The CITIUS MAG Podcast | A Running + Track and Field Show

Conner Mantz On How He Ran 2:04:43 To Break The American Record At The 2025 Chicago Marathon | Race Recap + Reflection

20 snips

Oct 15, 2025

Conner Mantz, an elite American marathoner and the 2025 Chicago Marathon champion, breaks down his stunning 2:04:43 American record run. He shares the emotional highs of achieving a lifelong goal and reflects on his meticulous pacing strategy, including his decision to race in a pack. Conner recounts pivotal moments during the race like a crucial bottle-sharing incident and the mental battles he faced in the final miles. He expresses gratitude for his support team and hints at future aspirations, including aiming for the 2028 Olympics.

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ANECDOTE

Immediate Reaction After The Race

Conner Mantz described feeling both excited and oddly calm after realizing the record hadn't fully sunk in yet.
He compares the pressure to the Olympic Trials but says Chicago felt loud and significant in a different way.

ADVICE

Prefer A Pack Over A Solo Pacer

Do prefer running in a larger pack rather than relying on a lone pacer to improve drafting and mutual pacing.
Let the group self-regulate pace so no single runner must call for speed changes mid-race.

ANECDOTE

Extra-Full Bottles And Shared Fuel

Mantz filled his bottles larger than usual after a 'spiritual prompting' and ended up sharing with Zuhair Talbi when Talbi missed his own bottle.
Sharing bottles helped build camaraderie and potentially reciprocal pacing in the race's later stages.

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“If I had even one race like one of my many races this year in another year, I would have been like, “This year was phenomenal because I had that one really good race.’ This year felt like every race but one went very well. Every race, I ended up like, ‘I can’t believe I just did that’ or, ‘That was awesome!’ Things maybe weren’t perfect, but a lot of my races were close to perfect and that was special to me.”

My guest for today’s episode is Conner Mantz, the new American record holder in the marathon.

On a crisp October morning in Chicago, Mantz ran 2:04:43, smashing Khalid Khannouchi’s 23-year-old mark and becoming the fastest American ever over 26.2 miles. It’s a record that survived generations of greats from Meb Keflezighi to Ryan Hall to Galen Rupp but Conner Mantz, the soft-spoken racing assassin, made it real.

If you’ve caught all of Conner’s post-marathon recap podcast episodes that we’ve done on this show, you’ll notice that he carries the same naïve faith that once made him think he could win NCAA titles and make Olympic teams. It’s the same inner voice that still says he can win a World Marathon Major some day or medal at the 2028 Olympics.

We talk about what it means to finally get the record, how the race played out into something historic and the proof of what hard work and self-belief can bring you to.

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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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