“Probably 20, hopefully 24 miles, I'm working with people. But then somewhere between the last 10K and the last two miles, it's going to be a race with whoever is around me. You never know how these races play out, but hopefully I'm going to see people in front of me, I'm going to catch them…and place as high as I can. That's how I see this race playing out: I'm in a pack for 18 to 20 or 24 miles and after that I'm hawking down people.”

My recurring guest is back – Conner Mantz is back before he takes on one of the longest-standing marks in American distance running: Khalid Khannouchi’s 2:05:38 American record in the marathon. It’s been 23 years since anyone has touched that time and if there’s an American ready to rewrite the standard, it’s Mantz.

He’s already run faster — 2:05:08 this spring in Boston — but because that course isn’t record-eligible. Chicago will be his chance to make it official.

As we’ve unpacked on this show all throughout the year, it’s been a breakthrough year for him. In January, he took down Ryan Hall’s American half marathon record with a 59:17 in Houston. He ran a little faster in another non-record eligible course at the NYC Half in March. In April, he went stride for stride with 2:02 and 2:03 guys in Boston and finished fourth – just shy of the podium.

This weekend, he’ll line up in Chicago as America’s top marathoner and someone who continues to take the next steps to becoming one of the best in the world. He’s got quiet confidence and we’ve grown accustomed to seeing him test his limits in workouts and these races. In this episode, we talk about what it takes to chase a record, how this build compares to others, what’s his race plan and how he’s sizing up his competitors.

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Host: Chris Chavez | ⁠⁠@chris_j_chavez on Instagram⁠

Guest: Conner Mantz | @connermantz on Instagram 

Produced by: Jasmine Fehr | ⁠⁠⁠@jasminefehr on Instagram⁠⁠⁠

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HOKA: We’re takin’ over Happy Camper Chicago (Old Town) with HOKA during the Chicago Marathon festivities. On Sunday morning, we’ll be posted up as part of the HOKA cheer zone to host our alternate broadcast watchalong, where Eric Jenkins, Karen Leciewicz, Paul Hof Mahoney and other guests will be providing their own commentary, reactions, insights and analysis live as the elite races unfold. Stay tuned for some surprise giveaways that we’ll have on-site for marathon finishers. Don’t miss the HOKA Hub at the expo for a chance to demo the all-new Rocket X 3 and the up-tempo Mach X 3. RSVP to all of these events via the HOKA Eventbrite page at the link here.

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