Breakthrough of the Year - Best of 2009

If you were like me and grew up Ritz fan since our high school days, it was hard to think that you wouldn't see Ritz kick ass on the track anymore. With his switch to the marathon it was hard to find Ritz running on the oval. But this spring many people got what that had been waiting for....a revived Ritz! Dathan appeared at the US Champs and battled with Galen and Tim Nelson to show us he still had the pop. At the World Championships he surprised some by being the top American finisher and placing 6th in the World! But that wasn't the end of it. After the World Champs he made one last stop on the track in Zurich. Sitting in the back of the pack for a majority of the race, it looked like many American performances we've seen in the past with someone just "hanging on" to a blistering pace. However this time it was different, not only was Ritz running a great time, he was also blasting through the field over the last thousand meters!! As he moved into second and crept closer and closer to Bekele, I remember not believing what I was seeing. Dathan Ritzenhein made a statement to many that said we are not just here to run, but to compete! He set an impressive American Record at 12:56 and went on to finish 3rd at the World Half Marathon Championships (set another PR of 1:00:00). Breakthrough of the year may be an understatement but either way, Dathan is back!