These team USA marathon runners are rooting for each other on and off the track

This episode explores the deep friendship and competitive synergy between Team USA marathon runners Connor Mance and Clayton Young as they prepare for the Paris Olympics.

1. Connor Mance and Clayton Young showcase a rare blend of competition and support, pushing each other to excel while genuinely hoping for each other's success.
2. Their friendship is deepened by shared experiences, both in athletics and in life, including their education and religious beliefs.
3. The Paris Olympics marathon course presents significant challenges, including heat, humidity, and hills, which both athletes have prepared for extensively.
4. Their approach to training includes innovative techniques like heat acclimatization to better adapt to the demanding conditions they will face in Paris.
5. The episode emphasizes the importance of mental and spiritual well-being in achieving physical goals.

1: Introduction

Juana Summers introduces the episode's theme of camaraderie and competition among Olympic marathon runners. Connor Mance: "It's just so beneficial to have somebody I can talk to."

2: The Bond of Marathon Training

The chapter explores the foundation of Mance and Young's friendship, including their first meeting and the evolution of their relationship. Clayton Young: "I remember looking back on this run as we were a pack of 15 to 20 guys."

3: Olympic Preparations

Details their physical and mental preparations for the Olympics, focusing on their unique training methods and strategies. Connor Mance: "And so we have lots of time to have great conversations."

4: The Spirit of Competition

Describes the climactic moments during the Olympic trials and their emotional experiences competing at high stakes. Clayton Young: "With about 30 meters to go, in desperation, Connor puts in this little surge."

1. Establish a Support System: Engage with peers who share similar goals to foster mutual motivation.
2. Embrace Comprehensive Training: Incorporate physical, mental, and emotional elements into your training routine.
3. Prepare for Specific Challenges: Tailor your preparation to the specific conditions of your performance environment.
4. Value Non-Competitive Interests: Balance your competitive goals with other life interests to maintain well-being.
5. Lean on Your Community: Utilize shared experiences and beliefs to strengthen resilience in challenging times.

Clayton Young and Conner Mantz are longtime training partners and friends. They're also the two fastest men's marathoners representing the U.S. at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

The pair met on a run at Brigham Young University in 2017. They've been friends, training partners and competitors ever since.

With years of friendship and thousands of miles binding them together, can Young and Mantz break away from the pack and take home the gold at the Olympic games?

People

Connor Mance, Clayton Young

Companies

None

Books

None

Guest Name(s):

None

Content Warnings:

None

Juana Summers
It's easy to get sucked into the competitiveness of sports, especially when medals are up for grabs. But in a few short weeks, when six us marathoners start their race here at the Paris Olympics, two runners will be rooting for each other. There's very few people that know me as well as Connor does just because we've run thousands, if not tens of thousands of miles together. And so we have lots of time to have great conversations. It's just so beneficial to just have somebody I can talk to and if I have a bad workout or a bad race, but then Clayton does well, it's very motivating.

That's Clayton Young and Connor Mance. The two are longtime training partners and friends, as well as the two fastest men's marathoners representing the US at the Olympics. The two first met on a run at Brigham Young University in 2017. And as Clayton Young remembers it, it was far from a race among equals. I remember looking back on this run as we were a pack of 15 to 20 guys.

Connor Mance
He had just come back from serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints, and he was probably, you know, 20 to 30 pounds overweight, but he was just hanging on for dear life. And I stayed up with them for about four and a half miles before I was like, there is no way I can hold this pace. And I think that's when I first really started to discover, like, how gritty Connor is. Consider this. With years of friendship and thousands of miles binding them together, can Clayton Young and Connor Mance break away from the pack and take home gold in these Olympic Games?

Juana Summers
From NPR, I'm Juana Summers in Paris. China increasingly targets its critics overseas. Last summer, the family of a chinese dissident was accused of making bomb threats. They said they had nothing to do with. I think the chinese government is treating us so badly to show its power.

Unknown
But was it the Communist Party? We unravel the mystery on the latest episode of the Sunday story on NPR's up first podcast. Hey, I'm Robert Smith from planet money. And this summer, we are bringing you the entire history of the world, at least the economics part. It's Planet Money summer school.

Robert Smith
Every week, we'll invite in a brilliant professor and play classic episodes about the birth of money, banks and finance. There will be rogues and revolutionaries and a lot of panics. Summer school every Wednesday till Labor Day on the Planet Money podcast from NPrDem. Every weekday, NPR's best political reporters come to you on the NPR Politics podcast to explain the big news coming out of Washington, the campaign trail and beyond. We don't just want to tell you what happened.

Unknown
We tell you why it matters. Join the NPR Politics podcast every single afternoon to understand the world through political eyes.

Juana Summers
It's consider this from NPRDEM. From their first meeting on a run at BYU to the Paris Olympics, Connor Mance and Clayton Young haven't just been good friends, but also tight competitors. The two finished the Olympic trials marathon in February within a second of each other, running at a blazing pace of four minutes, 56 seconds/mile on average. And even racing at those incredible speeds, their friendship and camaraderie during that marathon was hard to miss. In fact, there's this moment on the NBC broadcast where Connor turns around and he kind of holds out his hand.

Connor Mance
And I'm thinking, what the heck do you need, Connor? Do you want one of my water bottles? Do you want something else? And I finally realized that he wants a high five. And so I give him this high five, and it's probably the sloppiest high five you'll ever see on national television.

