Chris Derrick (born October 17, 1990) is an American

distance Distance is a numerical or occasionally qualitative measurement of how far apart objects or points are. In physics or everyday usage, distance may refer to a physical length or an estimation based on other criteria (e.g. "two counties over"). ...

runner who won 3 consecutive US Cross Country Championships in 2013–15. He attended

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

, where he earned 14 All-American honors and holds an American junior record in the

5000 meters The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a stand ...

High school

As a member of the high school class of 2008, Derrick has traded victories with former American high school record holder in the two-mile,

German Fernandez German Fernandez (born November 2, 1990) is a retired American professional runner from Riverbank, California, known for his performance in high school and collegiate cross country and track and field. Later he trained under Jerry Schumacher for ...

. As a high school senior at

Neuqua Valley High School Neuqua Valley High School (NVHS) is a public four-year high school located near the corner of Illinois Route 59 and 95th Street in Naperville, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. Neuqua Valley is the counterpar ...

Naperville Naperville ( ) is a city in DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage and Will County, Illinois, Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is in the Chicago metro area, west of the city. Naperville was founded in 1831 by Joseph Naper. The city was ...

, Illinois, Derrick gained recognition when he won the 2007

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

state cross country championship and set the course record on the altered Detweiller Park course in 13:52, behind the 13:50.6 that

Craig Virgin Craig Steven Virgin (born August 2, 1955) is an American distance runner. He was born in Belleville, Illinois and grew up near Lebanon, Illinois. While in high school, Virgin won 5 state championships (two in cross country and three in track) ...

(the only American to ever win at the

IAAF World Cross Country Championships World Athletics Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international cross country running. Formerly held annually and organised by World Athletics (formerly the IAAF), it was inaugurated in 1973, when it replaced the Int ...

) ran on the original course. Derrick concluded his senior cross country season by capturing both a team and individual victory at the

Nike Cross Nationals Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) (formerly known as Nike Team Nationals) is an invitational cross country meet that serves as the unofficial team national championship of United States high school cross country. Sponsored by Nike, It was designed to h ...

competition, followed a week later by a second-place finish at the

Foot Locker Cross Country Championships The Eastbay-Foot Locker Cross Country Championships are a series of annual cross country running races held in various regions of the United States to determine the premier cross country runner in various age groups, but mainly serves to find the ...

. During track season, at the

Arcadia Invitational The Arcadia Invitational is a high school track and field meet in the United States. It is considered the most competitive meet in the country and has been billed as the "Home of National Records". The meet is held at Arcadia High School in Arcadi ...

Derrick ran a 13:55 in the

5000m The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Athletics at the Summer Olympics, Olympic Games and the World Championships in At ...

, the fastest time run by an American high school student in a high school-only race. Derrick received the inaugural

Gatorade Gatorade is an American brand of sports-themed beverage and food products, built around its signature line of sports drinks. Gatorade is currently manufactured by PepsiCo and is distributed in over 80 countries. The beverage was first develop ...

National Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year award in partnership with

ESPN RISE ''ESPN HS'' was a high school sports magazine published monthly during the school year in 25 markets around the United States. Founded as ''SchoolSports'' magazine in 1997, the publication changed its name to ''RISE'' in 2006 and was purchased b ...

Magazine following his 2007 season.

College

Derrick attended

and earned 14 All-American honors (Four in cross country, five in indoor track and field, and five in outdoor track and field)
On March 28, 2009, Derrick placed 15th in the Junior race at the 37th IAAF World Cross Country Championships in

Amman, Jordan Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 as of 2021, Amman is ...

