Root Places 19th at USATF 25K National Championships

Ryan Root

ASICS Greenville Track Club-ELITE's Ryan Root placed 19th in the USATF 25K National Championships on Saturday morning. The championships are conducted in conjunction with the Fifth Third River Bank Run in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Root, a former North Central College runner, finished with a time of 1:23:08 (5:21 per mile) over the 15.53-mile distance. Starting conservatively in a star-studded field that included defending champion Christo Landry and 2017 winner Dathan Ritzenhein, Root suffered from abdominal cramping from 7-12 miles. He was able to run through the discomfort and passed the half-marathon split in 1:10:17. 

Ritzenhein, who moved back home to Michigan from Oregon a few years ago, bested Landry for the win with a time of 1:14:27. Landry, who lives and trains in Charlotte, ran 1:14:51. 

GTC-ELITE produced four qualifiers for the 2016 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in Los Angeles and is sponsored by ASICS, the 45-year-old Greenville Track Club, Greenville Health System, ScanSource, Joy Real Estate, the Bare Minimum Track Club,  generous individual contributors and partnerships with Performance Therapy, Carolina Spine and Rehab, Soleus Running Watches, Boston Bill Sunglasses, Roll Recovery, FinalSurge, The ATI Running Academy, ElliptiGO, NormaTec Recovery Boots and Cocoa Elite recovery products.

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