Dathan Ritzenhein Sees USATF Cross Country Championships in Boulder as 'Logical Progression'

Published by MLive on January 27, 2015

Dathan Ritzenhein has started his season with #throwback.

Ritzenhein, who competed just once last season, announced Monday he entered the USATF Cross Country Championships in Boulder, Colo., on Feb. 7. It's the next step in his training for the Boston Marathon on April 20, Ritzenhein said, and will be his third competition already this year.

"It's a logical progression," he said of the 12K in Boulder. "I'm healthy, I want to run more and it will be 10 weeks before Boston so it sets up well."

Ritzenhein, who lives in Rockford and is an assistant coach at Grand Valley State, was in Europe earlier this month where he won the Campaccio Cross Country race Jan. 6 and, four days later, was third at the Great Edinburgh Cross Country meet.

At the 10K Campaccio, held near Milan, Italy, Ritzenhein won in 29 minutes, 8 seconds on a flat 2K course.