Connor mantz is the only American that's "built" like a Japanese runner

It doesn’t matter when his form is atrocious. He always looks like he is pressing. If he wants to compete on the world stage he will need to learn to relax.

I agree with you that runs solely on his toes and keeps his first clinched a way too tight. Back on the 90s when I was working under Joe vigil and Jim Sanchez, I was taught that your hands should appear like you are holding a delicate potato chip. That's what those world class coaches taught me at their mentor camps.

Mantz's form is "atrocious" to the eye but he's an outlier in the sense that it works for him and it's probably efficient in its own way even though it is debatable whether it is optimal or not for him.

PB's of 3:37, 13:10, 27:25, 1:00:55, 2:07:47, show that he has all the bases covered and all the prerequisites to continue to improve because he's only 27 years old. I think his ceiling in the marathon might be around 2:04:00 to 2:05:00/2:06:00, similar to strong Viking, Sondre Norstadt Moen, (27:20, 59, 2:05). Moen is built like a tank compared with Mantz.

If a limited foot speed runner like Navarro from France can run 205 with track times of around 1430 and 30 minutes, then logically Mantz can go much faster, even though logic sometimes gets knocked out the window in the marathon.

Mantz might never achieve 203 to 205 in the marathon but I think he will acquit himself well in a championship marathon because his mental strength is superb.

You forgot about Mitsubishi

We will see. It’s hard to imagine him running considerably faster than 2:07:high until he learns to relax. He is very, very tough.

Two things I find hilarious on letsrun:

1. When 18 min 5k runners calls a 2:09 marathon runner fat.

2. When a 18 min 5k runners want to critique the form of the best American marathoner in the country.

Agree. Mantz facial expression just signifies that he is trying hard. There's a reason why he has 2 ncaa xc titles. It seems like on grass terrain, he gets better as the course gets harder. Kind of a Billy goat, if you will.

There is no speed qualification for critiquing the form of runners. It is obvious to the eye of any student of the sport. And while good, he is not the best marathoner in America.

I used to think this as well but after looking at him jog in this video, I think there is something mechanically off with his form.

start watching at 1:50

People are attributing emotions to acknowledging this- he has a hitch. It is what it is. But there are not a lot of world class marathoners with similar footstrike patterns and arm movements.

You are incorrect regarding most Japanese male Marathoners. Most are short with short legs. You are thinking about Marathoners from Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda.

Ed eyestone seems like one of those "if it ain't broke don't fix it" type of coaches. Mantz has obviously had this form for a decade with no adjustments made.

I also notice mantz wears a really big bulky watch. Not a slim on like other marathoners.

Except studies show no correlation between the eye test and how efficient a runners form actually is, which is probably why Alberto constantly injured runners by trying to change their form.

Find me a study that says upper body relaxation has no effect on running efficiency and I’ll disappear into thin air.

How do you have the time to be a business owner, coach, and professor? That’s 3 jobs!

It's 3 sources of income, but they are all 3 part time work. I have to order and purchase the supplies for my salons, and also do the hiring, but the salons are managed by young ladies that I've hired. They clean the beds, run the cash register, open and close the business each day. They must inform me immediately if a bulb burns out, as they do not have the legal authority to replace the bulbs. Out of all 3 of my incomes, my salons are the most lucrative and also the least labor. Believe it or not, the hardest part of being a salon owner is keeping up to date with the Texas department of health and safety with their regulations on this industry. We are regulated by the same state commission that inspects restraunts, elevators in buildings, and roller coasters at amusement parks.

Remember, you will only make so much money when you are working for someone else.

He's done too many miles to change anything now, apart from relaxing.

Agree. The longer you've been doing something, the harder it is to change your ways. Can't teach an old dog new tricks.

When I'm coaching my kids up at the college, I definitely make "recommendations" to them its a mechanical inefficiency, but there are limitations and exceptions to me attempting to alter their form, especially when it gets too "hands on". As a rule of thumb, we try to adhere to the same-gender policies when it comes to hands on work. This greatly reduces the risk of sexual harrassment allegations, which are becoming more and more prominent nowadays. I don't assist in aiding a female runner stretch unless she asks me and there is no other female available.

In the long run, a coach is an ADVICE GIVER. Nothing more, nothing less. Either you listen to us or you dont. We are not dictators. It's sad many young hot-rod coaches don't understand that.

His marathon calculates to 29:50 pace, so he could probably run a tad faster than 30 minutes on the track, and probably close to 27:30