Dathan Ritzenhein made his 2006 racing debut at the Belfast International Cross Country meet, where he finished third, running the 9810 meter course in 28 minutes, 20 seconds to finish behind the duo of Barnabas Kosgei of Kenya and Moses Kipsiro of Uganda. Kosgei, who was third last year managed to edge Kipsiro by one second to win in 28:05.

Hoping to duplicate the success that he saw in winning last year's event, Ritzenhein moved to the front early, attempting to control the pace with Irish favorite and former Arkansas Razorback Alistair Cragg. Ritzenhein continued to control the pace until the fourth lap when Kosgei and Kipsiro began to pull away, with Kosgei pulling away from Kipsiro on the final straight.

"I thought my best chance of winning was to take the pace out and I think I ran a good race, but I was up against some good athletes," Ritzenhein reported to IAAF correspondent Bob Frank. "I gave it everything I'd got and was helped by some great support from the spectators, but I wasn't sharp enough to stay with them."

Peter Julian of Boulder, Colo., finished just three seconds behind Cragg, running 29:12.

Ritzenhein and Julian will both run the VisitScotland Great Edinburgh International Cross Country meet on January 14, as a final tune-up for the USA Cross Country Championships, hosted by the New York Road Runners February 18-19, at Van Cortlandt Park in New York City.