Chris Derrick, 3.51-1500, the end of the road, or not?

The fear I have four CD is that he will never get back to his previous form. I hope I am proved wrong on that but there are some runners at a certain age in their early 30s were never able to reproduce their best form even though 30 is not that old but it depends on how much you have in the legs and I think CD has done a lot of mileage in the past.

Once again, looking at his form and his general profile I think his days of being a fast track runner are gone and he should move up to the marathon once again but that is just my opinion. I’m sure others have more knowledge about his case and can elaborate.

CD, what could have been, man. Hate to say it but idk why BTC has kept him on as long as they have. I really would like to see him comeback to his peak fitness but he’s disappointed too many times.

CdD was his best around 2012 to 2014. This is life, this is Athletics and it will be difficult for him to get back to his former level but if I am proved wrong believe me I will be very happy.

He had some great runs in cross country as well destroying a lot of very good runners such as the run in Edinburgh Scotland in 2014.

Above all he’s a good man and he will always find his niche in some capacity in track possibly his future coach or advisor. From his online interview ski peers to be quiet and discreet, so he’s no Rah Rah Rah guy.

One feels if he had being trained in a Japanese type of road racing environment he would now be a 206 or 207 marathon runner. He had and still has all the tools to be a very good marathon runner the only question being his fuel economy.

Good luck to him.

I was thinking well hoping it was something like what the sprinters were doing. He has to run a certain number of races according to his contract and with no road races/marathons on the horizon jump in a few of these track races and just go through the motions.

Jerry is brilliant and understands exactly what it takes to be World Class on the track.

However, very few coaches have figured out the Marathon. Jerry Included.

Bairu and Nelson both failed when moving up. Teg totally underachieved. Both Flanagan and Cragg had some good marathons but had a tough time staying healthy.

The 2020 Trials prediction thread included CD and Bumby. Neither finished. Also included Cragg and Jorgensen. Neither could make it to the starting line. That is ridiculous for the top funded program with the best athletes.

tough to watch wrote:

However, very few coaches have figured out the Marathon.

totally underachieved. Both Flanagan and Cragg had some good marathons but had a tough time staying healthy.

That is ridiculous for the top funded program with the best athletes.

All you need to know about the FULL ‘THON:

I guess that's possible, but that doesn't seem likely to me. I suspect that's where his current fitness is...13:46 is not dire if he's working his way back from injury. And to others, CD is only 29 and has had recent injury issues, so I don't think he is necessarily done yet. My guess, and of course it's only a guess, is that with covid-19 he has one more year to see if he can get back into top fitness and make the Olympic team at 10000, and if not maybe that's a wrap for him. But, again, that's just speculation on my part.

reason to live wrote:

I was thinking well hoping it was something like what the sprinters were doing. He has to run a certain number of races according to his contract and with no road races/marathons on the horizon jump in a few of these track races and just go through the motions.

Juice Springsteen wrote:

CD, what could have been, man. Hate to say it but idk why BTC has kept him on as long as they have. I really would like to see him comeback to his peak fitness but he’s disappointed too many times.

I can’t imagine Nike extending his contract too much longer. Maybe he takes another crack at the 10k for the trials next year (which may not happen) and that might be it for his career.

zip trader wrote:

ShilohDoesntCare wrote:

Derrick is one that Jerry just can't seem to get right for whatever reason. Majority of the team is doing very well and Derrick just never got there. Very disappointing. Maybe he needs a coaching change or to just hang it up early. 57 was embarrassing.

Intelligent post. No one blames Jerry Schumacher, he always gets praise for one of his successful runners. Jerry ruined CD!

Jerry Schumacher is a terrible coach. I would never allow him to approach my family for coaching services.

M.A.G.A.

It’s a fair criticism. Jerry obviously is excellent at coaching 1,500-10,000 on the track. Hit rate is excellent. Marathon, less so though to be fair to him it’s often been with guys late in their careers after injuries.

I remember on this board during the prediction contest that someone guaranteed that Derrick would lose to 2 Stanford teammates at the trials. This seemed ridiculous at the time. Both Jake Riley and Brendan Gregg definitely did in fact beat Chris that day.

ShilohDoesntCare wrote:

Derrick is one that Jerry just can't seem to get right for whatever reason. Majority of the team is doing very well and Derrick just never got there. Very disappointing. Maybe he needs a coaching change or to just hang it up early. 57 was embarrassing.

