Clayton Young: A Doctor Told Him His Career Might Be Over — How a 2:08 Olympian Turned a Near Career-Ending Injury Into His Biggest Comeback Yet
THE RUNNING EFFECT PODCAST
Dominic Schlueter
4.9 • 821 Ratings
🗓️ 10 March 2026
⏱️ 67 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Clayton Young fell early at the Marathon World Championships, and still finished as the top American. He also ran 2:07:04 at Boston (the fastest marathon of his life), and somehow it still felt like there was more in the tank.
Since 2024, he’s been everywhere that matters: including 2nd in the U.S. Olympic Trials, 9th at the Paris Olympics, 7th in New York, 7th in Boston, and 9th in Tokyo. This man is stacking top-10 finishes on the biggest stages in the sport of marathon running.
And now, with Tokyo, Boston, and Berlin lined up in 2026, he’s not just racing majors, it appears that he’s chasing history as he closes in on becoming a Six Star finisher.
Clayton was the 2019 NCAA Champion in the 10,000m while at BYU. He’s a native of American Fork, Utah, and is a mechanical engineer by profession, often sharing detailed training data through partnerships with brands like Stryd.
He runs professionally for ASICS and is coached by Ed Eyestone at Brigham Young University, his former college coach.
Clayton’s career is a masterclass in durability, humility, and quiet progression.
Clayton Young isn’t chasing attention.
He’s chasing excellence.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | After 18 weeks of pain, half a dozen doctors and a surgery date booked at one of the top clinics in the country, |
| 0:07.1 | Clinton Young moved a wedge in his insult, went for a 10-mile run and felt nothing. No pain for the first time in 4 and a half months. |
| 0:13.8 | Went for a 10-mile run and felt nothing. No pain for the first time in 4 and a half months. |
| 0:18.6 | Today he takes us inside what those 18 weeks actually |
| 0:21.2 | cost him. Emotionally, spiritually, competitively, and what had taught him about the thing most |
| 0:26.2 | injured athletes never do. Take full ownership of their own healing. In this conversation, |
| 0:31.0 | Clayton is raw. He's honest. He talks about the moment a doctor said he might not ever be able |
| 0:35.8 | to run again or run at the level that he had experienced before. And this is coming from a guy who's won an NCAA championship, made an Olympic team, and done some of the biggest things we've seen at major marathons in quite some time from an American. This is the training partner of Connor Mance, an athlete of Coach Ed Istone, an absolute legend who shares his training, his racing, very honestly on his own |
| 0:54.5 | YouTube channel, of which he's chronicled his different buildups throughout the years. |
| 0:58.3 | And he's actually my second ever podcast guest. |
| 1:00.6 | We go so far back almost six years ago that you couldn't even find that episode if you tried. |
| 1:04.4 | So it's an honor and a privilege to welcome Clayton Young back on the podcast 700 episodes |
| 1:09.0 | later after one of the hardest moments of his career |
| 1:11.8 | when we talk about what this next chapter will look like and how he plans to bounce back |
| 1:15.8 | better than ever before. If you enjoy this one, give us a five-star review. Hit the follow button |
| 1:19.9 | so you don't miss more impactful, honest, raw conversations with the top athletes in the |
| 1:24.1 | sport of running on this page. And make sure you share the podcast with a friend or someone who you think would find |
| 1:28.6 | value and benefit from it. |
| 1:30.2 | With all those notes aside, enjoy this raw and honest conversation with guest two of |
| 1:34.6 | the Running Effect podcast. |
| 1:35.7 | And since then, an Olympian, and one of the fastest marathoners in U.S. history, Mr. |
| 1:39.9 | Clayton Young. |
... |
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