Wyatt: The truth be told I didn't grow up wanting to run. I didn't want to run, but a little peer pressure convinced me to go out for my high school XC team in the 7th grade.
SCRunners.com: How many years have you been running?
Wyatt: I've been running since the 7th grade and I'm now in my third year of
collegiate running at Clemson (9 years).
SCRunners.com: What is your most memorable event when you were at Liberty?
Wyatt: It would have been the 2000 State Track Meet at Spring Valley.
That was when I anchored the winning 4x800 team and also won the 800, 1600, and
3200. That was a special day for me due to the fact that it was the last
races that I would compete in as a high schooler and a great way to end my high school career.
SCRunners.com: How is your training at Clemson different than the training you did in high school?
Wyatt: The training at Clemson is different because I'm now running 65 mpw
where as in high school I ran 25-35 mpw max. The workouts are more
intense due to the fact that I have a stronger team to work with than in high
school.
SCRunners.com: What kind of training do you do in the summer?
Wyatt: I have a training schedule that my coach hands to us at the end of the
track season. It's basically a base builder for the upcoming XC season.
SCRunners.com: Where is your favorite place to train?
Wyatt: Isaqueena Trail because whatever your preference is for that day it
has it. There is everything from trails, a main road, or a hilly challenging run.
SCRunners.com: Do you have any college rivals?
Wyatt: Everbody in the ACC, but individually no because I just run the
best that I can each and every race.
SCRunners.com: Did you have any rivals while at Liberty?
Wyatt: I had one that went to Daniel High School. We would meet at the county
meets held during each season.
SCRunners.com: Does anyone else in your family run?
Wyatt: No, I'm the only person in my family that runs.
SCRunners.com: What are you studying at Clemson?
Wyatt: I am studying Sports Marketing.
SCRunners.com: How do you think South Carolina running can be improved?
Wyatt: I think that South Carolina running can be approved by having the
coaches fiqure out what is best for their runners (high mileage, or low
mileage). I was a low mileage runner but I did more quality workouts
than more long runs. Also the coaches need to adjust their workouts to fit the
individual runner and they should try not to make workouts generalized for the team.
SCRunners.com: What would like to do in the future?
Wyatt: I would like to try my hand at running after college and also
find a job that is willing to work with me to achieve this goal.
SCRunners.com: What would you recommend to high school runners when looking at colleges?
Wyatt: I would recommend high schoolers to look for the college that suits them in academics and in athletics. But academics are more important than
athletics because you won't be an athlete forever.
SCRunners.com: What is your favorite cc and track workout?
Wyatt: It is a VO2 workout for both. The distance run in the workout is changed with the different seasons. In XC it is-- 600,1600,200 and in Track it is-- 300,800,150 with 30 seconds between intervals and 3 minutes between sets. One grouping is a set with a(300,800, and 150).
SCRunners.com: What events would you like to run this track season?
Wyatt: In indoor I would like to run the DMR (Distance Medley Relay, the 3000, 800, and the mile. In outdoor I would like to run the 4x1 mile,1500, and 800.
SCRunners.com: For more information on Derrick Wyatt visit ClemsonTigers.com.