Neuqua grad Chris Derrick finishes men’s side as 2nd-best American

By Dale Bowman

American Chris Derrick finished ninth overall with a time of 2:12:50. | Paul Beaty/AP

Chris Derrick had a home run.

“I definitely heard my mom pretty late, somewhere around 21 or 22 miles,’’ Derrick said. “I knew there were Neuqua kids out there. I heard a lot of cheers for Galen.’’

That would be Galen Rupp, who won the 40th Bank of America Chicago Marathon on Sunday.

Derrick, who won an Illinois cross-country title a decade ago while a senior at Neuqua Valley, did all right, too, in his first marathon. He was the second-highest American man, and he placed ninth (2:12:50). He even led for a mile or so around Mile 17.

“I learned about fueling,’’ he said. “My drinks were concentrated. Mostly I learned to be patient.’’

And he learned about pacing when he got too ambitious.

“The last five miles were a progressive death march,’’ he said.

Wheelers

American Tatyana McFadden won her eighth women’s wheelchair title, and seventh straight, in 1:39:15, breaking her own course record (1:41:10) set Oct. 11, 2015. She separated herself from a four-woman pack in the small hill near the end.

“I love hill climbing,’’ she said. “I knew that hill was there and waiting.’’

The defending champion, Switzerland’s Marcel Hug, won the men’s side in 1:29:23.

Medical

Final runners on the course in the afternoon had temperatures in the upper 70s.

Race medical director, Dr. George Chiampas, said more than 2,000 required some form of medical attention and 44 were medically transported. The most serious were for heat stroke.

Mayor’s man

Zach Emanuel, son of Mayor Rahm Emanuel, was “raising resources” in the Marathon for Puerto Rico, which was devastated by Hurricane Maria. The 20-year-old finished his first marathon in 3:35:08.

“He got the running from his mother and the fundraising from his father,’’ the mayor said Thursday at the opening press conference.