In early 2009 the United States sent three of their best young distance runners to the World Cross Country Championships. German Fernandez, Chris Derrick and Luke Puskedra were already household names and record-setters; even at 18 years old. But could the golden trio bring the U.S. back against Kenya and Ethiopia? The legend continues…

By the fall of 2008 each member of the golden trio had only increased their standing in the eyes of the distance-running faithful.

German Fernandez, after being sick at the 2007 Footlocker Cross Country Championships (he went on the record that “At Foot Locker I was so sick I just stayed in my room before the race trying to recover.”), managed to win the U.S. junior cross country title in the spring and compete in the 2008 World Cross Country junior championship, all at 17 years old. At Worlds he finished in a disappointing 25th with a sore Achilles. Despite this, Fernandez later set a historic double at the California State Championship in track in June, running 4:00.29 in the 1,600 meters, and then coming back a few hours later to win the 3,200m in 8:34.23. It was by far the fastest “double” in state meet history. In the fall, Fernandez continued his success by winning the Big 12 Conference Cross-Country title as a true freshman, clocking 23:47 for the 8-kilometer victory. It prompted talks of Fernandez potentially upsetting two heralded seniors in Galen Rupp and Sam Chelanga for the individual NCAA cross-country title.

Meanwhile, Luke Puskedra was quickly making a name for himself at the University of Oregon, while Chris Derrick was flourishing at Stanford. After briefly leading the nation in the spring as a high school senior by running 8:46 for 3,200 meters, Puskedra trained hard over the summer and appeared as the top freshman finisher at the Pac-10 Cross Country Championship – beating Chris Derrick over 8 kilometers, 23:32 to 23:38. Then, at the West Regional, it was Derrick who got the upper hand, beating Puskedra by a second, 28:44 to 28:45, over 10 kilometers. All three runners of the golden trio were once again on a crash course toward greatness at the 2008 NCAA Cross Country Championship.

The 2008 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championship possessed storylines that went well beyond the emergence of the three phenomenal freshmen. Oregon’s Galen Rupp, a senior who had been denied an individual victory at the championship, had only one final opportunity to win. Sam Chelanga, a Kenyan from Liberty University, was vying for an individual title as well. For Fernandez, Puskedra and Derrick, their team affiliations took higher precedence than their individual intentions. Oklahoma State, the University of Oregon, and Stanford University respectively – were intent on a high team finish, not just the high standing of their new crop of runners.

Despite this, each member of the golden trio found themselves in the lead chase pack in pursuit of Rupp and Chelanga during the start of the race. Oregon’s Puskedra was in the best position of the three, part of a front-running cohort of Oregon athletes all chasing teammate Rupp. At 3,000 meters, the Ducks had three runners in the top five, whereas the supposed challengers from #2 Oklahoma State were nowhere to be seen — OK State had no one in the top 65. Along with Puskedra, Chris Derrick, as the lead runner for Stanford, was staying step for step with the leaders and trailed Puskedra by less than a second until the final 2,000 meters.

Behind Oregon, the one team that the experts thought had a chance to win, Oklahoma State, was moving up after a very slow start. However, any chance they had for a podium finish vanished suddenly when German Fernandez stepped off the course due to an injury. According to an eye-witness: “Fernandez and his teammate Kosgei were running right next to each other in the chase pack for 3rd place. It looked like they were about to make a move to break away from the pack, then all of sudden I saw German’s face grimace in pain and he collapsed in the middle of the course. He rolled off the course still writhing in pain on the ground. It was obviously either a sprained ankle or an achilles injury since he was grabbing his ankle. It looked like achilles since he was grabbing the back of his ankle, and the reports have proved it to be an achilles problem.”

Experts had little doubt that Fernandez would have finished in the top 10 as he was running with teammate John Kosgei, who ended up 9th. To many, it seemed possible that Fernandez might have finished as high as 3rd given his advancements to that point.

By the end of the fast 10k championship, the results told the story for the three freshmen: Puskedra finished as the top frosh on the day, crossing the line fifth overall, 24 seconds behind teammate Rupp, who was able to win his first individual title (Puskedra, 29:27; Rupp, 29:03). Derrick crossed the line as the first finisher for Stanford, seventh overall in 29:29. Fernandez was carted off the field without a finishing time, despite running 23:38 through the first 8 kilometers. The next time these three would face off over hill and dale, the circumstances would be different: as junior runners all under the age of 19, any “senior”-level competition would be unqualified, and without team implications, the pressure would once again be on the shoulders for each runner to make it on the national team for the World Cross Country Championships.

The 2009 USA Cross Country Junior Championship, held in early February, told a very different tale than the NCAA Championship from the November previous. The trio of Fernandez, Puskedra and Derrick, once again toeing the line against each other – this time at Agriculture Farm Park in Maryland over 8 kilometers – were seeking to qualify individually for one of six spots on the USA National Cross Country Team. Fernandez was the defending champion. Fully healed, he had run a world junior record with a 3:56.5 mile only a few weeks before. Derrick too had been crushing it, running 13:44 indoors for 5,000 meters. Puskedra wasn’t far behind, running a personal best of 13:46 indoors for 5,000 meters. The three of them were well in contention as they followed the course, which was constructed in 2,000 meter loops.

