Clayton Young to race Chicago on a torn hamstring

Clayton Young is still in for the Chicago Marathon on October 11, and still going after the American record, with a 12-centimeter split tear in his semitendinosus (one of the hamstring muscles).

He picked the injury up in the late stages of the Great North Run, where he ran 1 hour 2 minutes 4 seconds for seventh place, and it was later confirmed by MRI. That is the news he brought to Chris Chavez with less than two weeks to go before the race.

Chris Chavez

@ChrisChavez

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I’m really confident in my ability to still chase the American record.

Two doctors, two answers

One doctor recommended PRP (platelet-rich plasma, an injection used to treat soft tissue injuries), four weeks off, and dropping Chicago altogether. A second told him there was no quick fix and that he would have to take it day by day. Young picked day by day.

The target has not moved. He is chasing the 2 hours 4 minutes 43 seconds American record set in 2025 by Conner Mantz, who happens to be his teammate and training partner. When Young announced that goal earlier this month, Chavez notes it was the first time he had ever publicly called his shot for a time before a marathon.

What it actually means

That public declaration is part of why he is still on the start line. Calling your shot makes quietly withdrawing a lot harder, and Young is framing the build as worthwhile regardless of what the clock says on the day.

"I called my shot. I'm really confident in my ability to still chase the American record," he told Chavez. "I've already learned so much this build, mentally and physically, that it's already been a success. I want to learn all the lessons, not just some of them."

Read that how you want. A 12-centimeter tear in a hamstring is not a niggle, and a marathon at American record pace is about as unforgiving a test of one as exists. Young says he is confident. The second doctor's version, no quick fix and take it day by day, is the honest read on what the next two weeks look like, and on what Chicago morning might look like too.