The following transcript is intended to aid in your study. However, while we try to go through the transcript, our transcripts are primarily computer-generated and often contain errors. Please forgive the transcripts’ imperfections.

===

[00:00:00] Morgan Jones Pearson: After securing his spot on the United States Olympic team, Clayton Young posted a picture of he and his wife, Ashley, embracing after the race. Accompanying the photo was this caption. In 2016, my dream became her dream. Now we are living it. Time to get a bigger dream. This is my favorite picture from Saturday. Unadulterated joy, end quote. While many watching the race only saw the success in the Young's journey, Ashley and Clayton both know what it's taken to get to this point. And they're determined to be grateful to the God who got them here. Clayton Young is an American long distance runner who competes for Asics.

He is a BYU alum where he graduated in mechanical engineering and won a national championship. In the 10, 000 meters, he set a personal best of two hours and eight minutes at the 2023 Chicago marathon and became the seventh fastest American marathoner of all time earlier this year in February, Clayton finished second at the 2024 U. S. Olympic marathon trials, qualifying him for the 2024 Paris Olympics, where he will compete this summer representing the United States. Ashley Young is her husband's biggest supporter and, as he calls her, his superpower. Clayton and Ashley are the parents of two little girls, and Ashley shares what it's like to feed an Olympic marathon runner on her Instagram account, FeedYourRunner.

This is All In, an LDS Living podcast where we ask the question, what does it really mean to be all in the gospel of Jesus Christ? I'm Morgan Pearson, and I am so honored to have Ashley and Clayton Young on the line with me today. Clayton and Ashley, welcome.

[00:01:55] Clayton Young: Thank you so much for having us on today.

[00:01:57] Ashley Young: And this is great.

[00:01:58] Morgan Jones Pearson: I wanted to start by asking you, when do you first remember thinking like, oh, it'd be amazing to go to the Olympics. And then Kind of a two part question. When did that goal actually start to seem somewhat realistic?

[00:02:16] Clayton Young: Yeah, I have a very distinct memory in second grade. It was the 2002 Olympics, so it was actually the Winter Olympics.

And I, I remember watching Apolo Ohno cross the line in silver. And I remember that was like my first memory of what the Olympics was, what it was like. Everyone was so excited about his performance and how special that was. And that's when I like realized like, Oh man, that would be really fun to go to the Olympics.

And I think that was like the dream of every second grader during that time. Obviously it took a long time for that to become more of a reality in my mind. You know, I grew up playing lots of different sports, but ultimately, um, found myself really good at, at running. And, um, I would say it really didn't become a reality till only about what. Maybe about nine months ago and in October for the Chicago marathon, I had the opportunity to, to hit the Olympic standard and I ran the seventh fastest time ever by an American. And by hitting the Olympic standard, it unlocked one of the spots for the United States. And, and that's when I knew like, Hey, I have a good shot at this.

And so that was in October of 2023. And essentially three months later in February of 2024 was when the Olympic trials was going to be happening for the marathon. And, and so it was in that, that October window that I was like, you know what? I, not only did I hit the Olympic standard, but now I have a good shot at the Olympic trials.

And that's when the belief really started to kick in. I've had a lot of good mentors in this space. You know, I've I'm coached by two time Olympian at ice stone. And so I kind of knew that that was maybe in my cards in the future. And then also I have a good mentor, Jared Ward. And he was in the 2016 Rio games, but yeah, it took a long time for it to become just a dream to reality.

[00:04:07] Morgan Jones Pearson: Well, we just went, we live here in Philadelphia and we just went this past weekend and watched the Penn relays. And it's crazy to me. Just the, the condition that you have to be in to be at that Olympic standard. And so I am in awe of both of you and admire so much the work and dedication that you've put into getting to this point, Clayton, you served a mission in North Carolina, which I had to call out because I'm from North Carolina.

And the Wall Street Journal wrote about your mission, and I thought it was fascinating, and it's been emphasized, actually, I think, uh, the Deseret News emphasized that they kind of took a different approach to writing about your mission and how it affected your fitness. The author talked about how it's important to have something in your life outside of running.

However, I think anybody that has served a mission and is somewhat athletic knows that it also has to take a toll on your physical fitness. So I'm wondering in what ways would you say that your mission helped you as a runner? And in what ways did it kind of set back your athletic pursuits?

[00:05:21] Clayton Young: Yeah, I think there's, there's a lot of anxiety when serving a mission as an athlete, especially like, uh, you know, a BYU commit and, you know, there was a lot of indecision there on whether I should go straight out on my mission or whether I should maybe do a semester or two before going on my mission, but ultimately decided to like, keep all of my eligibility years together.

And so I went straight on my mission out of high school. And, uh, I loved North Carolina and, and I love how the Wall Street Journal said, you know, these missionaries gained 30, 30 pounds and came back faster. Like it talk about a clickbait title. But, uh, it was, it was cool to read that article and, and really think back on why I did serve a mission and, you know, the, the pluses and minuses of it, because yeah, the article was right within my first area, like I gained 30 pounds, like that, like it was so quick that.

I have these great missionary pictures of my chubby cheeks and, you know, hot, humid North Carolina. And yeah, that's, I guess, obviously the downside, right? You know, as a missionary, you're, you only maybe get 30 minutes a day if your companion allows you to run. And, and sometimes you're just doing pushups and sit ups in the middle of the living room floor.

And, uh, that's not really much for an endurance athlete. I would say that. As I got home off my mission, I kind of got to see how my coach Ed Eyestone works with these athletes that come back from their missions. And, you know, he served a mission in Barcelona, Spain, and I saw a lot of my great, you know, former teammates, uh, serve missions and get back in great shape.

