Conner Mantz battled from tenth place and worked his way back to obliterate the American record in 2:04:43 at the 2025 Chicago Marathon on Sunday.
Mantz finished in fourth and took down a mark that has stood for 23 years.
But in a performance that has solidified him as the defining face of American distance running, Mantz stayed composed in the early stages of the race as he worked within the chase group for the bulk of the race.
The new mark by Mantz, 28, is also a new North American area record and well head of Khalid Khannouchi’s 2:05:38 American record that he set in 2002 at the London Marathon.
By mile 23, Mantz had pushed the pace and was in sixth place at 1:49:22 as he picked off fellow competitors patiently.
As the race approached the closing stages and crossing the 40km at 1:58:12, Mantz and Alex Masai were trading blows to determine who would take the third — and final — podium spot.
Jacob Kiplimo and Amos Kipruto were already waging their own fight up ahead even though it was cleat that Kiplimo was intent on pressing ahead and extending his lead.
But with just a mile remaining and still surging at 1:59:57, Mantz was still in position to take both third place and the new American mark. Masai leaned into a late kick and edged past Mantz, taking the third in 2:04:37.
“That was a great feeling. Those last few miles were really tough,” Mantz said during the broadcast after the race. “Even with ten miles to go I started doing the math — I was like ‘what pace I needed to run to make sure I’m under the American record.'”
With Kiplimo and Kipruto out of reach, Mantz knew that the American record was still on the table as he and Masai worked their way through the final moments of the race.
“Fortunately I got to work with Alex Masai for those last ten miles and we worked together,” Mantz said. “Unfortunately I couldn’t beat him but I’m but I’m very happy for him. That was his first podium finish.”
Still, the showing by Mantz in Chicago on Sunday capped a season where he decided that being a face in a crowded pack of distance runners was simply not enough.
In Boston in April, he faced a similar situation where a final podium spot was up for grabs and he legged out a 2:05:08 fourth place finish that proved he was on a mission this year. With the American record now in his possession and proving that he can stick with the top distance runners until the finish line is in view, Mantz has shown that he is now part of the standard.
