Ritzenhein - “I tried to let them know I wasn’t intimidated”

Shortly after passing the 11th mile of Sunday’s Great North Run, Dathan Ritzenhein looked finished.

The 23-year-old American had shadowed the leaders for much of Tyneside’s undulating half marathon course, sometimes dropping 10 or 20 metres off the pace while the eventual winner, South African Hendrick Ramaala, surged on ahead with a small coterie of Africans in pursuit. Then he would steadily draw in his more illustrious and experienced opponents until he was again running on their heels.

But this time the shaded American looked done for. Ramaala and Ethiopia’s Dejene Berhanu, a previous winner of this race, were now some 20 metres ahead and appeared to be battling alone for the title.

I tried not to look at the clock

Ritzenhein, making his debut at this distance, had already attracted the attention of the race commentators for his consistent presence among the leading group. He could feel proud of his effort, they said, not least because he had left in his wake such names as Stefano Baldini, the Italian Olympic and European marathon champion, and Jaouad Gharib, the Moroccan who has twice won the World marathon title.

But Ritzenhein was far from finished. As Ramaala ploughed on ahead, clocking 4:38 for both the 12th and 13th miles, the American stuck to his own, unerring rhythm and slowly caught, then passed, Berhanu.

As they strained towards the finish line along the South Shields sea front Berhanu found one last ounce of energy to creep in front of Ritzenhein and snatch second place by just three seconds. Ritzenhein finished in 61:26, just 22 seconds behind the winner.

“I am very pleased,” he declared later. “I felt I could run close to 62 minutes but I decided just to run and not trouble myself about the time. I tried not to look at the clock but that became difficult after about 40 minutes.

“The pace was all over the place. There was a lot of surging and they were running miles between 4:25 and 5 minutes.”

In fact, the mile times varied between 4:17, for the famously fast, first mile, and 5:02 for the 11th. But Ritzenhein showed impressive maturity in sticking to his race plan. “I tried to be smart and run an even pace,” he said. “When they kept surging, I didn’t panic. And at some points I tried to let them know I wasn’t intimidated.”

He certainly wasn’t. Wearing number 7, the man nicknamed “Ritz cracker” had never been considered a favourite for the race, just the latest bright prospect of American distance running gearing up for his marathon debut in New York City on 5th November.

Racing with the ‘big boys’

Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and now living in Boulder where he studies history at the University of Colorado, Ritzenhein’s only previous claim to international fame was when he finished third in the 2001 IAAF World Junior Cross Country Championships. He finished a creditable 24th in the senior long course race the following year, and qualified for the 2004 Olympic 10,000m final. Athens wasn’t a great success as Ritzenhein was forced to pull out with a pain in his foot.

Nevertheless, with that strong background in cross country and track, the American made his move onto the roads full of confidence. Indeed, in the back of his mind before Sunday’s race, he admitted later, was the US half marathon record of 60:55 (1985).

“I didn’t want to say that because I didn’t want to put pressure on myself,” he said. “But, yes, I thought I was capable of it.”

Not that he was at disappointed to miss it. Before the race he’d said he wanted to “stick my nose in amongst the big boys and see what happens”. He certainly got a sniff of top class road racing, and clearly likes the scent.

“I picked this race because a lot of the major New York contenders are in it,” he said. “Ramaala, for one, Baldini, and originally Paul Tergat, of course.” The Kenyan World marathon record holder pulled out of the Great North Run less than a week before the race, saying he was unhappy with his training.

“I wanted to see if I could live with them,” said Ritzenhein. “I feel I’ve proved I can.”

I don’t want to put any limits on myself

So was Ramaala, now a three-time GNR winner, surprised by the close presence of the unheralded American so near to the finish?

“No, I knew he was a good runner,” said the South African. “I was waiting to see how far he could go because I knew this was his first half marathon.

“I expected him to be there because he has 10,000m speed from the track and a cross country background. That’s good preparation for the half marathon.”

After his victory in north east England, Ramaala will take renewed confidence into his fifth New York marathon, hoping to regain the title he won in 2004 and lost by inches to Tergat last year. But he had a warning for the American debutant.

“With Dathan’s background he should be good at the half marathon,” said the 34-year-old of his new young rival. “But the marathon is hard. Even if you jog, it’s hard.”

But Ritzenhein refuses to be overawed by the prospect. “I don’t want to put any limits on myself,” he said. “A lot can happen in the marathon, there are a lot of different points but my confidence is high now.

“If I’m 10th, that would be a bad day. After today I expect to do well. I may even win it.”

That’s a bold claim but not outrageous.

Who knows, maybe Dathan Ritzenhein will soon join Deena Kastor in leading a resurgence in American distance running. Ramaala, Tergat, Baldini and the rest – you have been warned.

Matthew Brown for the IAAF