Runner’s World correspondent Amby Burfoot picked up the story: “Last Saturday, when I caught a glimpse of Fernandez for the first time, I was standing at the 1K mark of the 2K loop used for the National XC Championships in Derwood, MD. Fernandez was running up front with the super talented Chris Derrick and Luke Puskedra. (He buried them in the last mile.) All three are still just 18 years old. People are calling them the future of American distance running, and people might be right. Here’s what I saw at that first glimpse: two really good runners, and one who looked completely different. Fernandez looked completely different. I immediately thought, “He runs like Haile Gebrselassie.” Here’s how Fernandez runs like Geb. It was the first thing that flashed into my head as he charged up a slight incline to the 1K mark: He’s got quick, light feet but they generate an impressive amount of power with each stride. You can’t “see” power, but when someone runs fast with a quick footstrike, it’s because his lower legs have that rare ability. No wonder he just ran that surprising 3:56.5 indoor mile with little or no apparent speedwork.”

Fernandez took the race, winning comfortably in 23:20. Derrick crossed in second 19 seconds later, and Puskedra was third, in 23:53. They were the only three athletes under 24 minutes.

The fast finish enabled all three runners to qualify for the World Cross Country championships, and for the first time in 30 years, spurred talk of claiming the title. The USATF press release for the occasion detailed: “The U.S. junior men’s squad will feature a trio of college freshmen that could lead Team USA to a team medal. Leading the junior men will be two-time USA Junior Cross Country Champion German Fernandez. While Fernandez, 18, is now considered by many to be an individual medal contender in Amman, Stanford University freshman Chris Derrick, the runner-up at the recent USA Cross Country Championships, and University of Oregon freshman Luke Puskedra, third at the championships, could see potential top-15 finishes as well.” Further analysis unearthed this quote: “Americans in recent years have yawned at World XC as many of America’s top talents have skipped the meet to focus on other events. Not this year. The great news is that one of America’s best talents is here in German Fernandez and World XC is obviously a huge priority for him, as he just skipped NCAAs to get ready for this race. The better news is he is still a junior so his medal prospects are at least in the realm of theoretical possibilities.” All told, there was definitive hype surrounding the event.

The course in Amman was set in a picturesque bowl between tree-lined hills which provided a tough, true cross country challenge. The terrain for the competitors was a violently undulating route through the countryside traversing an ever changing surface of sand, gravel and grass. Adding to the permanent features of this challenging venue mother-nature threw in a strong chilling westerly wind which bit into the runners faces especially as they approached the long agonizing slope of the finishing straight. The New York Times wrote: “[The event was] staged on a converted golf course that looked better suited to rugged hiking.” “I thought it would be rolling hills like an American golf course, but it was nothing like that,” said Kimberley Smith, a slightly built blond New Zealander, “That was the hardest course I’ve ever run. It was a true cross-country course.”

The difficulty of the task went beyond the terrain of the course. Top candidates from Kenya and Ethiopia were also in contention for the title. The junior men’s race appeared to have a “clear favorite” according to the IAAF in 18-year-old Ethiopian Ayele Abshero. Abshero had run 29:21 for 10,000 meters in 2007 at the Great Ethiopia Run at altitude. In 2008 he earned the silver in the junior XC race and then went on to run 13:35 for 5k in Berlin. And as for the Kenyans, not a lot was known about them. Additionally, the Kenyan junior trials had been fairly close, as first through 5th place finished less than 7 seconds apart. Optimists interpreted this as meaning there wasn’t one Kenyan who was better than any other. But after the Kenyan trials the qualifiers still carried a mighty reputation: John Kemboi (25:22.9), Paul Tanui (25:23.6), Japhet Korir (25:25.9), John Chekpwony (25:29.3), and Charles Chepkurui (25:35.1) seemed difficult to cover by the three American runners. Out of those five, who would be the favorite runner to match? If one runner ran excellent it was hard to know whether it would come from the front or back… and there was an additional problem. Titus Mbishei, who was 5th in 25:29.5 at the Kenyan Trials, had run 7:50.23 for 3,00 meters, 13:27.65 for 5,000 meters and 27:31.65 for 10,000 meters in 2008 – times that could not be touched by Fernandez, Puskedra or Derrick even on their best day– and he was Kenya’s fifth finisher at the trials.

Soon, the time had come. Each of the three American juniors spelled their nerves and toed the line. As expected, the race went out fast. Fernandez and Derrick fell in immediately with the front group – led by Titus Mbishei of Kenya — and they found themselves among familiar names: Ethiopia’s Ayele Abshero and Uganda’s Moses Kibet among other Africans. Puskedra wasn’t as lucky to match the furious pace put on the outset and was hanging on for dear life at the rear of the lead group.

