Ritzenhein Disappointed With Eighth-Place Showing

Despite top-10 finish, the 27-year-old wasn’t pleased with his performance on Sunday.

He passed a few runners in the race’s final miles, but Dathan Ritzenhein had hoped to do better at yesterday’s ING New York City Marathon.

“I was just hoping to do a little bit better,” Ritzenhein said. “It was my first race back after battling some injuries and I had higher aspirations for Sunday. I think I just ran out of steam the last 10K of the race.”

The 27-year old Ritzenhein, who is coached by former NYC Marathon champion Alberto Salazar, had been struggling with tendonitis and stress fractures last year, but had indicated he was starting to feel better over the summer.

“It was a short buildup to this race because of the injuries, so I didn’t get in quite as good a shape as I had hoped,” Ritzenhein said. “I came off from this race feeling good. My body is good, but my pride is hurt more than my body,” he said.

For More: The Grand Rapids Press