If Grant Fisher’s recent results weren’t enough proof of Park City’s growing stature as a distance running hub, Conner Mantz’s American record time at the Chicago Marathon on Sunday morning should do the trick. Mantz, a Logan-native and BYU alum, often trains in town, and shattered the decades-old record, finishing in 2:04.43 unofficially.
Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda won the marathon with an unofficial time of 2:02.23. The world record was set at 2:00.35 at the 2023 Chicago Marathon by Kenyan Kelvin Kiptum, who passed away in a traffic accident in early 2024. The previous American record was 2:05.56, set by Khalid Khannouchi at the London Marathon in 2002.
Mantz built up the confidence to attack the record earlier this year, when he ran a 2:05.08 at the Boston Marathon. Boston isn’t a records-eligible course due to its layout.
Mantz can be spotted running all around Park City at spots like the Rail Trail, Kearns Boulevard and Synderville Basin. He’ll likely be back training in town for future marathons, where he’ll possibly chase that world record.