You know, those upperclassmen that had also gained 30 pounds and had competed really well. And that gave me a lot of motivation when I got back, um, knowing that I could get back in shape in that. You know, coach Iceman was the best man for the job to help me get back in shape, but yeah, it definitely wasn't ideal.

One of the things though that I think was obviously one of the biggest advantages of serving a mission was just, you know, the work ethic and dedication that you learn from serving a mission. There, there's just principles that I think you learn by being on your own and, and setting goals, uh, making plans and working towards those goals and plans and, and developing like a hardworking mindset.

And, and so while physically I came back in poor shape, mentally, I came back in the best shape of my life and I was ready to, you know, apply what I'd learned in my mission to my running. And in a way, it was kind of a blessing because my senior year of high school, I'd, I'd kind of gone through an injury.

My senior year of track kind of was a wash. And so that time off was actually really perfect for me to kind of get back healthy and be ready to run on the collegiate level. You touched a little bit on like this idea as well of. The wall street journal of running for something beyond yourself, like that, you know, having this eternal perspective approach towards running.

And I obviously serving in North Carolina and, and, you know, not being there to get in shape, but getting, being there to serve the Lord, I think really helped me recognize, especially when you're, when you're serving people, not only by preaching the gospel, but from like a service standpoint, you realize that you have so many, there's so much more to life than running.

Like there's people that just are really in need of help and just how critical the gospel of Jesus Christ and the family is to Helping people live a fuller life. And as I've recognized that And, and more I've had these titles of I'm, you know, a missionary, I'm a father, I'm a husband, I'm a parent, I'm a son of God, like those titles that I've learned to recognize in the mission really carried forward as I applied those in the rest of my life.

And, and, you know, being a runner is important in my identity, but there's, there's more titles than that that are far more important.

[00:09:13] Morgan Jones Pearson: I love that thought so much, and it's certainly in line with what President Nelson has taught recently. Ashley, I want you to share this next part. Tell me a little bit about how the two of you met.

[00:09:27] Ashley Young: So we attended high school together, and so I met him when I was in 8th grade and he was in 9th grade. He had a brother in my grade. At first it was just, Oh, that's Ty's brother. And then all through high school, I got to watch his running career. We were both on the cross country team together and I had a crush on him the whole time.

He was always really dedicated to his running and, uh, Just a great friend in the friend group and it was really fun. We would go to meets and I would be hanging out with my friends and he would be winning races. And I think from the very beginning, I knew that running was a huge part of his life and was going to continue to be a huge part of his life.

So we were just friends in high school. And then once he was getting ready for his mission, we kind of, uh, spent a little more time together just as friends. And then. While he was on his mission, I wrote him pretty consistently because I thought he was pretty cute. And then, um, the mission age changed and I decided to go out.

Um, and he returned the favor and wrote me pretty consistently. And when we got home, uh, we decided to start dating. And it was great to have those years of friendship. Um, before. It became a dating relationship and, uh, yeah, we got married and here we are

[00:10:53] Morgan Jones Pearson: with that Clayton. I love something that you said in 1 of the interviews that I read prepping for this interview.

You talked about how when you and Ashley got married that your dream became her dream, which makes a lot of sense that it would have to be that way because there's no way you get to where you are without a wife that is supportive of that dream and that goal. But I wondered, what were those conversations like initially?

Obviously, Ashley, now knowing that you have been a part of his seeing him run for a long time, it probably is a little bit more natural to adopt that dream. But how, how have you fully embraced that dream as your own? Because I think that's important. Like even in my marriage, my husband had this dream of going to business school and I, that was never my dream.

And so it had to become that. And so I think that's applicable for a lot of different people.

[00:11:54] Ashley Young: Yeah, I think I was really blessed to see Clayton Love running for a lot of years before I was in his life. Yeah, going back to those conversations as we were dating, as we got married, he was on the BYU team. He was traveling every two weeks.

Uh, he would go out of town and come back and we'd go on a couple of dates and then he'd go out of town again and come back. So it was just, it was just really big. All throughout our dating experience. And I could just tell that he was very committed. Something that I really love about Clayton is that when he commits, he commits a hundred percent.

And he, he showed me that before I ever entered that scene. Right. So, yeah, so we were dating and I saw, I got to see that commitment level and then we got engaged, we got married. And then two weeks later he was traveling to another race. Like it really just, it really just was. Always a part of that. And I had seen other relationships on the team or around us.

Uh, Clayton mentioned Jared Ward and I watched the way that Jared's wife supported him. And I was really inspired by that. I watched the way that Lynn Eyestone supports coach and how excited she is for all of the BYU runners and the way that she just has entered that world with coach. And I knew that that was something that I wanted to do.

I wanted to be. I knew that Clayton was going to be in the running world and I knew that I either got to join that or I got to watch from a distance and I didn't want to watch from a distance. And so it's, it's kind of funny to look back at myself from 2016 and to realize that I knew nothing about running.

And I didn't know any of the other fast runners. I didn't know any of the fast times. I didn't know the best races. I didn't know marathons. Right. Like, and it's just been a journey of growth. Um, and I have become a fan of the sport because I'm a fan of Clayton. And I feel like I can somewhat hold my own now and just really tried to adopt his passion because I want to love what he loves.

And there's something so satisfying about watching someone I love do something that he loves and it's, yeah, it's a beautiful thing.

[00:14:14] Morgan Jones Pearson: Clayton, do you have any thoughts about why this goal, uh, why it is meant so much for Ashley to buy in ?

[00:14:25] Clayton Young: Yeah, it's kind of funny sometimes we'll get ready for these races and we'll get out to these races and it's almost like she, she wants to like, for lack of a better word, like take credit for it, right?

