Team USA earned two Olympic qualifying spots for the men’s marathon at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games next summer. Clayton Young was one of the men responsible for this accomplishment.
Young had a sensational performance at the Chicago Marathon, running a new lifetime best of 2:08.00 and finishing as the second fastest American runner in the field behind his teammate Conner Mantz, and seventh overall in the men’s field. His time puts him No. 7 overall on the American men’s marathon record list.
His remarkable performance at the Chicago Marathon back in early October gave him a jolt of confidence that he’s taking with him as he progresses towards his bigger goals in the future.
“It’s obviously a big confidence booster forsure. The number thing that you can do to build confidence is your previous performances, whether that’s in practices or in races,” he said. “ I’ll be drawing a ton of confidence from the build into Chicago because I had some incredible workouts, but then also the race itself. Finishing the race smiling – obviously it hurt and those last couple of miles were really grindy because there was a headwind and a little bump of a hill, to be able to navigate that and to feel good after the marathon and have the body check out really well two weeks after the marathon – tons of confidence from a physical standpoint leading into the Trials after Chicago.”
Young had a great build into the Chicago Marathon, and his hard work paid off when it was time to lace up his shoes and race. Young admitted that he did look at the early projections headed into the Olympic Marathon Trials in Orlando, and even though he wasn’t talked about as one of the favorites, he’s using the doubt as motivation to show that he has what it takes to make the Olympic team.
“It was interesting to see that before (Chicago) I wasn’t even in the picture – it was kind of like I had a longshot, there wasn’t a lot of buzz. I also like the fact that I still am considered kind of an underdog. I think I thrive off of this underdog mentality. I had one race where I knocked it out of the park at Chicago, but I’ve raced consistent all year. And so I’m excited to prove people wrong again at the Trials per se, and to kind of have that mentality of like no, Chicago wasn’t a fluke, I really can train at this level and that I’m the best guy for this job headed into Paris 2024.”
Young has developed a great perspective when it comes to his career. This perspective has allowed him to gain confidence in himself, which has led him to be more consistent in training and racing. It’s also provided a sense of gratitude for him as well.
“It’s the idea of taking nothing for granted. We often say running is a very fickle sport, especially where I was coming from into this build,” he said. “I had knee surgery in February, I’ve had bad patches of injuries in my pro career and other things. Because of those lows, I don’t take for granted a single workout or race now because it’s so precious to be healthy and to be fit now. I think there’s a little mentality of that – just a general appreciation for when days go good, and when workouts go good and when everything’s clicking.
Those that do perform at the highest level are more consistent at the highest level. Everyone can pop off every now and then, and that’s how my career has been. But this is the first build where I was truly consistent throughout the whole build. Consistency is a skill, and sometimes we give too much towards fickleness or luck, but you can be consistent. As you’re consistent through the rest of your training, usually you’ll race consistently as well. Knowing that I’ve mastered a consistent build into Chicago, I know I can master a consistent build going into the Trials. And that just gives me confidence knowing that if I can replicate what I did in Chicago, and do it these next three months, people are going to have a hard time beating me when it comes to toeing the line in Orlando as long as I can stay healthy.”
As Young started to approach the closing stages of the race, he couldn’t help but grin on his way to the finish line as he approached his cheer section that included his family. All of his hard work was finally paying off.
“One of the most interesting things about the marathon was that last 10k. I couldn’t help but smile,” he said. “I kept looking down at my watch and I kept catching these people, and I was like it’s happening – this is what I dreamed about, this is what I prepared for. But it’s a lot different to dream about it and prepare for it and to then execute that race. In all the pictures and videos you see of me the last 10k, I’m grinning because people are cheering. I had a blast. It really was very rewarding.”
What a great article and great perspective on what it’s like to execute both a short term and long term plan. Excited to follow Clayton at the Trials!!