Any hot takes or insights into how this kind of things happens? Clayton has been a consistent top 10 major marathon finisher. Top 10 at the Olympics. Most of the other athletes that round out the top 10 are Nike or Adidas, so Clayton was one of the few athletes in the lead group that could give Asics any kind of exposure. Plus his vlog is perhaps one of the best, if not the most well produced vlog for any runner currently going. What gives, Asics?
Any hot takes or insights into how this kind of things happens? Clayton has been a consistent top 10 major marathon finisher. Top 10 at the Olympics. Most of the other athletes that round out the top 10 are Nike or Adidas, so Clayton was one of the few athletes in the lead group that could give Asics any kind of exposure. Plus his vlog is perhaps one of the best, if not the most well produced vlog for any runner currently going. What gives, Asics?
Any hot takes or insights into how this kind of things happens? Clayton has been a consistent top 10 major marathon finisher. Top 10 at the Olympics. Most of the other athletes that round out the top 10 are Nike or Adidas, so Clayton was one of the few athletes in the lead group that could give Asics any kind of exposure. Plus his vlog is perhaps one of the best, if not the most well produced vlog for any runner currently going. What gives, Asics?
Either somebody at Brooks reached out to him specifically and made an offer that Asics didn't want to match, or Clayton tried out Brooks shoes and genuinely decided they were a better commitment for the next phase of his career. Maybe a little bit of both. His YouTube docu-series has added a lot of marketing value to him as an athlete. To be honest, Clayton with Brooks makes way more sense as a brand than Josh Kerr with Brooks.
It's a business. As a company, it makes more sense for Asics to invest in young rising talent than someone who turns 33 this year, is battling injuries, and has probably already had his best results.
Every company has a finite budget and let's be honest, Deena Kastor still probably brings more eyeballs to Asics than Young. Then there's John Korir, one of the top 3 marathoners in the world right now, and Flora Duffy who is a triathlon legend. If he's found a better deal and shoes that still work for him, then fair play to him.
Per his podcast with Citius it is apparent that something about the Brooks shoes really worked for him. Coming off of something like 18 weeks of injury cycle it has to be refreshing to find something that works, and specifically he liked how stable and "safer" for his mechanics they were. He also noted they were on average 50 grams lighter than Asics and weighed that as well, ultimately deciding to go with Brooks. His Asics contract was technically up at the end of 2025 so I assume Asics was still an option and he shopped around a bit.
In my own experience this tends to match up. I find Asics shoes more exciting, lighter, and faster, but far more unstable and squishy, Brooks may not be as flashy or even as fast but they do feel firmer and more solid underfoot. Asics however globally seems to be doing extremely well and there are Asics shoes all over the front of these big races.
What does he actually bring to the table besides "I train with Conner Mantz"?
He's chasing the ghost of out-kicking Mantz for his NCAA 10,000m title... and he's also a 2 x World Marathon Major Top 8 placer (7th at both NYC and Boston) and 2:07:04 performer. He's relevant on the global stage, placing 9th at both the last two World Championship Marathons (2024 Olympics and 2025 World Championships).
Per his podcast with Citius it is apparent that something about the Brooks shoes really worked for him. Coming off of something like 18 weeks of injury cycle it has to be refreshing to find something that works, and specifically he liked how stable and "safer" for his mechanics they were. He also noted they were on average 50 grams lighter than Asics and weighed that as well, ultimately deciding to go with Brooks. His Asics contract was technically up at the end of 2025 so I assume Asics was still an option and he shopped around a bit.
In my own experience this tends to match up. I find Asics shoes more exciting, lighter, and faster, but far more unstable and squishy, Brooks may not be as flashy or even as fast but they do feel firmer and more solid underfoot. Asics however globally seems to be doing extremely well and there are Asics shoes all over the front of these big races.
Did he say at all what his rotation is with Brooks...what's he training in.
Clayton sees himself as one of top two us marathon athletes 😂
I’m not from the US and since Clayton is pretty well known internationally - probably elevated from YouTube and training with Conor- I assumed he was up there in the recent lists but he’s number 20 US in 2025 on WA rankings for the marathon.
Every company has a finite budget and let's be honest, Deena Kastor still probably brings more eyeballs to Asics than Young. Then there's John Korir, one of the top 3 marathoners in the world right now, and Flora Duffy who is a triathlon legend. If he's found a better deal and shoes that still work for him, then fair play to him.
Any hot takes or insights into how this kind of things happens? Clayton has been a consistent top 10 major marathon finisher. Top 10 at the Olympics. Most of the other athletes that round out the top 10 are Nike or Adidas, so Clayton was one of the few athletes in the lead group that could give Asics any kind of exposure. Plus his vlog is perhaps one of the best, if not the most well produced vlog for any runner currently going. What gives, Asics?
Either somebody at Brooks reached out to him specifically and made an offer that Asics didn't want to match, or Clayton tried out Brooks shoes and genuinely decided they were a better commitment for the next phase of his career. Maybe a little bit of both. His YouTube docu-series has added a lot of marketing value to him as an athlete. To be honest, Clayton with Brooks makes way more sense as a brand than Josh Kerr with Brooks.
Listen to the most recent Citius podcast. It answers all those questions. I thought the part about him being his own agent/representative was really interesting. I liked hearing about his interactions with Heath- sounded really positive as well- as this will be his last contract of his career.
