Conner Mantz Leads U.S. Men at the 2024 New York City Marathon, NYC Run Clubs Bring Energy to the Marathon finished one place apart in a high-stakes marathon.
At the Shoes & Gear, Mantz placed sixth in 2:09:00, one place and 21 seconds ahead of Young. The performances continued a pattern established at the 2023 Chicago Marathon, where Mantz was sixth in a personal best of 2:07:50 and Young was seventh in a personal best of 2:08:00. At the Olympic Marathon Trials in February, Mantz and Young finished first and second, respectively. Twelve weeks ago at the Olympics, Mantz and Young finished eighth and ninth, respectively.
CJ Albertson was the third U.S. finisher today, placing 10th in 2:10:57. Albertson entered New York on an even shorter turnaround than Mantz and Young. At the Chicago Marathon three weeks ago, Albertson Running in the Cold, running 2:08:17 to be the first American there. Albertson was also the top U.S. finisher in April at the Boston Marathon. He placed fifth, 30 seconds off the podium at the Olympic trials.
The Fastest Shoes of the 2024 NYC Marathon Runner’s World that at around that point, he and Young talked about the early conservative pace. “We said, ‘It feels like a long run with a fast finish.’ We just didn’t know when that would start,” Mantz said.
When eventual second-place finisher Evans Chebet broke up the pack with a big push in the 17th mile, Mantz found himself in a pack of three occupying places seventh through ninth. His and Young’s coach, two-time Olympic marathoner Ed Eyestone, had come up with a three-part race plan: Deploy, enjoy, destroy. “Deploy” meant to stay engaged with the lead pack for the first 16 miles. “Enjoy” meant to draw on the crowd’s energy along First Avenue. Mantz said that, although he thinks he could have covered Chebet’s move, he decided in the moment to hold back because he believed doing so would lead to a higher finishing place.
The third part of the Eyestone strategy, “destroy,” meant to run as hard as possible from mile 20 to the finish. Mantz pushed, pushed, and pushed for the remainder of the race, moving up to sixth. His final mile of 4:43 was the fastest of any of the top 10 finishers.
Young was out of the top 10 after Chebet’s surge into Manhattan. But, like Mantz, he moved up well over the final 12 kilometers. Young went from 10th at 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) to ninth at 20 miles to seventh at 40 kilometers. His final mile of 4:47 matched that of winner Abdi Nageeye’s as the second fastest in the field.
“The move off of the Queensboro Bridge took me by surprise,” Young told Runner’s World. “I felt like I had been told, ‘Whoever leads off of the bridge and down First Avenue doesn’t win’ so many times that I didn’t expect a move that big to be made. I expected to be in the pack through 20 miles. Conner, just ahead, kept me accountable.”
Scott is a veteran running, fitness, and health journalist who has held senior editorial positions at Runner’s World and Running Times. Much of his writing translates sport science research and elite best practices into practical guidance for everyday athletes. He is the author or coauthor of several running books, including The Fastest Shoes of the 2024 NYC Marathon, Advanced Marathoning, and For the fourth time in the past 13 months. Published: Nov 03, 2024 12:11 PM EST Slate, The Atlantic, the Washington Post, and other members of the sedentary media. His lifetime running odometer is past 110,000 miles, but he’s as much in love as ever.