She wants to like be the reason that I'm having so much success. Ashley finds a lot of like validation in my success, uh, and rightly so, like. I, I, I can honestly say that, that Ashley has been my secret weapon and that like she, she has invested herself so fully into my success that it is fun to compete on a high level.

So that way she can receive that validation. And I, I would say it's by like, honestly, it's by very small and simple means that she's really upped our game together and in this professional space. And, you know, to see the growth that she's had since we got married in 2016 till now. Has been really funny to see, like, it's just little things at a time.

It's like, I've slowly indoctrinated her, like poisoned her to, to enjoy this running.

[00:15:21] Ashley Young: I watch marathons with him. Like who else sits on the couch for two hours and watches running?

[00:15:28] Clayton Young: Yeah, it's, it's been cool to see. Yeah, I think it's, it's pretty special. I, I, like Ashley said, I've seen a lot of relationships in this running space and, and not all, you know, runners have had the success that I've had.

And so I bet it's, it's very difficult to support somebody that isn't seeing success, but. Because Ashley's commitment to this goal or this dream that we've had through two Olympic cycles, it definitely takes the pressure off me, right? That means that I get to just focus on what I do best and perform.

And Ashley's not the first one to ask, when is this running thing going to be over? When are we going to move on? If anything, she's the one that's pushing me forward and egging me on to, to work towards the next Olympic cycle or the next big race. The next big goal or dream. She's, she's the motivator sometimes when I need it most, and, and that makes a big difference.

[00:16:18] Ashley Young: Yeah, and I just want to piggyback on that. Uh, we've had a lot of conversations about how I, yeah, find validation in his success. And I've come, I've come to terms with this idea of like, I'm better at supporting someone else's dreams than having my own dream. Like, and I don't think that's necessarily a good thing or a bad thing.

I think that there are people in this world who are incredibly motivated and driven and I am motivated and driven to help Clayton be motivated and driven. And I don't, like, it's just part of my character. I don't think it's something that I've. done or that makes me bad or better than anyone else, but it's just, I love helping Clayton succeed.

I don't know. Yeah. If it's a lack of confidence in me or at most confidence in Clayton, I'm not sure which one it is, but, uh, yeah, I, I find a lot of joy when Clayton finds a lot of joy and so I'm very motivated to help him do well.

[00:17:19] Morgan Jones Pearson: I think that's super admirable and as you were talking it made me think about like spiritual gifts and how the scriptures talk about like to some is given to believe and to others it is given to believe on the words of others which some might view as like not a good thing, but the scriptures refer to it as a gift.

And so I think like being able to help and cheer somebody else on in their dream, like that is a gift. And I wish that I was better at that. So I admire you, Ashley, for being that way. I, there were so many things that I liked about what you all were just saying, but I think, I wish, I actually really wish that people could see your face, Ashley, when Clayton first started talking about you finding validation in his running because your face was so cute.

The two of you obviously have to coordinate a ton to make this work. I think that's one thing, um, for me, I, I found it, found it interesting to think about. How different your life Clayton probably is than a lot of the people that you're competing against. And so I'm curious how the two of you make it work with Clayton's training schedule and having two little girls.

And what are the biggest challenges for your family as you go through this experience together?

[00:18:41] Clayton Young: Yeah, I think you nailed it that like my life experience in the professional running world is fairly unique. Um, you know, in 2019 when I went pro, I was probably one of the very few that were, you know, married, had kid, a kid one on the way.

It was this very, like, I'd go to these meets and all these guys would be a bunch of young bachelors that weren't married or didn't have kids. And, and a lot of these guys also like go to these professional training groups. So they'll go and they'll move to. Portland or Michigan or L. A. or even Flagstaff and it's just like college 2.

0 almost. Like it's just a bunch of young single guys that are training together to be the best professional athletes. Whereas I decided to stay here in Utah, right? And I decided to stay with Ashley and be near our family. And have our kids and our family and this community that supported me. So it was a little bit unique.

I will say that I had, you know, Jared Ward, who was a big mentor of mine and kind of showed me how to do that. And I would say it's more common when you get older as a marathoner to do that. But when I started pretty young and on the track. Uh, it, it, it's not as common, but yeah, in the marathoning world, I think we're finally entering, uh, this phase where we show up with these marathons and other athletes will have their families, uh, because most athletes will move from the track to the marathon.

But it's been interesting to kind of, More or less, you know, be a little bit unique in my training plan and, and, and you're right, like it does take a lot of coordination and planning, like with Ashley, I would say one of the biggest things that, that we've really had to coordinate is just honestly feeding the animal that I am.

And, you know, uh, in college and even as I, I finished up my college career, like I had a lot of those amenities provided for me at BYU, but then as I transitioned, you know, and those were the first couple of years of our marriage, so I actually didn't really have to worry about it, but now as I became a pro athlete, Ashley had to take on feeding me and not that that was like her Role per se, like, not that she had like that, that I was like, Hey, this is your job, but it was more like, that's what she was going to do and provide.

And so figuring that out has been a big undertaking for sure. And so she's really coordinated and planned meals. And when I'm coming home, when I'm leaving, what meals are good for certain workouts or certain races at certain times of days and, and the shopping and the meal prep and the planning. And, and that's been a lot of.

Of communicating for sure. And, uh, something that she's done really, really, really well at. And I know how to work really, really hard and actually knows how to help me really recover and both those together. What bring, I guess, the growth and success that I need to perform at a high level.

[00:21:31] Ashley Young: Yeah, yeah. I will say Clayton is not a picky eater, which makes my job a whole lot easier.

