“I’m not in charge of how fit those guys are. No matter how hard I work, they could be working harder, they could be doing something better, they could be more talented. I was trying to take that out. My main goal in this race was just to execute. Execute my race plan, make sure I ran a race that afterward I felt good about. I think I did really well for most of the race.” My guest for today's episode is Conner Mantz, the American Marathoner who just capped off an extraordinary year by setting an American course record at the New York City Marathon. He placed 6th overall in 2:09:00. Conner was the top American as usual and he showed us his relentless competitiveness. He pushed through a conservative start and a fierce mid-race surge led by Evans Chebet, the 2022 New York City marathon champion, that splintered the rest of the field. Conner hung tough and ultimately finished with the fastest closing mile among all of the runners in the top ten. In his young marathoning career, Conner has already established himself as the top American in Boston, Chicago, the Olympic Trials and an 8th place finish at the Olympics. Now he's setting his sights on closing the gap between being the best in America and being among the best in the world. In this episode, we dig into his journey, his strategic approach under coach Ed Eyestone's “deploy, enjoy and destroy” race plan, and how he handles a little bit of friendly competition with training partner Clayton Young. Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez on Instagram⁠ Guest: Conner Mantz | ⁠@connermantz on Instagram⁠ Time stamps: 4:03 - Why he wasn’t satisfied with his performance at the NYC Marathon 5:46 - What would’ve made it a satisfying race  7:43 - Overall fitness heading into the race 8:17 - Best workouts leading into the race  13:07 - Going after the half marathon American record at the Houston Half in 2025 16:09 - Pre-race chat with coach Ed Eyestone: deploy, enjoy, destroy 19:30 - Responding to moves during the race  25:40 - Sharing bottles during the race, Evans Chebet makes his move  34:19 - Clayton catching up to him, snapping back into the race, final few miles 42:40 - Feelings after crossing the finish line  47:27 - Grading his marathons throughout 2024 52:50 - Looking ahead to spring marathons  54:35 - Future training plans with Clayton  58:53 - Thoughts on joining Grand Slam Track as a challenger 1:03:34 - Overrated/underrated: training methods SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS WAHOO: KICKR RUN - a new revolutionary treadmill offering the freedom and form of outdoor running at home, from Wahoo Fitness. Run hands-free and focus solely on the joy of running with the innovative RunFree Mode - which adjusts to your stride and pace automatically. For the first time runners can now fully benefit from indoor training apps such as Zwift Run and the Wahoo app for an immersive training experience that delivers unmatched realism and results. Learn more at ⁠WahooFitness.com⁠OLIPOP: For the past year, we’ve redefined Olipop as more than just a healthy drink known for its gut microbiome with a low sugar content and a much better alternative to regular soda. You know there are more than 16 flavors, including classic root beer, cherry cola, and lemon-lime. You know it as The Runner’s Soda. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get 25% off your orders by using code CITIUS25 at ⁠drinkolipop.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.