Conner Mantz may try and break Ryan Hall's American record in the half marathon THIS weekend

I used wrong value in post above when doing subtraction, the WR has went down 1:24 since Halls AR.

Based on the race website it sounds like he'll be dodging a lot of people the last few miles. He'll be lapping both the women's pro race and also the unseeded race that will be happening at the same time on the 3-4 mile loop.

(1) nothing in Conner’s training indicates he’s ready to run such a fast half marathon. He’s run some strong Michigan workouts and has run some strong cross races, but that’s it.

(2) Conner doesn’t have the mentality to run with the big boys. When he doesn’t have the perfect race, he complains too much. Like for the Trials 10k, he complains about Brandt not taking the pace and complains about Rupp cutting him off. I expect better from someone who thinks he’s he the type of runner to BREAK THE AMERICAN HALF MARATHON RECORD

He might break 62, but that’s it

At first I thought it would be totally surprising if he broke this record but then I remembered super shoes exist.

With super shoes and coming off a strong cross country season... it's certainly possible. What would be more likely is he fearlessly goes for it and no one goes with him. He'll get eaten up late and the winner runs like 60:45.

It'd be nice to see him gun for it though, I feel like that's always been the signature of American distance running... sit back and let others pull you. There's never been enough guys who put it on the line.

Frank and Mantz are similar levels, both around 27:40 for 10,000 meters. Frank had a phenomenal race and was still over a minute off the record with great competition on the fastest course in the world. I'd be shocked if Mantz goes sub 61:00 this weekend, no way he runs the American Record of 59:47 or whatever it is this weekend. I'd say a more reasonable expectation is 61:30 given these circumstances.

Giddy wrote:

With super shoes and coming off a strong cross country season... it's certainly possible. What would be more likely is he fearlessly goes for it and no one goes with him. He'll get eaten up late and the winner runs like 60:45.

It'd be nice to see him gun for it though, I feel like that's always been the signature of American distance running... sit back and let others pull you. There's never been enough guys who put it on the line.

Give the super shoes a rest. They've existed for over 5 years now, lots of Americans have run half marathons in them, no one is even approaching the American Record except for Rupp and Korir who are sub 27 and low 27 10,000 runners. Mantz isn't on their level (yet) so I don't see any chance he approaches 60 minutes, this 60:45 is the best possible result I could fathom and that's still a minute off the record, but even north of 61:00 is more likely in my mind

carmine9 wrote:

59:58

this

bluedot wrote:

carmine9 wrote:

59:58

this

No way he’s under 60

59:44

GnomeBe wrote:

59:44

Nope

Does anyone know the AR for the half while having a Clydesdale in your shorts?

He essentially has the same track PRs as Frank Lara and is only a little over a year younger than Frank. Anything around 61 would be successful.

Should probably also be pointed out that Mantz may not even run...

From the article: "Before the hype train totally leaves the station, a few caveats. Mantz said it’s possible that he may not run the USA Half Marathon champs and even if he does, he may decide to just race and not go for the American record."

But hey, why not throw up a clickbait headline?

Also, no way he breaks the record, but more power to him if he does try it.

Shelby is guilty wrote:

(1) nothing in Conner’s training indicates he’s ready to run such a fast half marathon. He’s run some strong Michigan workouts and has run some strong cross races, but that’s it.

(2) Conner doesn’t have the mentality to run with the big boys. When he doesn’t have the perfect race, he complains too much. Like for the Trials 10k, he complains about Brandt not taking the pace and complains about Rupp cutting him off. I expect better from someone who thinks he’s he the type of runner to BREAK THE AMERICAN HALF MARATHON RECORD

He might break 62, but that’s it

Mantz had to be at maximum fitness to win at the NCAAs and he obviously has no problem with pushing himself to the limit.

First step is believing, second step is getting the LetsRun board to hate you, third step is to complete the brag. Two out of three so far

Cross Country wrote:

I agree with other posters in that Mantz won't get the record, but I agree that the days of Hall's record are numbered. The WR has gone down about 50 seconds since Hall ran 59:43. The AR should also be moved down as well. Rupp could've done it, but he didn't think it was important enough until it was too late. Mantz recognizes the importance of the half marathon in today's running world and how being the American record holder would boost his marketability for years to come.

No, it's not an Olympic distance which is why top American distance runners don't take the HM seriously. Good for Mantz if he gets the AR, but what he does on the track or in the marathon is far more important.

Of course, he may not run and if he does may not get it, but he's at a level where it could happen. He's fitter than when he ran 27:40s and he just beat a very good field. Second place was a 13:13 guy and Hall had a 13:16 half pr. Not very many Americans have gone for this record when they were very fit at 10k, Hall included. We've got a bunch of very good 5k/10k guys right now but they're not running the half.

Hall had a 13:16 5000m pr when he ran his half record.