Dathan Ritzenhein is one of America's young and rising stars. He won the 2005 USA Cross Country Championship 12K in Vancouver, Washington on February 13, finishing in 36:59. The race qualified him for the IAAF World Cross Country Championship March 19 and 20 in St. Galmier, France. It's a race he says he's ready for.

"I felt great. I've taken a good turn in my training and I'm going to be better than ever. I'm going into the Worlds thinking that I can medal."

His 2005 season kicked off to a momentous start after a cross-country victory in Belfast, Ireland on January 9 against a strong international field. The win helped some fans justify his decision to forego his collegiate eligibility at CU this year so he could turn pro.

In his short but impressive career, Ritzenhein owns the American 10K collegiate record (27:38.50), four Big 12 Conference titles, four All-American titles, the 10,000 meter school record and the nation's only undefeated cross country season in 2003 to capture his first, and only, NCAA crown.

But Ritzenhein's career has been plagued by injuries. Just prior to the 2004 Olympic Trials, he incurred his third career stress fracture in his foot. Despite the pain, he competed at the Trials and ended the 10K in Sacramento, California in 22nd place. Having already secured the "A" qualifying standard for the Olympics, Ritzenhein earned a spot on the team when Meb Keflezighi decided to only compete in the marathon at Athens, and Bob Kennedy was unable to finish his Trials race due to a sore Achilles. Unfortunately, he was unable to finish the 10,000 meter race in Athens due to pain from calcium deposits in his foot.

During the 2003-2004 cross country season, he won the Pre-National Invitational, the Big 12 Cross Country Championship, the NCAA Mountain Region Championship, and the NCAA Championship just 10 weeks after resuming training following a femoral stress fracture. It capped off the nation's only undefeated season. He was also an indoor 5K All-American in 13:42.09, the second fastest indoor 5K in CU history. During the outdoor season, he finished sixth at the Stanford Invitational in an Olympic Trials "A" Standard, an American Collegiate Record 27:38:50. Amazingly, it was his first-ever 10K on the track! Then, just 18 hours later, he claimed the Big 12 5K title in Norman, Oklahoma.

Despite his shorter-distance success, Ritzenhein says he believes that ultimately the marathon will be his strongest event.

Ritzenhein talked about his goals and his training in a USATF teleconference, just before winning his national cross country title.

Q: Since returning from Europe with your win in Belfast, have you been training in Colorado?
A: I've been in Boulder since I've been back and it's been abnormally nice here. We had about two weeks of 60s and 70s (temperatures) with hardly any snow, so it's been like I've been in Arizona the last couple weeks. It's been perfect.

Q: What have you been doing differently in your training that has paid off for you?
A: I've done some supplemental things that I wasn't doing before. I've been doing a lot of short sprints, some drills and some general strengthening things that are specific to running. I've been running a lot of hill sprints and a lot of drills. The direction of my workouts has been a little different. They've been a little bit faster and I've been doing longer workouts. There are days when I'm on the track for eight miles, but none of it has been under 10K race pace.

Q: Are you doing any specific hill workouts?
A: The difference from my workouts in the past is that I would just do normal, steady runs on hilly terrain. Now I'm trying to stay flat in that aspect, but I've been doing more hill repeats, which I hadn't done since high school. So I have been doing that but it's not specific to just cross country, it's a general strengthening thing for track as well.

Q: What are your goals for the year?
A: Right now I'm really looking forward to the cross country championships because I think I can go into the World Championships and be right in the hunt with the rest of those guys. I'm planning to go in there and just fight it out. After that I'll take a couple weeks of training up to the Stanford 10K and the Prefontaine Classic, and hopefully I'll hammer out a good season in Europe and maybe run four or five races and be ready to go for the World Championships in August.

Q: Your win in Belfast earlier this year surprised a lot of people. Did you expect to win that race?
A: The meet director there asked me afterwards if I expected to do that and I said 'yeah.' My training was at a different level than it was before when I left, and surprisingly things came back so quick from my injuries. I had left here knowing that I was really fit and in Belfast I wanted to use my strength. I was surprised that I just walked away with it, because in the end, in the last 1,000 meters or so, I just shut it down because I had such a big lead. I wasn't surprised at the win. I was surprised at the easiness of the win.

All About Ritz
Height: 5-8, Weight: 117
Born: December 30, 1982
Current Residence: Boulder
High School: Rockford High School in Michigan
College: University of Colorado

PERSONAL BESTS
1,500 meters - 3:42.99 (2002)
3,000 meters - 7:50.39 (2004)
5,000 meters - 13:27.77 (2002)
10,000 meters - 27:38.50 (2004)