Majority of the team was also focused on running fast times in July and August. CD was focused on running a fast marathon in March. The time is a big slower than what I expected (like a 3:48) but it has been long time since CD has been a sub 13:20 type guy

CD recently pace Mo in the 5000 and I believe his 3K split was 7:45, so I don’t think he’s totally done.

dadsfadsfdasfdsafdas wrote:

ShilohDoesntCare wrote:

Derrick is one that Jerry just can't seem to get right for whatever reason. Majority of the team is doing very well and Derrick just never got there. Very disappointing. Maybe he needs a coaching change or to just hang it up early. 57 was embarrassing.

Majority of the team was also focused on running fast times in July and August. CD was focused on running a fast marathon in March. The time is a big slower than what I expected (like a 3:48) but it has been long time since CD has been a sub 13:20 type guy

I think people are undervaluing the fact that Chris is a marathoner at this stage of his career. Look at what Osako has been running in the Big Friendlys. Or imagine Bumbi out there running a 15 and 600m. They wouldn't be any better than Chris!

I will admit that 212 for his marathon PB is disappointing but 26.2 is a long ways and a lot of things need to go right to knock one out of the park. Sure, I believe he's capable of faster but he hasn't had the best (health wise) transition to the roads.

He's coming off a very disappointing OT and in the midst of a global pandemic, he chose to run some time trials against some world beaters. I respect him getting out there and hopefully having some fun with it!

I don't know if this is his swan song and he's just enjoying his last few months as a pro or he's going to keep it rolling until 2024. Either way, I like it! Being a 30 year old pro who isn't winning global medals is a very tough spot to be in. Both fiscally and mentally. He's clearly a smart dude and could do plenty outside of running. Jake Riley and Donn Cabral are two perfect examples of guys his age who are choosing their life paths as we speak that don't conform to prototypical professional runner lifestyles. I don't think Chris needs to run for BTC to run 210 and make an Olympic team in 4 years, granted it won't be easy, but making an Olympic team is always going to be a struggle :)

I'll be interested to see what he does come 2021 and wish him the best!!

Unfortunately, he fell off the pace at 1800 in that race. He ended up coming through 3k in 7:56 (3:14+ the last 1200).

runthecountry wrote:

While 3:51 is laughably slow for someone with Derrick's credentials, it seems that he is (relatively) healthy based on his 7:56 3000m and 13:46 5000m from the last month. Those are still a ways off his best results, but more in line with what you'd expect a 3:41 (rather than 3:51) 1500 runner to run.

Maybe he is in the middle of heavy marathon training? He certainly didn't have much turnover in the shorter events. I would expect a 3:51 runner to at least run 54 for a 400 relay split, unless he didn't care.

So far the only post I’ve read that makes sense

TrackFan1979 wrote:

CD recently pace Mo in the 5000 and I believe his 3K split was 7:45, so I don’t think he’s totally done.

He got dropped before 3k. Probably closer to 8:00

This is all going to be a harsh post and I feel bad because I'm a fan and want to be wrong here... But I'm sorry to say I just don't think he is as "talented" as everyone believed. His running form has always looked like an old man. I think he developed at a young age, ran a lot of miles, and had a very good aerobic system. I think his poor form, lack of athleticism, and lack of speed did not allow him to get to world class level. His accomplishments are still outstanding but I think he reached his ceiling when he ran sub 13:10.

I get what you're trying to say, but the guy has run 13:08/27:31...that's not getting to a "world class level"? The number of "world class" runners in your view must be pretty small! :-) Anyway, yes, he is another Ritz-type with a great aerobic engine and not much natural speed, but that mostly meant he was going to get out-kicked in a major championship race and finish out of the medals. But making the Olympic team and finishing in the top 8 or so in the 10,000 was always at least conceivable for CD. Maybe it still is, we'll see.

asfad wrote:

This is all going to be a harsh post and I feel bad because I'm a fan and want to be wrong here... But I'm sorry to say I just don't think he is as "talented" as everyone believed. His running form has always looked like an old man. I think he developed at a young age, ran a lot of miles, and had a very good aerobic system. I think his poor form, lack of athleticism, and lack of speed did not allow him to get to world class level. His accomplishments are still outstanding but I think he reached his ceiling when he ran sub 13:10.