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ING NEW YORK CITY MARATHONNovember 3, 2011Dathan RitzenheinNEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK DATHAN RITZENHEIN: I've never had to deal with general health issues like that. Whereas usually a stress fracture is not the end of the world. But there was a worry there with the general health and well being if it was going to be okay. And that's just something I haven't had to deal with before. Q. Among other things, you're one of those people whose career has been blasted by Alberto. But you get back quicker? DATHAN RITZENHEIN: You do get back quicker. Alberto will look -- I was just telling Molly, we were talking about some stuff, some of the crazy things that Alberto will do. She said isn't there like a cost benefit to all of that? I said there is no such thing with a cost with Alberto, it's only benefit. So I've really been able to take advantage of that, which is something that's so rare, and so -- I'm blessed to have had that. If I was somewhere else, I wouldn't have had that capability. I mean, I don't think I'd be here ready to run at a competitive race again at this point. Q. Now you have to understand you are going to be in a lead vehicle? DATHAN RITZENHEIN: No, I'm actually going back Saturday night. I'm just glad to be training again. So I would love to watch the race, but it's a hard weekend to get in some good training. I'm trying to just keep training right through this, and keep plugging away at it. I want to get right back in and be back. Things were going really good before, and I want it to keep going that way. I'm just excited to get back. Ten weeks to go, I feel that fever again. Q. The Kenyans can only bring three people to London. But what's been your reaction? DATHAN RITZENHEIN: As far as this race goes, I just thought for the last five years it's just a matter of time before the course record is going to be a 2:05, 2:06 race. It's a really hard course. So it will take a good day. You can't have the wind in your face and stuff like that. But I just foresee this race one day with the waterfall that's gone through, if people can run 2:03, mid 2:03's in a good, fast flat race, I don't think there's any reason you can't run 2:06 here or 2:05. It's going to happen one of these days. That is the nature of the sport, and that's what's good. The evolution of faster times, it's competition. It breeds more. So I think that's what's going, we'll continue to see. I don't know at what point leaps and bounds can be taken off more records, but there is money in the sport, too. That's the other thing. Now there is money. These guys are young, so it's worth the risk. There is no down side to a guy who can't make it on the big team on the track and 10K to try to go fast on the roads. So I think we'll see it's opened the flood gates. It happened in Boston already. They had the right day. Now I think people realize maybe Boston's not as slow as it was. They did have a big tail wind. Q. I mean last year? DATHAN RITZENHEIN: And even the year before. I just feel like it's a matter of timing. It's going to happen. Q. The fastest race here happened because there were three guys running and one of them survived. DATHAN RITZENHEIN: Yeah. If it starts out really slow, there is only so fast you can run. So last year it was 65 something halfway. There's only so fast you can run the second half, but one of these years, they'll go out 63-something, and come back 62, and it will go down. Q. I know the 5K is a great place for some fast runs and some fun. But what do you see about the field this weekend? Are you going to go in there with some competitive interest or just go out and get some training in the field itself? DATHAN RITZENHEIN: Oh, no. This race might not mean a lot to some people. But it means a lot to me being my first race in a year. I'm not taking it lightly because I'm just so happy to be back after this past year. Yeah, I'm not taking it lightly at all. I want to run well. I'm training a lot still with the focus being on the marathon. But I want the effort. So the outcome is important. I want to win it, but I have no idea, my general fitness is good, but the most important part for me is to race hard and actually get that feeling. I'll be mad at myself if I don't actually go out and give it everything in the race. So that's what I plan to do. Q. You know this is everybody's off-season sort of. But do you look at somebody who is secretly quite sharp? DATHAN RITZENHEIN: I think there are quite a few people who are in surprisingly good shape. Q. Do you think Matt (Tegenkamp) might be? DATHAN RITZENHEIN: I think Matt might be in good shape. I haven't thought a whole lot about it. Some of the guys that have been doing the road circuit are probably pretty fit. But I'm going in thinking I'm the fastest guy in the 5K. I'm the fastest guy in the 10K, I'm the fastest guy in the half marathon. Maybe I'm not in my best fitness shape now, but I'm still going to go in with that mentality, and I think that's something that always served me well in the race. I'm sure there are going to be some really fit guys. But I'm trying to focus on -- I'll try to focus on myself because I think, like you say, it's so unknown who is actually going to show up in good shape, and who is going to be sharp, and who is going to kind of come in to New York for a weekend. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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