Kenenisa wins 5k, Ritzenhein sets American Record at Zurich Golden League 2009

I just went from 6 to 12

NIKE-CROSOFT? Are you serious? You imagine the nike training group to be a gigantic corporate monstrosity? You don't find that excessive? I agree with Chris, you guys are nuts.

i love these announcers, so much more knowledgeable than anyone on nbc

The effects of "Live High, Train Low" (LHTL) using Altitude Simulators are REAL...Ritz's 12:56 5k blatantly prove that point. This will cause more Elite Runners to use Altitude Simulators to LHTL because of Ritz's dramatic improvement (his previous Personal Best was 13:16)

Technology changes everything, INCLUDING RUNNING, so to stay competitive, ALL Elite runners will eventually have to use Technology in their Training, or get left behind. Americans should enjoy this TEMPORARY Technological advantage while it lasts because the East Africans will eventually use the same Technology to improve their performances.
Winning in the Future will be more about Technology than Natural Ability. For example, scientists can already manipulate Genes to improve endurance.
http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/news/2004/08/64659

Great how the commentators were clueless about it being an American record -- "Great personal best".

Way to go Ritz! I saw you run your senior year state final back in high school... you were, and still very, very fast. My buddy couldn't catch you :)
Best wishes

WOW brought tears to my eyes!
When I first started running I remember Kennedy and his 12:58! But this is a huge PR! Great things to come!

Now Im gonna go run a really hard workout! I was a bit inspired!
THANKS RITZ!!!

Chris, I like the conviction of your arguments...However, Ritzenhein's performance clearly shows that the MOST EFFECTIVE "Live High Train Low" (LHTL) method is to use Altitude Simulators. If your proposed "No-Tech Alternatives" are so effective, why did it take a runner, AIDED by an Altitude Simulator to break Bob Kennedy's 5k American Record ? Why didn't a runner using a "No-Tech Alternative" break it ?

The answer is that Altitude Simulators, though EXPENSIVE, are MORE EFFECTIVE & MORE PRACTICAL than physically travelling from Altitude to Sea Level to train. Since using Altitude Simulators is the BEST WAY to Live High & Train Low, it HIGHLY FAVORS PRIVILEGED athletes who currently have access to them.
But today's state of the art is tomorrow's common practice...Further stunning performances like Ritz's will prompt the rest of the world's Elite Runners to use LHTL technologies. Perhaps the cost of Altitude simulators will decrease over time like most tech gadgets,but again, this begs the question of how much Technology should be allowed in sports before it becomes a Technology Competition rather than an Athletic Competition ?
L.Y.-Michigan State Alumnus

Hey Chris :) You missed my points about Technology vs. Natural Ability & Nike "Air Zero Grav". I NEVER said the NIKE Altitude Project was cheating, nor am I alleging that Ritz is a cheater...I AM asking where do we draw the line between Technology and Sports ? How much Technology is TOO MUCH Technology in Athletic Competitions ?

Technology threatens to change Athletics Competitions into TECHNOLOGY Competitions, which is not what Sports is about. The nature of Sports competitions is to determine the BEST ATHLETE, NOT which ATHLETE HAS THE BEST TECHNOLOGY. Look at those Controversial Swimsuits from the 2008 Olympics...Michael Phelps recently lost to a guy wearing a High-Tech Swimsuit...Is this the Future of sports, where the BEST ATHLETES lose to lesser athletes who have the BEST TECHNOLOGY ? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/28/michael-phelps-loses-to-g_n_246281.html
As for your point that "Live High, Train Low Technology" (LHTLT) is readily available to anyone who seeks it, I DISAGREE. Alot of East Africans don't even have shoes when they start running, let alone cars....Your point that one can rent a shack at Altitude, and drive down to Sea Level to train, proves my point that LHTLT users have to have Significant Financial Resources. Sports should be about Athletic Ability, not money and technology.

OMG! Ritz took it to them, and left everything on the track. Incredible performance.

The claim that "Live High, Train Low" methods are cheating and/or unfair is utterly absurd, especially the claim by "NEW Nike "AIR" ZERO-GRAV" that this type of training is unavailable to East Africans. First of all, the benefits of "Live High, Train Low" can be replicated on any continent and most countries. For example, one can rent a place or camp at around 10,000 feet in Boulder, Colorado, for example. Within a short drive, an athlete who lives at this 10,000 ft. altitude can arrive at under 5,000 ft. to work a job and/or train at fast paces. Anything under 5,000 ft. is not going to greatly affect your ability to train at fast paces, just ask the Lee Emmanuel and the Lobos in New Mexico. You have to be gung-ho to do this obviously, but anyone could train this way on the cheap and these opportunities are easily available in Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America. The only thing Nike does is making living/training in this environment much much easier on their athletes, Nike is not affording an advantage that is somehow unreplicable. To even imply that Ritz's race results are even vaguely synthetic is unbelievable to me.

As for the East Africans somehow being deprived of altitudes advantages, the average altitude of Kenya, for example, is around 6,500 ft, and the Ethiopian highlands have an altitude ranging from 6,500 ft to 13,000 ft. Certainly in these countries, athletes could find living situations similar to my Boulder, CO example. As I said before, the "Live High, Train Low" method is replicable around the world, and the same applies to the East Africans. The East Africans probably don't utilize this strategy (Of course I don't know for sure if all training groups in East Africa do or do not use it) because they are ridiculously dominant. Clearly, "ZERO-GRAV" and "Natural Ability vs. Technology", you are not fully informed of opportunities available to all people, you just have to look around. As they say, "Winners find a way".

" . . .if anything, he's GAINING on bekele . . ."

gives me chills every time i hear it.

There isn't any less oxygen in the air at altitude, just less partial pressure of oxygen so it doesn't absorb into the blood stream as readily.

Continue

Arthur Lydiard is the prophet.....do marathon training (aerobic running) for as long time as possible and then 12-16 weeks of hard hill,anaerobic training....it's so simple and so hard

How can you say that it is equivalent to blood doping? Endurance athletes have used altitude training for decades. Keep in mind that Salazar's group still works as hard as anyone. Simply living in the house doesn't make you run faster, the training does.

If Bolt is any where near the leaders with one lap to go it's all over. Ritz should be happy that Bolt doesn't want to train for the longer distances because it affects his dancing.