I can only remember one meal that he's like, I'm sorry, I can't finish this. And, uh, it was fish. So I didn't feel that bad. So he's, he's pretty easy. Um, and he's been really kind as I've We had, uh, our first little girl in 2019 while he was still in school at BYU. And just like how we got married and two weeks later, he went to a race.

We had our baby and I think two or three weeks later, he went to his race. That was expected, but it was also hard. I think for sure. I think that's been really helpful through all of this is that we've learned how to communicate needs. We have gotten a lot better at it because we've crashed and burned a lot too.

And I think I have taken on a lot of those responsibilities with the girls, especially as they were babies, I would take the night shifts, but that would mean that Clayton would take the night shifts. Take them during the day so that I could get a nap, right? Like we were balancing each other out when, uh, we really.

I needed that help and what was most important and best for him. And now that we're kind of out of the baby phase and into the toddler phase, it's a little less taxing, but still a lot of communicating. Sometimes Clayton will come home and I'll be like, I've been negotiating with a three year old all day.

I need to get outside. And he's really, Because of what running does for him and his mental state and his happiness, he knows that I need that too. And he's really supportive of me and helping me meet my needs too. So, it's a balancing act, it's a dance, but it's caused us to, yeah, communicate well.

[00:23:19] Morgan Jones Pearson: Kind of as a follow up to that, Clayton, you said in a text to me that Ashley is your superpower.

You mentioned that earlier. Many people would probably think it'd be easier to be single like those guys that you described or without children in your position But I wonder how you would say that marriage and family has blessed your life and you're running

[00:23:45] Clayton Young: Yeah, Ashley definitely is my superpower. I think it's fun to go to these races and, and to bring Ashley along.

And that's a little bit uncommon, but when people start to meet Ashley and understand all of the little things that she does for me to perform, they're like, they almost fall in love with Ashley more than they fall in love with me at these races. And it's really fun to see That, you know, now we're coming back for these races again, you know, a year later, it's like they've already planned it out.

They're like, and you're bringing Ashley and maybe bring the girls this time too, right? Like they, they've, they've included that they recognize that we're like a package deal and I'm going to perform better. And I'm going to also be a better ambassador for the sport with Ashley there because she's going to handle so many logistics and just help me to navigate all of that.

When you talk about going back and, you know, having a family in this sport, I think it really goes back to my mission, right? Like when I realized that I, I was kind of grounded by the principles that were taught in my mission, it's the same thing with my family. I can go I go to a race and if it's a really great race, my five year old daughter doesn't care if it's a really bad race, my five year old daughter doesn't care, they just care that I run fast and that I'm there at the end of the day.

And, uh, sometimes when I come home off my runs or my workouts and, you know, it's been a good day or a bad day, like, they don't know the difference, they just care that dad is there and that helps me, you know, take a step back and recognize, you know, uh, just, just having this eternal perspective really matters and they're the ones that keep me grounded.

There's been a lot of hype and a lot of, you know, media and a lot of interviews and podcasts with my reset performances and can sometimes get a big head. But at the end of the day when I come home and I have to wrestle with my five-year-old to get her to brush her teeth and get to bed, like I, that, those titles don't matter, right?

Like they, they're all stripped away and, and really it just matters the relationships that I have with them. And, uh, that grounding is, is really important to me.

[00:25:45] Ashley Young: And their favorite thing to do is run the first block of dad's run with him. So they'll get on their shoes and go out and run fast with him.

It's it's cute. It's fun to see them in his space too.

[00:25:59] Morgan Jones Pearson: I can't imagine the the relief that it has to be to have that kind of grounding force where it's like, Oh, these guys, they don't care. But I got such a kick out of your Instagram post Clayton after the Olympic trials where you had the picture of your little girls and you talked about how your three year old doesn't like sweat.

That her face in that picture, we're going to have to like link that because it was just too good. Uh, you talk, you've talked about, um, and I may butcher how to say this word, the mundanity. Is that how you say it of excellence? Can you tell listeners what you mean by that and why that thought has kept the two of you going?

I think this idea, there's a ton of relevance to it. Just even as it applies to spirituality. So I'm curious if you could share some of that.

[00:26:52] Clayton Young: Yeah, the mundanity of excellence. What does that mean? And it's kind of an odd phrase. It comes from a man. I believe his name is Robert Chambliss, and he's somebody that did a study on Olympic swimmers, and he found that essentially.

Swimming is just a really mundane sport, and you could say that running is the same. But the mundanity of excellence is simply the result of boring and repetitive tasks over a long period of time. And you can think about how excellence really is mundane, because it focuses on, you know, we say it all the time, but the process instead of the outcome.

And the excellent outcome is often a result of the mundane process. So the more you focus on the mundane process, the more excellent the outcome will be. And I think we can really find a lot of like, mundanity in our careers and our life. Like you even talk about, Parenting, you talk about the gospel, you talk about the home, you talk about relationships.

Like there's just so many mundane tasks that need to be done in order to, to achieve an excellent outcome. I love how many parallels there are to running and, and, and the gospel of Jesus Christ. And, you know, there's a lot of mundane things that we have to do. And sometimes you have to do them, the mundane things just for mundanity sake.

But. As they slowly shift to, um, from, I guess, a checklist in your head to your heart, that's when you really start to see the excellent outcome from living them, uh, the principles of the gospel. And it's the same thing with running, you know, there's just a lot of cumulative miles, you know, I run almost 120 miles a week.

And that's a lot of time. And, you know, I do sauna and weight room, and there's just so many things that I have to check that are just so mundane. But as I've done that checklist day in and day out and kept this routine more than anything, uh, the excellent outcome has come. I would also say like, there's this second principle poll that Robert Chambliss talks about.

