Clayton Young (born September 14, 1993) is an American long-distance runner, who competes for Brooks Running. He ran collegiately for Brigham Young University, and won the 10,000 metres at the 2019 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Young finished second at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials and competed at the 2024 Paris Olympics. He ran his personal best at the 2026 Boston Marathon, running 2:05:41.

Running career

High school and college Young attended American Fork High School in American Fork, Utah. He is a 2011 All-American at the Nike Cross Nationals. He won the 2010 Utah High School Activities Association 5A Cross Country Championship individual title.Oct 20 Utah 5A State Cross Country Championships Athletic.net

While competing for Brigham Young University, he set personal bests of 13:31 for 5000m and 28:18 for 10000m. In 2019, he secured a national title in the 10000m, finishing with a time of 29:16.60.

Professional After completing his collegiate eligibility at BYU in June 2019, Young turned professional, signing with Asics. He debuted in the marathon at the 2020 United States Olympic trials (marathon) in Atlanta in a time of 2:29:46, which placed 136th in the field of 235 men.

In his second marathon at the 2021 Chicago Marathon, he set out at 2:12 pace, splitting a time of 1:06:11 through halfway. However over the final few kilometers he faded slightly, still managing a 13 minute personal best finishing in a time of 2:16:07.

Returning Young finished 18th at the 2022 Chicago Marathon in 2:11:51 as the fifth American finisher.

In 2023, he secured national titles in both the 8 km and 20 km US Road Running Championships. At the 2023 Chicago Marathon, Young earned seventh place overall and second American with a time of 2:08:00, a time that met the Olympic qualifying standard of 2:08:10.

Young entered the 2024 United States Olympic trials (marathon) with the second fasted seed time with his 2:08 mark from the 2023 Chicago Marathon. Young was able to stay with the lead pack as several pre-race favourites fell off the pace and by mile 19, the lead pack consisted of just three men: Zach Panning, Young, and his training partner Conner Mantz. Around mile 22, Panning fell off the pace leaving Young and Mantz as the two leaders. The two celebrated their all but certain qualification for the Olympics through the last few miles. At the finish line, Young allowed Mantz to take the win as both men earned a spot to represent the United States at the 2024 Paris Olympics with Young finishing in his second best marathon time ever of 2:09:06 to Mantz's 2:09:05.

At the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, Young placed ninth in the marathon, one place behind Conner Mantz. A year later at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo, Young again placed ninth on the global stage. In 2026, Young switched professional sponsorship from Asics to Brooks, after seven years with Asics.

Personal life Young took a two-year hiatus from competitive running after high school to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Raleigh, North Carolina. Upon returning in 2015, Young redshirted his first year at Brigham Young University (BYU). He and his wife have two daughters.Clayton Young Interview running state of the sport

Social media Ahead of the 2024 Olympic and New York City marathons, Young created a YouTube page documenting his marathon training for Paris. The video series documents his day-to-day life as a pro athlete training for an international event. He has amassed over 40,000 followers since he started posting.

Achievements Information from athlete's profile on World Athletics, unless otherwise noted.

Marathons YearCompetitionPerformancePositionPlaceDate2020U.S. Olympic Trials2:29:46136thAtlanta, GeorgiaFebruary 29, 20202021Chicago Marathon2:16:0713thChicago, IllinoisOctober 10, 20212022Chicago Marathon2:11:5118thChicago, IllinoisOctober 9, 20222023Chicago Marathon2:08:007thChicago, IllinoisOctober 8, 20232024U.S. Olympic Trials2:09:062ndOrlando, FloridaFebruary 3, 2024Paris Olympics2:08:449thParis, FranceAugust 10, 2024New York City Marathon2:09:217thNew York City, New YorkNovember 3, 20242025Boston Marathon2:07:047thBoston, MassachusettsApril 21, 2025World Athletics Championships2:10:439thTokyo, JapanSeptember 15, 20252026Boston Marathon2:05:4111thBoston, MassachusettsApril 20, 2026

BYU Results sourced from athlete's profile on the Track & Field Results Reporting Service (TFRRS).Clayton Young Brigham Young University results TFRRS Representing BYU Cougars School Year West Coast ConferenceCross CountryChampionships NCAACross CountryChampionships MPSFIndoor TrackChampionships NCAAIndoor TrackChampionship NCAA Division IOutdoor TrackChampionships2018–19 Senior11th 24:05.9 72nd30:25.2 4th4:00.77Mile 3rd7:55.863000 m 1st29:16.6010,000m6th13:45.355000 m 6th14:09.005000m2017–18 Junior5th23:29.1 105th30:47.4 20th8:09.243000 m 23rd31:37.5410,000m 12th14:02.175000m2016–17 Sophomore7th24:42.2 23rd30:43.9 4th9:50.53DMR 9th8:02.113000 m 17th29:39.8010,000m 10th14:38.455000m

American Fork High School Results sourced from athlete's profile on Athletic.net.Clayton Young prep bio American Fork High School Athletic.net Year Nike Cross Nationals Great Southwest T&F Classic2011 24th15:50.02010 96th17:44.7 3200 m9:22.921st2009 61st16:00.1 Representing American Fork High School atUtah High School Activities Association Year Cross Countryclass 5A state championship UHSTCA Indoor Championships Outdoor Track and Fieldclass 5A state championship2011–12 15:31.23rd place 3200 m9:40.4713th 1600 m4:26.38th2010–11 15:23.91st place 3200 m9:22.922nd 3200 m9:19.093rd 1600 m4:16.213rd 800 m1:56.305th2009–10 15:43.64th place 3200 m9:13.022nd 1600 m4:22.433rd 800 m1:55.875th2008–09 16:56.445th place 3200 m10:03.4412th

References

External links

Clayton Young at Mormon Wiki

Clayton Young Profile at Strava Clayton Young profile at BYU Cougars