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Clayton Young, left, and Conner Mantz, practice at the BYU track in Provo on Thursday, April 10, 2025. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News
When the Boston Marathon gets underway on Monday, three former BYU runners will be near the front of the pack.
Conner Mantz, Clayton Young and Rory Linkletter are among the elite athletes competing in the professional men’s division, and some believe Mantz and Young have a shot at winning the race.
Mantz arrives at the Boston Marathon as the newly minted American record holder in the half.
He’s spent months planning for a dominant performance on Monday, in part because his failure to finish strong in Boston in 2023 still haunts him.
“I’m a lot more fit and more experienced. I don’t want to run another marathon where I’m worried about what if,” he told the Deseret News about this year’s race.
Young, meanwhile, wants to move on from a disappointing winter and show that Mantz, his friend and training partner, isn’t the only former BYU runner capable of record-setting performances.
“That’s one of the beauties of Boston: that anyone can win on the day. ... There’s just too many variables. So do I have a shot? Yes. While that shot might be slim, it might be small, it’s definitely there and I definitely think about it. That’s what motivates me and makes me want to toe the line on race day and see what happens,” Young told Citius Mag about Monday’s race.
Linkletter, like Mantz, will be battling old demons on Monday.
The Canadian marathoner was in the lead pack at the halfway point of the 2021 Boston Marathon, but he ultimately finished in 33rd place after running out of gas, according to the CBC.
“A successful marathon is racing for the whole race and not getting into survival mode,” Linkletter told the CBC. “If I genuinely feel I’m racing to the (finish) line, I think top 10 is in the cards.”
How to watch the Boston Marathon
Live coverage of the 2025 Boston Marathon will begin on ESPN2 and ESPN+ at 7 a.m. MDT on Monday.
The professional men’s field is set to start their run at 7:37 a.m.
If you’re only interested in watching the finish, turn your TV on around 9:30 a.m. MDT.
If Mantz or Young cross the finish line first on Monday, they would become the first American man to win the Boston Marathon in 11 years, according to Citius Mag.
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