzenhein to challenge himself and field at ING New York City Marathon

He could have chosen the simpler, less rigorous path, continuing to focus his time and energy on distances he has already conquered. Distances like the 10,000 meters, at which he represented the United States in the 2004 Olympic Games.

Instead, Dathan Ritzenhein is taking a risk. At 23, he has the audacity of youth and a dream of elevating himself and the sport of distance running to new heights. He wants to be a name—the name—that springs to mind when sports fans link American stars and men’s distance running. Just as they have linked Lance Armstrong and cycling, Tiger Woods and golf.

To achieve that status, Ritzenhein knows he needs a challenge unlike any other—the challenge of running a marathon. And he needs to face that challenge not in relative obscurity, but on a major stage. He needs to line up alongside a world-class field, take the measure of himself and the competition, and find out exactly where he stands.

The time and place Ritzenhein has chosen to test himself is the ING New York City Marathon on November 5, 2006.

“I’m pretty young for a first marathon,” he says. “Most people would wait, but it’s something to build up to over time and I do think I have a good shot at being up there at the end. There are a lot of guys who have more experience, but I have a good feeling about it.”

That good feeling carries Ritzenhein through two long workouts each day, on the trails around his hometown of Boulder, Colorado, running past ponds and over hills, dreaming of November 5 in New York and the highest-profile race of his career.

Love at First Stride
Ritzenhein began running when he was 11, after his parents divorced. His father, in dealing with the split, took up running and joined a local club. Young Dathan would watch his dad work out, sometimes following along on his bicycle. Eventually, the two began to run together, along with family friends. Soon Dathan was among a group entering 5K races on weekends.

From the very beginning, Ritzenhein knew he was good; he had the build and the mindset for running. But the sport was more fun than competition in those early years. Once he started high school, however, he really began to excel, traveling to national competitions and eventually winning the Foot Locker National Cross Country Championships in both his junior and senior years.

“Before high school, I didn’t really know what running was,” Ritzenhein says. “But once I started getting better and better, I realized that there were scholarships and that kind of thing, and that maybe I could do this for a living.”

His talent developed further at the University of Colorado, and while classmates stayed up all night at keg parties, Ritzenhein maintained his focus. “I definitely had to be disciplined,” the 2006 college graduate says. “Through college I didn’t go out and party much during the season. I tried to be as serious at possible.” As a result, Ritzenhein stood out as a national competitor, winning the 2003 NCAA Cross Country Championship, setting the U.S. collegiate 10,000-meter record in 2004 with a time of 27:38.50, and placing second in the 2004 NCAA 5,000-meter Championships with a time of 13:52.13.

Yet it was hardly all run and no fun for Ritzenhein at Colorado. While on campus he forged a stronger relationship with his girlfriend, Kalin Todebusch, whom he had known since he was 12. “We were playground boyfriend-girlfriend,” he says, “but we didn’t end up dating until we were in college.” They became engaged, and were married this past June.

Also a professional runner, Kalin graduated this spring from Colorado with a degree in sociology and is pursuing a career in social work. Ritzenhein credits her for his ability to remain focused as a runner. “It’s very important to me to have her around,” he says. “She keeps me relaxed, and I love having her come with me to races in Europe and wherever. Usually I don’t get to [sightsee] as much, since I’m there for a race, but she gets out and sees the sights, and then comes back and tells me about them.”

When he isn’t traveling to races or putting in the marathon training miles, Ritzenhein dotes on his year-old pug dog, Muenster, takes walks with Kalin, or plays golf on a local course.

A Restless Runner
The energetic Ritzenhein says that for him, one of the biggest challenges of the professional runner’s life is kicking back and doing nothing for hours on end so his muscles can recover from the punishment of hard training.

“That’s definitely the toughest part for me,” he says. “I can’t watch TV all day, but I always need to force myself and take out a chunk of the day to relax and have a nap and get ready for the second run.”

Being stuck inside so often inspired Ritzenhein to become the Bob Vila of running and renovate the home that he and Kalin recently purchased, just outside of Boulder.

“It was built in 1980, and it’s kind of getting to that point where it’s starting to need some work done,” he said. “The other day we put a new garage door on, and we basically renovated the entire master bedroom. I’m learning about putting in fixtures and laying tile and putting in hardwood floors.”

But this sideline isn’t much of a distraction. Ritzenhein admits to spending much of his time visualizing his next race and preparing to compete again. Having run on the international circuit for several years, Ritzenhein is often familiar with the runners he goes up against. He knows their attributes and flaws, and those insights go into formulating his pre-race plan.

“There’s a lot of strategy involved, especially in longer races,” he says. “You have to pick and choose who you go with. We all know each other’s game before we go into it, and we make choices to race based on each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Every time is different, and you experiment with either deciding to take the lead or sit and wait for the kick.”

In the Running for Fame
Ritzenhein says he thinks running has the potential to create well-known stars in America, as has long been the case in Europe. Here, the most recognizable athletes in an individual sport tend to be golfers, tennis players, and NASCAR drivers. Ritzenhein wants to play a major role in changing that. He has already seen the change in a different form of road racing.

“No one would probably ever have thought a cyclist would be as famous as Lance Armstrong,” he muses about the seven-time Tour de France champion (who will also make his ING New York City Marathon debut this year). “A few spectacular races can really propel someone to a new level in any sport, to being a household name. The potential is definitely there, and it really hasn’t been tapped.”

The ING New York City Marathon will provide Ritzenhein with his best chance yet to become synonymous with running. But already, he is looking beyond he marathon debut to his overall competitive career.

“There’s definitely a lot of things I want to accomplish,” he says. “I want to make my mark in the marathon because I think I’ll be the best at it. I want to make a couple of Olympic teams. And basically I want to be able to look back on my career in 10 years and feel like I’ve accomplished something important.”