Vinny Mauri, the 25-year-old from Warren, Ohio, who did 70 percent of his fall training on Planet Fitness treadmills, finished the Chicago Marathon in 10th place in 2:06:45. He was the third American, behind Clayton Young in seventh (2:05:23) and Charles Hicks, another 25-year-old (2:05:35). It wasn’t the final result Mauri was expecting.
For his second marathon, he had predicted big things. On his Strava, which documented his intense training and became required reading for American running fans, he wrote October 10, the day before the race, “This level of fitness should be outlawed. Legs are breaking out of their prison tomorrow like it’s Shawshank all over again.” And for the first 18 miles he was on American record pace, running confidently alone in seventh, wearing his baseball cap on backwards.
Could the guy who moved home with his parents after an uneven college running career, took a job at a local running store, and went all in on his training actually set the American record? When the television cameras found Mauri a few miles later, the cap was gone and the strain was showing on his face. Young and Hicks were lurking in the background as Mauri stopped at least three times to stretch his cramping hamstrings.
The marathon was exacting its painful toll. When Young and Hicks came up alongside him, Mauri valiantly tried to stick with them. They were together through the 22-mile mark and then the wheels came off for Mauri.
The television cameras went to commercial as he was finishing. Mauri’s Chicago run proved two important points. First, he’s the real deal.
The 2:05:54 he ran at the Glass City Marathon in Toledo, Ohio, in April was no fluke. The unconventional training—two intense days each week, Tuesday with double workouts and a Sunday long run—worked and worked well. If he can stay healthy and figure out how to stave off late-race cramps, Mauri will be a factor at the 2028 Olympic Marathon Trials.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
