“No one's going to hustle or care as much as you do, and no one's going to understand you as well as you do. Being able to present the best picture in front of a brand and understand what they value has been really rewarding."

My guest for today's episode is a good friend of CITIUS MAG and one of the most thoughtful, transparent, and compelling figures in American marathoning. I'm talking about Clayton Young. He joins us with some major news ahead of the spring marathon season. After seven years with ASICS, Clayton is officially entering a new chapter as a Brooks athlete heading into the 2026 Boston Marathon.

This wasn't some quick, easy switch; this was months of conversations, lab testing, contract negotiations, and one of the biggest decisions of his professional career. He did it all while representing himself while coming back from a serious ankle injury and trying to get ready for Boston on a compressed build.

If you've listened to his previous appearances on this show, you know that Clayton is absolutely no stranger to betting on himself in every possible way as an athlete, as his own agent, as a creator, and as someone still chasing the biggest goals of his career.

He talks about why Brooks felt right, what he learned through the self-representation process, and how performance remains the center of every decision that he makes. We also get into the injury that derailed nearly five months of training, the breakthrough that got him running pain-free again, and how he's approaching Boston with a mix of curiosity, realism, and the same competitive fire that made him one of the top American marathoners in the world. He's still pushing forward even when things aren't necessarily going according to plan.

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Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez

Guest: Clayton Young | @_clayton_young_

Produced by: Jasmine Fehr | ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr

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