Conner Mantz Calls His Shot

It started in Chicago, almost three years ago. That’s where Connor Mantz ran his first marathon, and began his rapid ascent to the top of US distance running. 

The journey wound through Orlando, where he won last year’s US Olympic marathon trials, and Paris, with a gutsy top ten finish at the Olympic Games. It hit New York City in the fall, before Boston, just four seconds short of his first World Major podium, this spring. 

But it’s about to return to Chicago. And by his own admission, Mantz is a bit nervous. 

A dream has lingered at the back of his mind, ever since that marathon debut in 2022. He allowed it to grow, chewing it over and daring to wonder whether – and when – it might be possible. 

For two decades, the American men’s record in the marathon has stood firm. In eight weeks, Mantz will try to break it. 

This goal (announced back in June) is no secret. Mantz, 28, seems to be in a strong position, having broken the men’s American record for the half marathon in Houston back in January, before running under the benchmark for the marathon in April, on Boston’s non-record eligible course. 

But publicly calling your shot is rarely comfortable. Mantz would rather “just go and do it,” he told Footprint. There’s a reason the late Kelvin Kiptum batted away questions, suggesting his body was not at its best, before toppling the world record in 2023.

“It’s not very fun to let that pressure out, and let people know your goals. If it doesn’t go well, it’s easy to be criticized,” Mantz said in an interview. “But in the other sense, it’s nice to have it out there, just because people know that’s what you’re shooting for.”

At the 2002 London Marathon, Khalid Khannouchi drew a line in the sand at 2:05:38: the men’s world record, at the time. Elite running has since accelerated. Five minutes has been chipped off the world record, with Kiptum running 2:00:35 two years ago. 

But 2:05:38 remains the American men’s record, all these years later. Mantz, who puts this down to a mix of luck and priorities of the bright stars that went before him, believes he can change that. 

• • •

After a typical race Mantz turns from athlete to analyst, pinpointing the things he would have changed on the day, or during training, to deliver a better result. April’s Boston Marathon was different: another top American finish, and his fastest marathon yet, but still short of the podium. 

“After Boston, it was kind of hard to really get super motivated, because it was like the first time I felt like I really put everything together in the marathon,” said Mantz. “I finished the race and was, like, I’m not sure what I could have done better, training or in the race. I was pretty perplexed afterward.” 

But he got back to work. 

With a kick for the ages, Mantz won the Bolder Boulder 10K for the third consecutive year in May. He also set a course record over the same distance at Beach to Beacon in Cape Elizabeth this month. 

Not every race has gone to plan. Returning to the track in July, he took on some of the fastest Ethiopian and Kenyan runners over 10,000m at the Prefontaine Classic in Euguene, and came twelfth.

Mantz wonders in hindsight if he had been ready for a track race, but has no regrets. “It was a good way to kind of kick my butt,” he said, “get a kick in the pants before I get really back into full-on marathon mode.” 

This mode has drawn him back up to Park City, Utah, where he trained at higher altitude before last summer’s Olympics. “It’s a balance, heading into the hard days and long runs,” he said. “You don’t want to overstretch, and you don’t want to push too much. But you also don’t want to hold yourself back, so that when race day comes it feels unbearable.” 

In pursuit of another record, “every second’s going to count,” added Mantz. “I’m trying to put in all the little things I can do to just be that much better.”

• • •

Chicago is famously flat and fast, setting the stage for so many records to be broken over the years.  

Mantz, about to run it a third time, is determined to learn from past mistakes. “It is a very flat and very fast course,” he said, “but there are a lot of turns that you’ve gotta be aware of.” 

In previous years the Windy City has thrown up a headwind for the first six or seven miles, before providing a tailwind later in the race. “If I’m off pace early on, I don’t need to lose sight,” he said. “I don’t need to get back on pace. I can just run relaxed, and within myself.” 

Whenever he takes on a marathon, Mantz plans to start “on autopilot,” he said – and keep it going for however long he can.

“I just try and tell myself: you can’t worry about pace, you can’t worry about how you’re feeling, until you hit so many miles in the race,” he said. “Sometimes it’s three miles. Sometimes it’s 10K. Sometimes it’s halfway. And sometimes it’s even, you try to tell yourself: get to 20 miles, and then the race begins.” 

Patience will be key in October, stressed Mantz, to preserve enough energy for the final stages of the race. “I can get to 18 miles feeling pretty good on that course. I can get to 20 miles feeling good,” he said. “But the last time I ran Chicago I kinda started to really slow at 23 miles, probably 24 miles in.” 

• • •

“We all dream about being the best, and being the one people are cheering on,” reflected Mantz. “But it does put a lot more pressure on you. I don’t think that’s a bad thing, when you can handle pressure well.” 

After his disappointment at last month’s Prefontaine Classic, Mantz wanted to hide in a hole. Instead, he found himself signing autographs for about an hour.  

“Everyone is so nice to ask for my autograph,” he recalled thinking, “but I don’t feel like I accomplished anything today that was worthy of anybody asking for my autograph.” 

Mantz paused. “Not that one race defines you,” he added. 

Whatever happens in Chicago – and whether or not the American record falls – will not define him. The years of thought he has given this shot have not focused purely on taking it, but what making it might mean. 

This attempt is “about trying to gain the confidence for the future Olympic Games, and other races in the future,” he explained. 

Looping back to where it all began, Mantz’s journey in the marathon has a long way left to run.