Dathan Ritzenhein has lived two lives in running: first as one of America's most decorated distance runners, and now as the head coach of the On Athletics Club (OAC).
As a coach, Ritzenhein has been at the center of some of the sport's biggest moments in recent years. Under his leadership, Yared Nuguse set the indoor mile world record on Feb 8, 2025 (3:46.63) before it was lowered five days later by Jakob Ingebrigtsen and stormed down New York's Fifth Avenue to win the storied road mile that fall.
On the roads, he's masterminded Hellen Obiri's back-to-back Boston Marathon victories in 2023 and 2024, and helped her remain a fixture at the front in 2025 when Sharon Lokedi's course-record run edged her for the win.
Before he was a world-class coach, Ritzenhein was one of the fastest Americans ever. A three-time Olympian, he set the U.S. record in the 5,000 meters in 2009 with a blazing 12:56.27, claimed bronze at the World Half Marathon Championships that same year in exactly one hour, and ran 2:07:47 for the marathon in Chicago in 2012.
From Boulder, Colorado, he now leads a team that competes and wins at every distance from the 1500 meters to the marathon.
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