Boston Marathon Contender Dathan Ritzenhein Taps Into Local Connections for an Edge

Published by MLive on April 10, 2015

GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Dathan Ritzenhein was aware growing up in Rockford that nearby resident Greg Meyer had won the Boston Marathon. It just took about 31 years for it to pay dividends.

Meyer won the race as a 28-year-old in 1983, a year after Ritzenhein was born. While the two have been acquaintances over the years, the relationship grew closer and gained value in recent months after Ritzenhein set sights on his first Boston Marathon.

"He trained on the course every day for years and he has been a part of the scene there for a long time," Ritzenhein said of Meyer. "And that's what Boston is really about - the course. So I wanted to pick his brain as much as possible."