And the listeners might hate me for this because I'm an Olympian and, you know, this is maybe a slap in the face, but it's this idea that talent is useless. And I know that some of you might think, well, Clayton, you're freaking talented. Like how could you say that talent is useless? But really Robert Chambliss talks about how talent is a lazy explanation for success.

And when we really break down where talent comes from, we can really attribute where we can find success. So for example, he says, talent undermines hard work and determination, and it hides true factors that can create excellence, such as athleticism, resources, money, transportation, influence of others, the availability of opportunities, and the other social factors that contribute to participation.

In the sport or life. And so when you recognize that talent really, you know, there's things that you can control and talent, there are things that you cannot control. And as you really label what those things are, um, you can, you can focus on the things you can control and find success and excellence. You know, I can control hard work and determination, but I can't control You know, the influence of others and social factors and opportunities, right?

Like there are things that I can and cannot control, but merely explaining that out of way as talent does nothing. Um, and so that's something that I've really embraced. We all have, you know, different decks of cards dealt to us and we get to decide what we do with it and, and taking that sort of ownership of what we've been dealt and, and focusing on what we can control.

Like I said, it makes all the difference.

[00:30:42] Morgan Jones Pearson: So well said. Ashley, do you have any thoughts on this topic?

[00:30:47] Ashley Young: Yeah, I just, I'm always impressed by Clayton's ability to do things over and over and over and over and over and over again. For example, he's been dealing with an Achilles issue for the last couple of weeks.

And he does 180, basically, calf raises. Like, I'm sure it's more complicated than that, but to me it looks like he just stands on the edge of a stair and goes up and down and up and down. And he does 180 of those every single day. Every day. And I don't know about you, but I can I can't even commit to doing 10 sit ups a day, you know, like, I just, I am just impressed that he is just so consistent and that's just one thing that he does.

He takes his protein and collagen. He takes his, there are just so many little steps that he does outside of just lacing up his shoes and going for a run. And there's another phrase that. His coach has said to him, which is consistent competence equals eventual excellence. And I think that ties right into this mundanity idea of it's just being consistently competent.

You don't have to, you don't have to read your scriptures for two hours every day. You just have to do it every day. You don't have to have an Enos like prayer every single day, but you do need to connect with God, right? And it's not, it's not about, Yeah, blowing it out of the water every time you just have to be consistently competent.

And that's what brings that connection with God and success in an athletic sphere or, uh, yeah, work environment. And I think I'm just consistently amazed watching him every day.

[00:32:24] Morgan Jones Pearson: Well, I admire that so much as well. You mentioned Clayton Ashley's, uh, willingness and dedication to feeding you. And you have an Instagram account, Ashley called feed your runner that I loved looking at and, and recognize that I probably could do a better job of feeding my, my husband who loves running.

I have been impressed in interviews with Whether it's CNN or Wall Street Journal or on your personal social media accounts, that neither of you have shied away at all. If anything, it seems like you look for an opportunity to talk about your faith. So I wondered, is that intentional? And if so, why is that so important to you?

[00:33:13] Clayton Young: Yeah, I wouldn't say that it's intentional. Like I, I think. When I look back to the time leading into the Olympic trials, I was like doing everything I could. And there was a point at which like, I realized that I needed to do more on a spiritual standpoint. Like I'd done everything I could now it was time to turn to God and see what he could do.

And so it was just really on the forefront of my mind when I was doing all these interviews and podcasts and. It was just like I said, like it, it was just something that I could control and focus on when you think about a marathon, you know, there's 14 weeks of really hard, intense work, and then you essentially will taper for two weeks where you, you know, you cut back your mileage and you're lifting and, and you're kind of filled with all of this dead time.

That you, you kind of need to fill. And, and so that's when Ashley likes to say that we, we turn it over to God and we really, really start to dial in the spiritual and the mental side of things. And I think it was just so much in the forefront of my mind that I. It was just so natural and normal to talk about.

I think that's also something special, you know, when, when I'm in Utah, I can kind of assume that everybody has heard about the gospel and I, I can kind of get stuck in this mode where I, I shouldn't bring up my mission or I shouldn't bring up, you know, Uh, that I went to church last Sunday because, you know, everybody has heard it and they're tired of hearing your mission stories and they're tired of, of having the gospel shoved down their throat, but there's something about, you know, being in the middle of Florida and being on a panel and people asking you about it, that.

And that kind of just, you know, gets me talking about it. And I, I recognize, you know, how special, you know, that mission was or how special it was that I was able to prepare so spiritually for such a physical race and, and, you know, draw those connections and talk about it afterwards. It's kind of like, you don't realize you're guided until after the fact.

I just went forth and I did what the Lord commanded me. And then afterwards, I kind of got to see how he did guide me. And that was pretty special to see how the Lord did guide me physically. And then afterwards, as I was able to represent Something more than beyond myself, you know, represent my family and my community, but then also Jesus Christ.

And I think that really shows in, in those immediate interviews after the Olympics.

[00:35:45] Morgan Jones Pearson: Ashley, anything to add on that?

[00:35:49] Ashley Young: Yeah, faith is such a grounding. Principle in our lives, and it's hard to hide that, right? Like, it's just, it's something that comes out when we, yeah, talk to others, especially those who we meet at races who don't have that faith in their lives or are, are intrigued by, you know, Yeah, things we say or ways we go about our lives and it's opened my eyes to what the gospel does for us and the way that Jesus Christ has helped us and lifted us and, um, yeah, carried us and yeah, it's, it's easy to kind of be blinded by that sometimes in Utah when you just go to church with all of your neighbors, it seems normal, but It's been really beautiful to realize how much Jesus Christ means to us.

