Although today is April 1st (April Fools' Day), this news is not a joke. Conner Mantz, the newly crowned "America's top runner" who was set to lead the 2026 Boston Marathon, announced his withdrawal from this year's race with less than three weeks to go. In the 2025 season, Conner Mantz set American records in the half marathon and the full marathon with times of 59:15 and 2:04:43 respectively — at the New York Half and the Chicago Marathon — and both marks also stand as new records for North and Central America. Additionally, Mantz ran 2:05:08 to finish fourth overall and first among American men at last year's Boston Marathon; he was undoubtedly the most prominent American distance runner of the year. However, at the end of last year Mantz missed the US Cross Country Championships due to injury, and with his recovery not progressing as expected he has been forced to withdraw from this year's Boston Marathon. The 130th running of the Boston Marathon is scheduled to start on Monday, April 20, 2026. #America's top runner#Boston Marathon#Mantz#marathon