Clayton Young
I took the lead because I was like, okay, if I feel good enough that I think I'm going to go to the Olympics. And so it's just Conor and I at about mile 22, only 4 miles to go. It was kind of this, I don't know, fun moment. It just kind of felt like a run with Clayton, and that was pretty special. And that's when in Orlando, the crowds got so loud and we were running side by side down this home stretch, this last half mile to the finish line.

Clayton was just motivating me the whole way, just yelling things, cheering me on. With about 30 meters to go. In desperation, Connor puts in this little surge. I did surge at the end trying to beat him because it was a race. And I put my hands out and Connor crosses the line first.

And you see us cross the finish line and then hug. And it was, was just this unreal moment. Their next big moment, of course, will be in Paris on that epic tour of the city. Racing past the Tuileries garden and the. Eiffel Tower, we get the grand Tour.

Connor Mance
It's pretty incredible. In fact, I actually got to take my first international flight ever out to Paris to be able to train on the course. I run all the way out to Versailles, up these beautiful streets, through these little quaint towns, all the way up to Versailles, and then run all the way back, go loop around the Eiffel Tower, and then finish at the Hotel d'Invalides. But the course is going to be tough. I'm not going to lie like I trained on that course for five or six days straight, and it's really hot, it's really humid in August in Paris, but more than anything, the course is really hilly and quite technical.

Unknown
How much of a challenge is that heat going to be? I mean, this is a scenario where it could be hotter and more humid than the trials back in February in Orlando. How much of a concern is competing in conditions like that? For me, I'm pretty concerned about it because heat and humidity can be devastating for 99% of us runners. But Clayton probably won't probably have any issues because he just seems like he could run in the hottest conditions and be just fine.

Clayton Young
It doesn't affect him. When I think back to the trials and just how hot and humid that was, and, you know, there's supposed to be similar or worse conditions in Paris, and it can kind of be nerve wracking. But honestly, the more hilly it is, the more humid it is, the more hot it is. I think the better and better Connor and I's chances are of competing. We prepared so diligently for the Olympic trials, and we kind of have a method to our madness, to be honest.

Connor Mance
And we did a lot of sauna and heat acclimatization training, and I think we've only upped our game since then. And I think, honestly, it only plays to our strengths. I'm curious, though, why do you think that is? Why do you think a course like the one in Paris is something that plays to your advantage? And such a field of men's marathon.

Runners, you know, Conor and I are ranked in the sixties, and so a lot of people will look at that and they'll say, well, you know, Conor and Clayton don't really have a shot, but when you really do some digging into how those rankings are made based off of time, and a lot of those times are set on courses that are pancake flat in perfect and ideal conditions. But to be honest, you know, that's far from what Paris will be like. Yeah, the Hills play to my advantage, but the heat and humidity will play a lot to Clayton's advantage. And I think that's why we're in such a good spot compared to a lot of our competitors. As you've mentioned, you have logged thousands, if not tens of thousands of miles running together over the years.

Unknown
For all of those miles that you have run together, what are the two of you talking about? And I have to ask, just thinking about the speeds that you were running at, how can one even maintain a conversation when you were moving so fast. I when you're training for a marathon, maybe 20% of our miles are weekly miles. You know, Connor and I run anywhere between 100 and 120 miles every week, and probably only 20 of those miles are at marathon pace or faster. So you could say that we run about 100 miles that are just at an easy, slow, moderate pace that, you know, is conversational.

Connor Mance
And so we have lots of time to have great conversations. And, you know, most of the time it is about what's happening in terms of running. So it's, you know, what's the next race? What's the next workout? How are we recovering?

How are we feeling? But, you know, Conor and I also share a lot of other passions in life. You know, we both went to Brigham Young University and got degrees in mechanical engineering. And so we talk a lot about engineering. We also obviously have shared faith as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints.

And so we talk a lot about faith and trials and the things that we're working through in terms of our relationships with our families and other things. I'd love to know a bit about. How your faith informs the way you approach, the way that you run. Having that knowledge and that faith, it definitely helps in running because then, you know, that, you know, running is just a sport. It's just something for fun.

Clayton Young
But, you know, there are things that are so much more important. I think having that grounding is so necessary when you have like a bad workout or a bad race or for Clayton, he had surgery just over a year ago. And I think, you know, when trials and tribulations come upon us, we're able to really lean on our faith in Jesus Christ and lean on his atoning power and his grace. We've been speaking with Connor Mance and Clayton Young. Both men will represent the United States.

Juana Summers
At the Paris games. Thanks to both of you, and good luck in Paris. Thanks for having us, Juana. Thanks for having us. This episode was produced by Vincent Acavino.

And Megan Lim, with audio engineering by Nischa Hyness. It was edited by Christopher Nataliata and Courtney Dorning. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun. And one more thing before we go. You can now enjoy the consider this newsletter.

We still help you break down a major story of the day, but you'll also get to know our producers and hosts and some moments of joy from the All Things ConSidered team. You can sign up@npr.org consider this newsletter.

Unknown
It's consider this from NPR. I'm Juana Summers this summer on planet. Money, we're bringing you the entire history of the world, at least the economics part. It's planet money. Summer school every week, we'll invite in a brilliant professor and play classic episodes about the birth of money, banks and finance.

Robert Smith
There will be rogues and revolutionaries and a lot of panics. Summer school every Wednesday till Labor Day on the planet money. Podcast from NPR. New from the embedded podcast, elite female runners are being told they can't compete because of their biology. Not only can you not compete, you're not actually female.

Unknown
Hear about the hundred year history of sex testing in women's sports and the hard choices these athletes are facing. Now listen to tested, a new series from CBC and NPR's Embedded podcast.