They say life is a marathon, not a sprint, but for marathon runner Conner Mantz things happen pretty fast. Two years ago, he had never ran a marathon. Last summer, he claimed a top 10 finish at the Paris Olympics.
“Paris was a blast.” Mantz said. “It was more of this exciting moment of ‘I get to go and compete with the best in the world.’ It was a pretty special experience being with some of the best in the world and being able to line up with them.”
Fresh off his Olympic debut, Mantz is now preparing for what will be another debut, this time, in the TCS New York City Marathon, produced by New York Road Runners, Nov. 3 where he’ll be looking to become the first American to win the marathon since 2009.
“I don’t know much of the specifics about the course.” Mantz said. “I’ve talked to a lot of people that have given me a bunch of advice. I’ve heard that the crowds are amazing. I’ve heard that the bridges go quiet, and it’s almost maddening because you go from all these loud points on the course to all the silence on the bridges. Being able to get both of those is very exciting to me.”
Overall, Mantz is looking forward to the experience of running a marathon as historic as New York City’s, as well as once again, getting to run against some of the best runners in the world.
“The thing I’m most looking forward to is the race itself,” Mantz said. “It’s very historic, and if you look at the field and the other athletes competing, you have Tamirat Tola, the Olympic champion, Bashir Abdi, the silver medalist, and Abdi Nageeye, the silver medalist from Tokyo … so I’m very excited to be part of such an amazing race.”
Though he may be fairly new to marathons, Mantz’s running background goes back much further than two years. Inspired by his father, Mantz ran his first half marathon at only 9 years old, and began consistently running by the time he reached 12.
“When I was nine years old, my dad, older brother and I ran a half marathon just to finish it,” Mantz said. “I really got into it because my dad was doing half marathons and then started doing full marathons, and I just wanted to follow in my dad’s footsteps.”
Transitioning from running track in high school and college was seamless for Mantz. His college coach, multi-time Olympian Ed Eyestone, helped Mantz succeed at the highest level.
“He’s coached quite a few olympians, and his college program at BYU is really good for preparing college athletes for the marathon,” Mantz said “I knew I was always going to run a marathon in the back of my mind, but during my college days I felt well prepared.”
Mantz credits a lot of his training to his time at BYU, including the time he got to spend with fellow BYU alumni Jared Ward. Much like Mantz, Ward is a marathon runner who got his start at BYU. Ward has collected top-six finishes in both the Olympic and New York City marathons.
“I was training with Jared Ward all the way back in 2019.” Mantz said. “That year, he finished sixth place in the New York City marathon, he was the top American, he ran a 2:09 that year. And so I knew that if I was able to workout with such a great athlete and marathon runner, that one day, if I followed all the steps I was supposed to take, and listened to what my coaches said, that I would also be a great marathon runner.”
