As Davis Clarke walked out of the finishing chute of the Boston Marathon on Monday, he pulled out his phone and recorded a video in his signature selfie style.
“Gave it absolutely everything I had for the people,” he says, panning down to his waist. “2:56, I shit my pants like crazy, I’m going after it, all day, every day, for the people.”
The video by the 27-year-old content creator exploded on social media, racking up over 10 million views on Instagram and garnering hundreds of supportive comments. Clarke has recently become a cult figure on the internet for his selfie videos about “locking in” at the office and motivating others in corporate America to “get after it.”
Although Clarke was visibly exhausted in the video, he told Runner’s World after the race that most of the marathon went smoothly, even despite the hot conditions.
“Honestly, I felt good throughout the race,” Clarke said. “I was just locked in trying to give it every ounce of energy I could.”
At the top of Heartbreak Hill around mile 21, Clarke began to notice some bowel issues. “Eventually my stomach just gave out,” he said. “It was basically just a shock to the system. I guess I had to release what was in the system.”
But Clarke gradually felt better and was able to make it to the finish line under his 3-hour goal (2:56:06 officially). “I was able to slug it out to the finish line,” he said “It was definitely a brutal one, but that’s what it’s all about—giving everything until the last step.”
Clarke, a native of the Boston suburb of Winchester, Massachusetts, works as a capital management manager at Citizens Bank and started making videos to inspire people to chase success—whether that’s cranking out an Excel report or just being a better person in general—about six months ago. He’s grown his account to over 650,000 followers and was recently the subject of a GQ interview.
But before his internet stardom, Clarke was mostly posting videos about running and triathlons. After a brief stint as a football player at UMass Amherst, Clarke joined the triathlon club at the suggestion of a friend. He quickly came to enjoy the sport and, starting in 2020, he would post updates about his training online. (His account really took off after pivoting to motivational career content late last year.)
Clarke has now completed three Ironmans and run three Boston Marathons (he ran 2:55:58 in 2022 and 2:45:35 last year), and he even tackled a 100-mile race last February.
Clarke gets his runs in before work and regularly shares miles with friends at local run clubs in the Boston area, including the Shamrock Running Club, Boston Triathlon Team, and Tracksmith. He said his training keeps him grounded and makes him eager to take on the day.
“I’ll get up before work and get a good workout in and try to come [into work] with a positive mindset every day and just say, ‘Hey, I’m gonna work as hard as I can,’” he said.
“I call it the RISER routine: rise before the sun, get the workout in, and then work hard at work to try to rise up in the community,” he continued.
However, Clarke’s training routine for the 2024 Boston Marathon hit a hitch in February when he contracted a virus, which affected his joints. At one point, Clarke said he could barely move his arms and legs. He had to take some time away from running, but two weeks before Boston, he was cleared by his doctor to start preparing for the race.
His abbreviated build-up wasn’t ideal, he said, but he wasn’t going to let that—or Mother Nature’s call—get in the way of another sub-3. He knew that with his platform, people would be eager to see how he finished, and he wanted to set a good example for his followers and inspire people—highs and lows included.
“I always try to tell the truth in videos, I’m always going to be honest,” he said. “I had to go to the bathroom to do it, but I was willing to do it because I wanted it that badly for everyone … Probably a lot of people wouldn’t put that out there, but I’m gonna be honest and tell the truth.”
Theo Kahler is the news editor for Runner’s World. He is a former all-conference collegiate runner who’s based in Easton, PA. Previously, he worked as the newsletters editor at Runner’s World, Bicycling, and Popular Mechanics.