[00:36:42] Morgan Jones Pearson: It's beautiful. Clayton, you have experienced some pretty significant setbacks, including knee surgery just a year ago, and Ashley mentioned your recent Achilles struggles. How have the two of you maintained hope and stayed focused on your goal amidst it? Those setbacks.

[00:37:06] Clayton Young: Yeah. I kind of laughed to myself because when I think back to my knee surgery, like there was like zero hope to be honest, there was a lot of despair.

There was like, I think of probably the lowest part of my life was in the middle of that knee surgery. And shortly thereafter, you know, it was, it took two or three months for me to commit to knee surgery and to kind of accept the reality that I needed it. And that was really tough. And then to know that I'd have to go through rehab and, and, you know, give up running for, Even more time to get back to full strength.

Like that was a daunting undertaking as well. And it's not until after the fact that I look back and I mean, I think like, wow, I was, I was in a very low state. I was probably depressed. And, and, um, you know, when you think about how running is not only. My job and like my career and my livelihood, but it's also like my identity and it's my drug more or less.

Like you think of the amount of endorphins that I get from running. Like when you take all of those away, like I'm left with very little and. And so that was very, a very difficult moment. And so did I have hope in that moment? I mean, I think it, I think the hope came from just like that mundanity of excellence that I focused on every day, right?

Like I, all I could do is like, well, you know, I can't run today, but I can do these exercises and I can do my rehab exercises and I can feel my body and I can hydrate and I can sleep as much as I can. Like, I just had to really break it down to what were the things that I could do. And then obviously doing as much as I could to get the mind right, because I think the mindset towards surgery or any, any injury can make a big difference.

The mind is powerful. And as I, as I've practiced, you know, visualizing the runner that I wanted to be when I was, you know, sweating all over the stationary bike as I was cross training or doing these just mundane exercises, I think that That visualization, that mindset is what allowed me to come back so quick, but it wasn't perfect.

It wasn't pretty. And I guess there were opportunities to pour that into other endeavors in my life, like pour my energy into whether that was being a father, whether that was, you know, just serving at church and, and little things trying to serve others. But I wouldn't trade that experience for anything.

I think I definitely came out better on the other side and physically and mentally to be able to handle, you know, the ups and downs that are to come, like, cause there will be more. And it's not a matter of if, but when I get the next injury or the next setback. And. So I've got a couple more tools than I thought you could say.

[00:39:54] Morgan Jones Pearson: Ashley, what was it like for you to, to watch him go through those things? And to, I can imagine having a husband that is feeling like Clayton said, like kind of depressed, that has to be hard.

[00:40:09] Ashley Young: Yeah, so his surgery came in February of 2023. He had started that injury, though, in December of 2022. And something we don't talk about a lot was that we were actually expecting a baby that year and we lost our baby in the summer at five months and 20 weeks.

And that was my lowest part. And so not only did he Not only did he go through that really deep, dark time, but I had been in a really deep, dark time. That was just a really hard, a hard couple of months where both of us felt really low. And it's hard to say abandoned because. We still felt love and we still felt some peace and we still knew God knew who we were.

And yet we still felt depressed and sad and lonely. And so it's, I remember just struggling a lot with those feelings of what does faith look like when everything is going wrong? according to my definition of wrong, right? Like, and, and what does, what does trust in a loving heavenly father? And what does the atonement of Jesus Christ look like when I'm hurting and I had desires that I thought were right and they're not happening.

And when my husband is trying so hard and he's still hurt and there, I just wrestled with that for so long. And it's hard to be in that place. And, uh, we cried a lot and. It was really, it was just hard. It's, it's interesting being in this, in this sphere where people see our lives and everything is beautiful and going right.

And we're achieving our dreams and look at this and look at this couple that's working together and communicating well. And it's like, well, you're seeing us at the mountaintop. And there was a really low, there was a really low pit. That was really, really hard. That was a slog. And that was really hard.

And going back to this idea of taking on someone else's dream. That we talked about earlier. It's like, well, Clayton and I got really close because he watched me. He watched me really struggle and he learned to validate my emotions. He learned to listen when I was grieving. He learned to love me when I was broken.

And then I got to turn around and do that for him, and I, I hope I supported him the way he supported me. And it was really, I don't have any other adjectives than hard. People who are listening know, like, life is just tricky sometimes. And I'm grateful for the gospel that doesn't give us all the answers immediately.

I'm grateful for a Savior who knows how to cry with, you know, people that he loves. And, um, I remember just really struggling about not knowing how our story was going to end, but knowing that if I really had faith, I was supposed to believe that it would all be okay. And just struggling with that tension of like, well, I don't really know how it's going to work out, but I think I have faith.

So I think I'm supposed to trust that it's going to work out. And now sitting in this place where, where so many things are going right. Not that faith means that everything is perfect. Not that struggle is only over when everyone else thinks you have success. Um, but that there's been peace and yeah, a sense of, of love and connection with Heavenly Father through it all.

Clayton's surgery came after a lot of heartache that we'd already faced, right? And it was this period of a lot of struggle and Coming out of that just took a lot of repetitive, repetitive trust, repetitive actions, repetitive, like, I think this is what we're supposed to do. So we're going to keep going, even though this hurts, or even though this doesn't make sense, or even though my body's not working the way I want it to.

And just a lot of communication with each other, and a lot of communication with God, even if sometimes that felt one way.

[00:44:20] Morgan Jones Pearson: Well, I appreciate so much you sharing all of that because I think sometimes it can feel like we only, like you said, like, we only hear the mountaintop, like, we only hear the people shouting from the mountain, like, look at what we did.

