17 Facts About Dathan Ritzenhein

Dathan James Ritzenhein was born on December 30,1982 and is a retired American long-distance runner, and current head coach of the On Athletics Club.

Dathan Ritzenhein held the American record in the 5,000 metres from 2009 to 2010, until it was broken by Bernard Lagat.

Dathan Ritzenhein is a three-time national cross country champion with wins at the USA Cross Country Championships in 2005,2008 and 2010.

Formerly a Nike athlete for the majority of his professional career, Dathan joined the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project team in 2017.

Dathan Ritzenhein signed with the Swiss shoe brand On shortly thereafter in June 2020 and currently acts as the coach for the On Athletics Club in Boulder, Colorado.

Dathan Ritzenhein was a standout runner at Rockford High School in Michigan and the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Dathan Ritzenhein was part of the high school class of 2001 which produced distance runners Alan Webb and Ryan Hall.

Dathan Ritzenhein won back-to-back regional and national titles in the Foot Locker high school championship races in the fall of 1999 and 2000.

Dathan Ritzenhein made his marathon debut in the 2006 ING New York City Marathon, finishing in 11th place with a time of 2:14:01.

Dathan Ritzenhein finished second in 2:11:07 at the 2008 Olympic Marathon Trials which automatically placed him on Team USA for the Beijing Olympics.

In January 2009, Dathan Ritzenhein placed 2nd at the US Half Marathon Championship.

Dathan Ritzenhein moved from Eugene to Portland, Oregon in order to train with Alberto Salazar's Nike Oregon Project.

Eleven days later at the Weltklasse Meeting in Zurich, Switzerland, Dathan Ritzenhein placed third in the 5,000 metres, setting a new American record with a time of 12:56.27, becoming the third American to run under 13 minutes.

At the 2009 Half Marathon Championships in Birmingham, Dathan Ritzenhein placed third with a time of 60:00, which was then the second fastest American time ever behind Ryan Hall's 59:43.

At the 2012 Chicago Marathon, Dathan Ritzenhein finished in ninth, setting a new personal best of 2:07:47.

On May 9,2014, Dathan Ritzenhein announced that he would leave the Nike Oregon Project to move closer to his hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Dathan Ritzenhein is married to Rockford native and former University of Colorado distance runner Kalin Toedebusch.