The race was driven by the national teams for Kenya and Ethiopia. Despite Fernandez and Derrick’s best efforts, the leaders did not crumble during any of the four laps along the 2,000 meter course. And Fernandez was hurting: “The first two laps, my foot felt fine, but on the last two long loops I thought that the muscle was a little bit tight, and that the same thing that happened to me with my Achilles at NCAA nationals was going to happen, but then it went away. I just blocked out the pain.”

By halfway, the outcome was becoming clear: four Kenyans and four Ethiopians were leading and it wasn’t close—the leaders had about 40 seconds on Derrick and Fernandez.

By the end, despite their best efforts and preparation, victory would not come on this day. Puskedra (24:53) would finish an admirable 30th overall, 90 seconds behind the winner, and about 40 seconds behind his American teammates. Chris Derrick (24:20) would hold on gamely to Fernandez’s pace, and cross the line in 15th. Fernandez (24:13), running as hard as ever, finished an impressive 11th overall – the first non-African across the line, and the first American. It was the highest finish for an American junior athlete at World Cross in seven years. As Fernandez stated afterward: “I just tried to go out with the front group and stay there as long as possible, and I think I did a pretty good job of it.” The U.S. team finished fifth overall behind Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Eritrea. It was their best team finish since 2001.

Digging deep into his reserves up the final climb towards the finish, Ethiopia’s Ayele Abshero (23:26) wasn’t going to settle for a second successive silver medal. Kenya’s Mbishei (23:30) had perhaps deserved more, for it was he who had pushed the pace along for much of the 8 kilometer race. But Abshero lived up to his billing as the pre-race favorite, taking control with a surge up a short hill with some 600m to go and never looked back. Mbishei stuck to Abshero’s heels briefly but fell away to finish behind by 25 meters.

For the golden trio, cross-country success would continue throughout their collegiate careers and into their lives as professionals. Plagued by injuries and low iron, the fragile German Fernandez would find only sporadic moments of glory in the six years following his 11th place finish at Worlds. In the Big 12 Conference for cross country, Fernandez would finish in 4th in the fall of 2009, then second, and finally first again by 2011 – three years after his initial Big 12 cross country title. At the NCAA Cross Country Championship, Fernandez would earn all-American honors twice: in 2010 when he finished in 8th and 2011 when he finished 11th – and would enjoy team titles in 2009 and 2010 with Oklahoma State. Professionally his biggest accomplishment in cross-country would be a surprise 3rd place finish at the 2014 USATF Club Cross Country Championship in December.

For Luke Puskedra, he would earn all-American honors in cross-country four times, finishing 21st in the fall of 2009, third in 2010, and sixth in 2011 – all at the NCAA cross-country championship. A calf injury would slow his training, but eventually Puskedra would find success on the roads, his times being in the elite echelon for the marathon and half-marathon distances.

Chris Derrick’s career in cross-country might have been the most notable. He returned in the fall of 2009 to win the Pac-10 conference and West Regional cross-country individual titles before finishing third in the NCAA national championship. He also finished 5th in 2010 and 2nd in 2011 to cap four all-American seasons. In addition, Derrick was able to win three straight USATF cross-country national titles, in 2013, 2014 and 2015 respectively. His ultimate highlight however was helping the United States to a silver-medal finish at the 2013 Senior World Cross Country Championship, a race where he crossed the line in 10th place.

It was the United States’ first team medal at the World Cross Country Championships in 29 years.

Kenya finished third as a team due to Derrick’s effort.



Sources:

German Fernandez “Double Time” Article from Running Times:

https://drive.google.com/a/crystal.csus.org/file/d/0B1XkMtjm6a4nT19sTk9Da3lIVmc/view?usp=sharing



Galen Rupp Sam Chelanga 2008 Showdown at NCAAs:

http://www.letsrun.com/2008/ncaapremen1120.php



Amby Burfoot calls Fernandez the “Next Haile Gebresselasie”:

http://www.runnersworld.com/footloose/feb-10-german-fernandez-is-moving-well-and-moving-up

2009 USA Cross Country Junior Championship Results:

http://www.usatf.org/events/2009/USAXCChampionships/Results/jm.asp

Pre-Worlds: https://web.archive.org/web/20090327094444/http://ocolly.com/2009/03/25/fernandez-set-to-continue-dominant-campaign/

http://www.letsrun.com/2009/german2009.php



Preview: http://www.iaaf.org/news/news/fernandez-the-ace-in-the-usas-junior-pack-for

Results: http://www.iaaf.org/results/iaaf-world-cross-country-championships/2009/37th-iaaf-world-cross-country-championships-4140/men/junior-race/final/result

Results: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_IAAF_World_Cross_Country_Championships

Report: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/29/sports/othersports/29run.html?_r=0

Report: http://www.iaaf.org/news/news/destination-amman-1

Quotes: http://www.usatf.org/news/view.aspx?DUID=USATF_2009_03_28_14_12_15

Footage of 2009 World XC Junior Race:

http://www.ethiotube.net/video/3075/The-Race–The-37th-IAAF-Junior-Mens-Cross-Country-Championship