And so I think it's really refreshing to hear. About the valleys, or as you put it, the pit, I think that that's probably really helpful to many people that are listening. So, when your episode airs, the previous interview will have been this interview that I just recently did with an author of a book about lament and he talks about how the whole concept of lament is that you are expressing.

Something hard that you're going through, but you're expressing it directly to God. So rather than like talking about God behind his back, um, and complaining, you're taking that complaint directly to God and working through it with him. And I think there's something like incredibly beautiful about the idea of, like you said, working through what does the atonement of Jesus Christ look like in this situation?

Because right now I can't see how it's all going to work out. And to me, that is like the beauty of the idea of lament and, and he talks in this book about how it's all throughout the scriptures. And somehow we kind of gloss over it. But that people consistently take their hard times to God and let him work with them in that.

So thank you.

[00:45:59] Ashley Young: That is beautiful. I remember just struggling with the fact that I was struggling so much and not having a template for how to, how to Be frustrated at God with God to God and not knowing how to express that frustration while still expressing faith and like, that's just, it's so beautiful to have a word for that and like, I think that as you were talking so many examples from the scriptures came to my mind that I'd like never framed in that way.

And I think that Everybody goes through hard times and needs to know that it's okay to, to work with God through feeling angry or frustrated or sad at God or with God. Yeah. So that's beautiful.

[00:46:48] Morgan Jones Pearson: Well, I, I have enjoyed this so, so much. I want to touch on one thing, cause I feel like if we were to go through this whole interview and not mention Connor Mance, it would be an oversight.

Um, and so you Clayton and your training partner and fellow Latter day Saint, BYU alum, Connor Mance, you were first and second at the Olympic trials. And. Like you've mentioned, you also have Ed Eyestone and Jared Ward who have been mentors. I wondered if it makes any difference to train with people that understand the faith aspect, the spiritual component of your life, in addition to the physical.

[00:47:33] Clayton Young: Yeah, absolutely. Especially with like, yeah, you talked about Jared ward and coach Ison, but yeah, Connor Mance's is, is all in the gospel of Jesus Christ. He really is wholeheartedly holy. And, and he like, he, he wears his faith well, like he, He is a good disciple of Jesus Christ and a great example to me.

You know, I love it when I, you know, the other day I was going to a meeting and he was supposed to be there too. And we pull up and, you know, he's hopping out of the car and he's in a suit and tie. And I'm like, Hey, where are you coming from? This guy's like, ah, he's just coming from the temple. Like, like he's just a great example of just doing the little things, not only in running, but also in the gospel.

And him and his wife have, have just. Been so serviceful as well in their callings of the church, you know, they're busy people and they're good examples of that But yeah When you talk about Connor as I was going through knee surgeries and Achilles injuries and all these ups and downs It was Connor for sure.

That was you know, the one checking in on me. He was the one asking me how he's doing health wise and and he He's the one that's asking me like, well, did you get a blessing? Well, did you, have you tried this? Have you tried that? And, uh, just a faith approach towards training can be really powerful, especially when it's with your training partner.

And, and, you know, like we're one of the few programs that, you know, doesn't run on Sunday as professional athletes. And people probably think we're crazy for that. And I think now they're looking at us and thinking, well, maybe we should be taking Sundays off too. And that's been pretty special to do as well.

But yeah, it definitely helps. And I think. Even just like the other day, Jared Ward texted Connor and he said, Hey, I ran into this alumni the other day at the temple at 6 a. m. on Friday. I think I'm going to start going every Friday at 6 a. m. And he's like, do you want to join us? And it's just those little challenges that just keep us all accountable to each other, not only in running, but also in our faith.

Um, and it's, it is so common for us to be on a run, uh, you know, when we're just doing easy mileage and just to have conversations about the gospel and, and where we are at with the gospel and, and the highs and lows of it. And that's been pretty special.

[00:49:46] Morgan Jones Pearson: I think that's so, so cool. It's so cool to hear of kind of that behind the scenes.

Okay, my last question before we get to the all in question before the Olympic trials, you posted, I think it was you, Ashley, that posted about training starting to taper. And Clayton mentioned that earlier that before a big race. The training starts to taper off and you posted the things that your family was doing to prepare on race week.

And that included spiritual preparation. I wondered as you prepare now for Paris and for the Olympics, what that spiritual preparation, whether you guys have any ideas about what that spiritual preparation will look like, or things that you're intentionally trying to do as a family to be prepared for such a significant moment in your family's life.

[00:50:38] Ashley Young: Yeah, as I was writing that post, it was something that Clayton and I had talked about beforehand and we had set some goals. And as I was writing that post, I realized that. Yes, there were a few things that Clayton and I had specifically planned, like, oh, we're going to go to the temple on this day, and you can do this, and, but I realized that a lot of the things we were already doing consistently, like, it wasn't just in this two weeks that we were going to be reading out of the Bible and the Book of Mormon and going to church and, you know, doing these things.

It was like, oh, we've done this every week of the build. It's just that we are emphasizing this now, and that was a really important moment for me to realize that. We do this every day and that this is something that permeates our life and isn't just a last resort, right? And so yeah, what does what does our spiritual preparation look like going into the Olympics?

Well, Clayton reads his Book of Mormon every night before he goes to bed. And we will be at church every Sunday and we have family prayer every night. And we talk to the girls about Jesus Christ every day, right? Like it's going to be something that factors into our life every day. And I love that. I'll let you answer more specifics.

[00:51:53] Clayton Young: But like, when I think back to the builds before the Olympic trials, something that I was really struggling with was this idea of comparison. When you think about, you know, there's 200 plus guys on the start line. And there's only two spots to make it to the Olympics. And I have myself and I had my teammate Connor Mantz, and, you know, we essentially have to go one, two, and I, you know, I had a lot of problems comparing myself to Connor Mantz.

