One Month Out and Dathan Ritzenhein Feeling Good About Olympic Marathon Trials

Published by MLive on January 12, 2016

There is one month to go before the United States Olympic Marathon Trials, which can seem like an eternity for some runners but not for Dathan Ritzenhein.

Given his experience, the trials are well, yeah, no more than a month and one day away.

The 33-year-old, who has been in the distance running spotlight for close to an eternity himself, sees the time as an advantage in his final preparations for the Feb. 13 trials in Los Angeles.

"The marathon can be a cruel mistress, as they say," said Ritzenhein, who has the second fastest time of 2 hours, 9 minutes, 45 seconds among the list of eligible qualifiers. "You can't prepare for it if you've never done it. Sometimes that's a good thing because you know what you're getting into and have experience just getting there (to the starting line)."