“One of our favorite stories of the Olympic Trials Marathon was the story of getting Clayton Young’s girls to the finish line to see their dad become an Olympian.” As Young was one of the leads, Ashley Young rapidly made her way to the finishing line to witness her husband concluding the marathon.

However, the family celebration was still incomplete as Clayton’s girls were standing along the course holding their grandmother’s hands. Their daughters go to the finish line to witness Clayton finishing. Even though Clayton’s girls joined later as responsible daughters, Clayton is already prepared for a similar situation in the future. 

The motivation of Clayton Young for the future

Recently,  Young came up on the tracks of the New York City Half Marathon. After his triumphant victory at the event, Clayton Young sat with the team of Letsrun.com and shared insights about the Olympic Marathon Trials. This interview was then uploaded on the official YouTube channel of the team with the caption, “Clayton Young still on Olympic Marathon Trials high after New York City half marathon.”

In the same interview, the interviewee asked Clayton while pointing to his chest, “Is this a heart rate monitor, or what’s the thing that you’re actually doing?”. In response to this question, he revealed, “This was actually for a camera. I was actually recording a camera the entire race. I promise it’s not distracting.“

Since Clayton’s daughters are 5 and 3, Clayton, as a dad of two, has found a way to capture these moments. He said, “Straight up, it goes right there. I always say it’s for my girls, so they can watch it in 10 years…one day they’ll like to see Dad race and get a little POV.” He added, “It’s just to have fun. I actually filmed just about every workout leading into the trials,…I want to remember these moments, and I promise it’s not distracting from the racing. It’s just my way of capturing this moment.“

Young’s marathon journey

The 2019 NCAA 10,000m Marathon Champion, Clayton Young, has emerged as a dominant force over the years. Making his debut at the 2020 Olympic Marathon Trials, he concluded the trials with a disappointing 136th-place finish. The following year, he also clinched the US 15k championships while clocking the time of 2:16:07 in the Chicago Marathon. 

In 2022, Clayton improved to 2:11:51 but unfortunately struggled with a knee issue that led him to surgery in February. Clayton also came up at the 2024 US Olympic Marathon Trials as #2 with an impressive time of 2:08:00. Later, he showed off at the New York City half marathon. 

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