Clayton Young (born September 14, 1993) is an American

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance ru ...

, who competes for Asics. He ran collegiately for

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

, and won the

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship-level events. The ...

at the

2019 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2019 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships was the 98th NCAA Division I Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships and the 38th NCAA Division I Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championships held at Mike A. Myers Stadium in ...

. He set a personal best of 2:08:00 at the

2023 Chicago Marathon The 2023 Chicago Marathon was the 45th edition of the annual marathon race in Chicago, held on Sunday, . A Platinum Label marathon, it was the fifth of six World Marathon Majors events that were held in 2023. The race also hosted the age gro ...

, finishing seventh. Young finished second at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, qualifying him for the

2024 Paris Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

. He improved on his personal best at the 2025 Boston Marathon, running 2:07:04.

Running career

High school and college

Young attended American Fork High School in

American Fork, Utah American Fork is a city in north-central Utah County, Utah, United States, at the foot of Mount Timpanogos in the Wasatch Range, north from Utah Lake. The city is southeast of Salt Lake City and is part of the Provo–Orem metropolitan area, Pr ...

. He is a 2011 All-American at the

Nike Cross Nationals Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) (formerly known as Nike Team Nationals) is an invitational cross country meet that serves as the unofficial team national championship of United States high school cross country. Sponsored by Nike, It was designed to he ...

. He won the 2010 Utah High School Activities Association 5A Cross Country Championship individual title. While competing for Brigham Young University, he set personal bests of 13:31 for 5000m and 28:18 for 10000m. In 2019, he secured a national title in the 10000m, finishing with a time of 29:16.60.

Professional

After completing his collegiate eligibility at BYU in June 2019, Young turned professional, signing with Asics. He debuted in the marathon at the 2020 U.S. Olympic marathon trials in Atlanta in a time of 2:29:46. In his second marathon at the

2021 Chicago Marathon The 2021 Chicago Marathon was held on October 10, 2021. It was the 43rd edition of the annual Chicago Marathon, and the first after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019. The 2020 Chicago Marathon was canceled as a result of the pandemic. T ...

, he set out at 2:12 pace, splitting a time of 1:06:11 through halfway. However over the final few kilometers he faded slightly, still managing a 13 minute personal best finishing in a time of 2:16:07. Returning Young finished 18th at the 2022 Chicago Marathon in 2:11:51 as the fifth American finisher. In 2023, he secured national titles in both the 8 km and 20 km US Road Running Championships. At the

, Young earned seventh place overall and second American with a time of 2:08:00, a time that met the Olympic qualifying standard of 2:08:10. Young entered the 2024 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials with the second fasted seed time with his 2:08 mark from the

. Young was able to stay with the lead pack as several pre-race favourites fell off the pace and by mile 19, the lead pack consisted of just three men:

Zach Panning Zach Panning (born March 29, 1995) is an American long distance runner and marathoner. He ran collegiately at Grand Valley State University where he won an NCAA Division II Cross Country championship in 2018. He ran for team USA at the 2023 Wo ...

, Young, and his training partner

Conner Mantz Conner Blair Mantz (born December 8, 1996) is an American long-distance runner, who specializes in the marathon. He ran collegiately for Brigham Young University and won the 2020 and 2021 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships. Mantz was t ...

. Around mile 22, Panning fell off the pace leaving Young and Mantz as the two leaders. The two celebrated their all but certain qualification for the Olympics through the last few miles. At the finish line, Young allowed Mantz to take the win as both men earned a spot to represent the United States at the

with Young finishing in his second best marathon time ever of 2:09:06 to Mantz's 2:09:05.

Personal life

Young took a two-year hiatus from competitive running after high school to serve as a missionary for

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

. Upon returning in 2015, Young redshirted his first year at Brigham Young University (BYU). He and his wife have two daughters.

Social Media

Ahead of the 2024 Olympic and New York City marathons, Young created a

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

page documenting his marathon training for Paris. The video series documents his day to day life as a pro athlete training for an international event. He has amassed over 25,000 followers since he started posting.

Achievements

Information from athlete's profile on World Athletics, unless otherwise noted.

Marathons

BYU

Results sourced from athlete's profile on the Track & Field Results Reporting Service (TFRRS).

American Fork High School

Results sourced from athlete's profile on Athletic.net.Clayton Young prep bio
American Fork High School Athletic.net

References

External links

Clayton Young
at Mormon Wiki *
Clayton Young Profile
at

Strava Strava is an American internet service for tracking physical exercise which incorporates social network features. It started out tracking mostly outdoor cycling and running activities using Global Positioning System (GPS) data, but now incorpor ...

Clayton Young profile
at

BYU Cougars The BYU Cougars are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Brigham Young University (BYU), located in Provo, Utah. BYU fields 21 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) varsity athletic teams. They are a member of the Big 12 C ...

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Clayton 1993 births Living people American male long-distance runners American male marathon runners BYU Cougars men's track and field athletes BYU Cougars men's cross country runners Sportspeople from Provo, Utah Sportspeople from American Fork, Utah American Mormon missionaries in the United States NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners Athletes (track and field) at the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic track and field athletes for the United States Olympic male marathon runners 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century Mormon missionaries