And then. Obviously, there was a lot of media and social media and Strava posts of other elite athletes. And, you know, I started to get really worried as I was comparing my training to their training and their mindset to my mindset. And it was very daunting. And that's essentially when I really started turning my training over to the Lord.

Those last two weeks, as we started to taper, you know, there wasn't a lot that I could change physically, but I knew there was a lot I could change mentally from this comparison standpoint, that was like zapping me of, of confidence. But as soon as I, I, you know, I read this talk from a BYU professor on comparison.

And it just talked about how the race is not with him. The race is with yourself that, and that him could be Connor Mantz, that him could be any of those other 200 plus runners. The race is not with them. The race is with myself. And I, as I started to compare, you know, Clayton Young of, February, 2024, right before the Olympic trials to Clayton Young of February, 2023 on a surgery bed, getting knee surgery, like that's where I started to build confidence, not only in myself, but in the plan that the Lord had set for me for over a whole year.

Like I could look back distinctly and see, Oh, the fact that I was able to get so fit and so fast over this year's time, like there's no way that the Lord could not be involved. And that comparison immediately went away and a lot of gratitude set in, and I just had the best mindset on the start line of that race that allowed me to perform on the highest level.

And so now fast forward, you know, to the Olympics this summer, what am I going to be doing? Well, I'm sure I'm going to, you know, those last few weeks, I'm going to start comparing myself to this runner and that runner and Connor Mance and, and my teammate and, and it'll be get a little daunting, but I'm excited to go back.

To read the talk to, to take some time pondering on the, the path that the Lord has, has kind of set me on this last six months and see what, see what he has done with this time, you know, from my Achilles injury to getting healthy all the way into the Olympic games. I know it's not going to be perfect, but it's going to be cool to look back and to see what the Lord has done with, with my training and my time and, and to be hopefully be able to share that and be an ambassador, a disciple.

In Paris, and that's what I'm excited for.

[00:54:43] Morgan Jones Pearson: Well, I think anybody that watched the Olympic trials, I think the thing that was so cool to see Clayton was how much joy you were running with. And you were like high fiving people. It was just like so, so fun to watch. And so, I love that the source of that joy is, is in part, in large part, I'm sure, to Jesus Christ and recognizing the Lord's hand in your life and in your journey and in the lives of your family.

Um, guys, this has been so awesome. Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me. My last question for you is what does it mean to you to be all in the gospel of Jesus Christ?

[00:55:27] Clayton Young: To me, what it means to be all in the gospel of Jesus Christ is, you know, I got to take it from a running standpoint. And I feel like most runners or people like me are very A type personality.

We're, we're perfectionists. We're like, we're too, we're too focused on works and not enough on grace. And so when, when I think of the words, like all in the gospel of Jesus Christ, all in like kind of gives me anxiety. Like I get a little bit anxious about that, you know? And so, To me, it means being all in on the grace of Jesus Christ and trusting in that plan and not all in on my works.

And as I've thought about that, that's what it really means. Understanding that as I've trusted in his plan and in his grace, my works pale in comparison. And yes, I want to be the best person I can be, but it's really as I focused on, on him. And being all in and, and, and who Jesus Christ is as my savior, as my Redeemer, and as somebody that is on this journey with me side by side, that's what I have focused on.

And I need to continue to focus on with somebody that is, is too hyper focused on, on the works that I do and not enough on the works that the Lord has already done for me. I think that's what it means to me to be all in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

[00:56:57] Morgan Jones Pearson: Thank you, Clayton. Ashley.

[00:56:59] Ashley Young: That's beautiful, honey. I, I've loved thinking about this.

And yesterday as I was talking to the girls, we were talking about prayer and how when we pray, we feel connected to Heavenly Father. And I asked them what What connection means and they talked about their magnet tiles and how their magnet tiles connect and how their necklaces connect and um It was just so cute to see that on a childlike level and then to try and teach them To extend that to heavenly father and to their savior jesus christ and what what connection looks like with a person And we talked about when we feel connected we feel loved and we feel safe.

I love that in connection with this idea of being all in, right? Being, being all in on this connection with them and doing everything I can to stay connected and, and feel connected. I think right now, like we said, we're in this experience where things are going well, right? And like, It's easy to feel like we did it all ourselves and then to immediately be humbled and say no God, God put us here, God gave us this, we tried really hard and for some reason he has elevated us to this experience.

And then to think back to a year ago when everything was going wrong and to feel alone and then to realize no, God is with us, God has not abandoned us, our Savior is still there. And this idea that like. That connection doesn't have to change regardless of what is happening in our lives and that I can choose to be all in and to be connected with them regardless of what life dishes out and I, I really strive for that relationship.

And to have that peace, um, regardless, and yeah, I think about President Nelson's statement of joy can be found regardless of the circumstances of our lives, that when we choose to be all in on that relationship, like that, that is a reality.

[00:59:11] Morgan Jones Pearson: Thank you both so much. This has been such a, such an enjoyable conversation for me, and I appreciate both of your time very, very much.

[00:59:20] Ashley Young: Thanks, Morgan. This is wonderful.

[00:59:25] Morgan Jones Pearson: We are so grateful to Ashley and Clayton Young for joining us on today's episode, and look forward to cheering them on this summer. Summer during the Olympic Games. Big thanks to Derek Campbell of mix at six studios for his help with this episode. We'll look forward to being with you again next week. In the meantime, if you enjoy all in we'd love it.

If you could leave us a review on Apple podcast as always. Thank you so much for listening.