What are American marathoners getting wrong?

I don't know if I'd say they're more talented, they just have way more people going all in on the sport. And your second point is why we don't have people going all in on the marathon. A lot of American distance runners stop running after college, the ones who keep going are often the ones given contracts based on their 5000/10000 performances in college. Because they got those contracts from those track performances, they usually keep running the track. The marathon is an after thought for a lot of our top distance runners. We're just starting to see recent success in the marathon because of how deep the track scene has gotten. Guys running sub 28:30 but not faster than 27:45 are now kind of irrelevant on the track so they run some road races. Go back a couple decades and 28:15 type guys were getting contracts to keep running on the track and trying to maximize their track speed, potentially running like 27:35. But these days that doesn't get you anywhere, so they go to the road. And now we have a lot more sub 2:10's, and starting to have a lot more 2:08 and faster. But until we have some of those low 27 guys decide they might be better at the marathon, they're not going to be running 2:05 and faster. Only Mantz has had those types of chops and decided to go all in on marathon, and as a result he might break the American Record next month.

I run in 105 temp days every day.

At 4000 feet.

These pansies are free to join me.

Don’t a lot of the marathoners work jobs? At least part time, so I don’t think that’s an excuse

I think most of the talent in Africa is going straight to the marathon or like Yomif and Barega moving to the roads - it makes sense, that's where the money is, particularly the marathon where there is a huge cash pool from general participation. The choice sometimes is money or medals and for a rare talent both. The USA's rare talents recently do not go to the roads. Historical exceptions would be Frank and BIll. And they were damned good.

Most East Africans drop out as soon as they realize they have no chance to medal, or at least earn prize money. They don't want to jeopardize their chances to earn $$$ in fall marathons by pushing their bodies beyond limit.

I was actually surprised Cherono, Kebede, Kimutai and Ngetich did not quit.

I thought Young ran a great race on a really tough day.

Sullivan was super-amazing

You couldn't keep up with them.

I wouldn't trash Clayton - he was within a minute of the champion. If he'd done that in a 2:02 race you'd be excited for US marathoning

braaaaah

Valencia next. Chase a time.

Epo.

With the exception of Sullivan, American marathoners are always waiting for others to make the first move and to “match” or react to their moves. You hear it all the time in the plethora of interviews, videos, and podcasts that are available these days. It might keep them in the fight, but that kind of timidness isn’t going to get them on the podium. Mantz generally does a better job at shorter distances because he’s not afraid to lead it and make the hard push on his own terms. But he has yet to show that guts at the marathon distance.

Isn't that what Satan said?

Coaches and their tactics are not aggressive enough. They treat their pro athletes like middle schoolers with asinine objectives of finishing top 10. Go back and watch interviews with Mantz, Young, and Ed Eyestone from their Paris 2024 prep and notice how they were told to be conservative and hope the leaders would get tired. That’s not how you win. You win by taking a risk. You win by breaking at the right time. With a phenom like Mantz, just let him run his balls off for 26 miles and see what happens. It’ll be way more exciting than a “top 10 finish” let me tell you that.

Well no, because you need the fitness to be able to pull off a strategy like that. The only US marathoner who could possibly, and I mean possibly, pull of such a strategy is Conner Mantz.

Clayton said himself in the Boston build that normally there's a bigger gap between the two of them in workouts and then that gap narrows as the marathon gets closer to a small gap. And he was confused before Boston why that gap instead of growing smaller just grew larger. Conner is newer to the marathon game and only recently, as a result of multiple stacking successive builds does he have this fitness.

Mantz made the move that broke Zach Panning at the OTQs, so they can pull of such a move when the competition is right. But if you're racing a bunch of 2:02, 2:03 guys and you try to make a huge move then you're just going to blow up.

And at least right now. Hoping this changes soon obviously, and we have some reason to believe some new contenders will emerge. But on 9/16/25. US Men's marathoning is Mantz alone in one tier, Young alone in the next tier, and then everyone else in the next tier. I would have liked Young to run a bit faster this WC so that what happened, getting tripped in the middle of a huge condensed crowd, wouldn't have happened. But he definitely can't put the pace on the lead pack. And if he can't, none of the guys behind him are more likely to do so.

OK, I have the utmost respect for both the current best male marathon runners in the USA. And I respect their beliefs and convictions. But purely on a running basis I think they have reached the ceiling of what they can squeeze out of their bodies running 6 days a week. Pretty much every other elite is running 7.

The best Kenyan and Ethiopian marathoners are preparing for a paying fall marathon. We are seeing their B and C level runners in the non-paying WC.

No, he is electric.

Busy trying to afford their healthcare.

America is basically a medieval society. Super resources if you can afford them.

Paycheck to paycheck if you can't