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Catching Up With Chris Derrick - USATF XC Champs

Published by
DyeStatPRO.com   Feb 4th 2015, 5:42pm
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A New Year, Another Chance to Win a National XC Title

By Scott Bush

Chris Derrick of the Bowerman Track Club is the two-time defending champion of the USATF Cross Country Championships. As the 2015 edition approaches this weekend, we caught up with Derrick, discussing his early-season racing and training, the expectations for the weekend ahead, why he just wrapped up a training stint in Flagstaff and much more.

Scott Bush (SB): First things first, you're the two-time defending USA cross country champion. What would it mean for you to three-peat in a race so steeped in history?

Chris Derrick (CD): Obviously it would be a great honor to win any race three times in a row. I would be especially proud considering the strength of the field this year.

SB: Most of your Bowerman Track Club teammates have opened up their track season, yet you've been in Flagstaff training and getting ready for USA XC. What has your training looked like the past bunch of weeks leading up to this weekend and how are you feeling?

CD: Leading into Edinburgh I had a couple of minor injuries that lead to some inconsistency in training, but since then I've been feeling healthy and fairly strong. Every year Jerry tweaks things slightly and this year I've been doing more pure strength work and less track stuff in an effort to keep my lower legs healthy, since I've struggled with that the past two years. I've been able to do everything on the schedule and feel fairly under control which is all I can ever ask for in training.

SB: You've always been a strong cross country runner. What traits do you feel you possess that make you such a great XC runner?

CD: In college and high school I would put that down to XC being the longest races run at that level. I've always been more of a pure long distance, aerobic strength guy so that plays into my physiological strengths. On the more European style courses run at the professional level, I think my relatively compact stride helps me on the muddier, slightly more technical terrain.

SB: You raced the Great Edinburgh Cross Country meet last month and won. The course looked muddy and tough. What was it like racing in Scotland and how does racing something like Great Edinburgh prepare you for USA XC?

CD: I really enjoy racing in Edinburgh. It's a well run meet at a great venue and any Team USA trip is a fun experience. Hopefully the race served to callus me a little bit and prepare me to run hard at USA's.

SB: Assuming you finish in a position to compete for Team USA at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships, how excited are you to get back to Worlds and try to improve upon your 2013 finish, both as an individual and team?

CD: Any improvement as a team would be tremendous and I think a real landmark moment for US distance running. As an individual I would just like to have the opportunity to race there in good fitness and test myself against the world's best.

SB: With it being a World Champs year, both in cross country and on the track, does your focus this year change at all compared to last year which didn't have a championship to really focus on outside of USAs?

CD: I would say that it being a World Championships year actually puts more focus on USA's in track. Both the 10k and the 5k will be very hard teams to make and they're going to require me to be at the top of my game.

SB: Flagstaff seems to be the town of choice for pros to get in their altitude training this time of year. What makes it a special place to train outside of it being at altitude

CD: Well for me a big appeal is that I get to see the sun on a more regular basis, which is nice. There are tons of great trails to run on here and the community is very welcoming with NAU, Team Run Flagstaff, NAZ Elite, and Hypo2. Plus once a group or two comes up it attracts more people as it's always nice to connect with other people in the running community.



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