The 2024 US Olympic marathon trials qualifier saw Connor Mantz and Clayton Young ace the race at the top two positions. The friends had been working very hard for this and repeated their feat at the 2023 Chicago marathon. While many hail them as distance-running geniuses, they used their creative brains to gain a small advantage in the race as well.

Several fans, analysts, and fellow marathon runners noticed that Mantz and Clayton ran with their hats on in the races. Additionally, they ditched their hats in between and didn’t finish the race with them. A social media post recently revealed that one of those fans picked up one of those hats. Interestingly, this was no ordinary hat, neither for Young and now nor for the fan.

The small helping hand 

FloTrack added a new tweet to X with the caption, “Remember all those hats Clayton Young was wearing and discarding throughout the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials? Well, volunteer Brody Ansbaugh was one of the lucky ones to pick one up and hold onto it! He would later see Young speak at a church in Orlando the next day and got to have him sign it. Such a cool moment from the Trials 🧢 #MarathonTrials24.” 

While the hat became a new treasure trove for the unsuspecting fan, it was nothing less than a treasure for Young as well. Connor Mantz and Clayton Young revealed that these hats carried a special section where they kept some ice cubes to keep themselves cool during the marathon. 

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The temperature on 3 February in Orlando was 61 degrees Fahrenheit. The duo expected it to rise to 70 as the race proceeded. After finding out that using some ice wasn’t against the rules, they contacted their sponsors and got these special hats. These hats didn’t just lend some small aid in their win but are also connecting their fans with them.

Spreading the secret marathon victory story

According to FloTrack, Clayton Young said, “I had to give the people what they want…The hats were nice with the sun. Obviously, I want to represent who I am and not hide behind a hat and so, maybe it was a good look. I was all smiles going into that finish.” The marathon champ also said, “If you have that hat, please take a picture, take a video, we want to share that story.”

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Interestingly, all those hats have already been signed by these future Olympians and teammates. Brody Aunsbaugh was just a notch luckier than the others who could also manage to find Clayton Young in Orlando and meet him personally. With this love from fans, their marathon running skills, and a nifty hack, will Mantz and Young be able to win the gold in Paris?

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