. On May 2, 2009, Derrick set the American Junior 5000m record with a time of 13:29.98, breaking Olympian Galen Rupp's previous record of 13:37.91, run in 2004. On June 12, 2009, Derrick placed 3rd at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the 5000 Meter Run. On November 23, 2009, Derrick placed 3rd at the NCAA Cross Country Championship On June 11, 2010, Derrick placed 4th at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the 5000 Meter Run. On November 21, 2011, Derrick finished in 2nd place behind Lawi Lalang of Arizona in his final cross country race for Stanford at the DI NCAA Cross Country Championship. On March 9–10, 2012, Derrick finished in 2nd place behind Lawi Lalang of Arizona in both the 3000m and 5000m runs at the NCAA DI Indoor Track & Field National Meet. On April 30, 2012, Derrick finished in 3rd place in the 10,000m and set an American Collegian record at the

Payton Jordan Payton Jordan (March 19, 1917 – February 5, 2009) was the head coach of the 1968 United States Olympic track and field team, one of the most powerful track teams ever assembled, which won a record twenty-four medals, including twelve golds. ...

Invite in 27 minutes, 31.38 seconds. On June 22, 2012, Derrick finished 4th in the 10k Olympic Trials, beaten by

Galen Rupp Galen Rupp (born May 8, 1986) is an American long-distance runner. He competed in the Summer Olympics in 2008 in Beijing, 2012 in London, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro and 2021 in Tokyo. He won the silver medal in the men's 10,000-meter run in Lon ...

Matt Tegenkamp Matthew "Teg" Tegenkamp (born January 19, 1982) is a retired professional runner from Lee's Summit, Missouri who specialized in various long-distance events. Tegenkamp represented the United States at two Summer Olympics, in 2008 and 2012. He tra ...

, and

Dathan Ritzenhein Dathan James Ritzenhein (born December 30, 1982) is a retired American long-distance runner, and current head coach of On Athletics Club. He held the American record in the 5,000 metres (12:56.27) from 2009-2010, when it was broken by Bernard ...

Nike Oregon Track Club

In February 2013, Derrick won the US Senior Men 12,000 meters

USA Cross Country Championships The USA Cross Country Championships is the annual national championships for cross country running in the United States. The championships is generally held in mid-February and it serves as a way of designating the country's national champion, as ...

in 35:38 at Forest Park in St. Louis Missouri, to qualify for the

2013 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 2013 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on March 24, 2013. The races were held at the Myślęcinek Park in Bydgoszcz, Poland. Kenya topped the medal standings in the competition with 5 gold, and Ethiopia had the most overall ...

where he placed 10th. Derrick later finished 3rd in the 10,000 meters

2013 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2013 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships was held at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa. Organised by USA Track and Field, the four-day competition took place June 20–23 in conjunction with the USA Junior Outdoor Track & Field Champions ...

in June 2013 to qualify for the

2013 World Championships in Athletics The 14th IAAF World Championships in Athletics (Moscow 2013) () was an international athletics competition held in Moscow, Russia, from 10–18 August 2013. Initially, Russia won the most gold medals to top the table for the first time since 200 ...

in August. Derrick finished 18th in the

2013 World Championships in Athletics – Men's 10,000 metres The men's 10,000 metres at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics were held at the Luzhniki Stadium on 10 August. With the temperature at the start of the race over 27º the competitors were taking heat precautions. Olympic Champion Mo Fa ...

10,000 meters in a season best time of 28:04.54.

Bowerman Track Club

In January 2014 & 2015, Derrick repeated as victor of the

Great Edinburgh International Cross Country The Great Edinburgh International Cross Country was an annual cross country running competition that took place every January in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was one of the competitions in the Great Run series of athletics events and was held alongsi ...

Senior race. In February 2014, Derrick repeated as victor of the US Senior Men 12,000 meters

in 36:14, in

Boulder, Colorado Boulder is a home rule city that is the county seat and most populous municipality of Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, making it the 12th most populous city in Color ...

. In March, Derrick finished 2nd place and set an Age Record at the

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

Gate River Run 15k road race (43:16). Derrick ran 13:08.18 at 2014

Invitational. Derrick later finished 2nd in the 10,000 meters (28:18.18)

2014 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2014 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships was held at Hornet Stadium in Sacramento, California. Organised by USA Track and Field, the four-day competition took place June 26–29 in conjunction with the USA Junior Combined Events Outdoor ...

on June 26, 2014. In February 2015, Derrick won his third consecutive US Senior Men 12,000 meters

in 36:18, in

, to qualify for the

2015 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 2015 IAAF World Cross Country Championships () was the 41st edition of the global championships in cross country running, organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations. It was held in Guiyang, China on 28 March. It was the ...

in Guiyang, China, where he placed 24th. March 1, Derrick ran a personal best 8:32.51 in the Men's 2 Mile –

2015 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships The 2015 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships was held at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center in Boston, Massachusetts. Organised by USA Track and Field (USATF), the three-day competition took place from February 27 to March 1 and serve ...

Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center The Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center (RLTAC) is an indoor track and indoor basketball stadium in Roxbury, Massachusetts, partially funded by the state of Massachusetts. It is home to numerous Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Associat ...

. March 28, 2015, where Derrick placed 24th in 2015 IAAF World Cross Country Championships – Senior men's race. Derrick ran 28:31.75 to finish 7th at the

2015 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2015 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships were held at Hayward Field, University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. Organized by USA Track and Field, the four-day competition took place June 25–28 and served as the national championships in ...

. July 18, Derrick ran 2016 Olympic qualifying time 13:19.56 in

Heusden-Zolder Heusden-Zolder (; li, Heuze-Zolder ) is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality located in the Belgium, Belgian Limburg (Belgium), province of Limburg near Hasselt. On 1 January 2006 Heusden-Zolder had a total population of 30,769. The total ar ...

. July 24, Derrick ran a 7:43.77 3000 meters in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

2015 Diamond League Meeting. The time is less than 4 seconds from 2016 Portland World Championships entry standard. August 17, Derrick finished 8th at Falmouth Road in 33:41. September 11, Derrick ran 13:25 at

Diamond League The Diamond League is an annual series of elite track and field athletic competitions comprising fourteen of the best invitational athletics meetings. The series sits in the top tier of the World Athletics (formerly known as the IAAF) one-day mee ...

final in Brussels. February 13, 2016, Derrick qualified to compete at 2016 US Olympic Marathon Trials at Jacksonville Bank Marathon 2016 on January 3, 2016, with a time 1:03:41. Derrick ran 13:40.91 at 2016

Invitational. Derrick placed 23rd 14:01 at 5000 meters and 5th 28:47.24 at 10,000 meters at the 2016 United States Olympic Trials (track and field). Derrick ran 18:27.70 for Team San Francisco at 2016 Track Town Summer Series 4-mile race to finish second to

Sam Chelanga Samuel Chelanga (born February 23, 1985, in Baringo County, Kenya) is a Kenyan-born American track and field athlete who competed for Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia from 2008 to 2011. He holds the NCAA record for the 10,000 meters run ...

who ran 18:23.60 for Team NY. Derrick's contribution helped San Francisco win the team title. November 26, 2016, Derrick ran 27:38 for

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The race ...

at 2016 Hachioji Long Distance Invitational in Tokyo. In February 2017, Derrick earned an

Team USA spot after placing 5th at US Senior Men 10,000 meters

in 30:28. in

Bend, Oregon Bend is a city in and the county seat of Deschutes County, Oregon, United States. It is the principal city of the Bend Metropolitan Statistical Area. Bend is Central Oregon's largest city, with a population of 99,178 at the time of the 2020 U.S ...

, but opted not to compete.USATF announces rosters for IAAF and NACAC XC Championships

USATF USA Track & Field (USATF) is the United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running and racewalking (known as the sport of athletics outside the US). The USATF was known between 1979 and ...

. 2/23/2017. In May 2017 Derrick served as a pacer for Nike's

Breaking2 Breaking2 was a project by Nike to break the two-hour barrier for the marathon. Nike announced the project in November 2016 and organized a team of three elite runners who trained for a private race. The event was held on the Formula One race tra ...

attempt at achieving a sub-2-hour marathon time.

Marathons

Personal bests

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Derrick, Chris 1990 births Living people American male long-distance runners Stanford Cardinal men's track and field athletes Stanford Cardinal men's cross country runners Sportspeople from Naperville, Illinois Sportspeople from the Chicago metropolitan area