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‘Clean sweep’: Davis Clarke posts another sub-3 Boston Marathon finish
Boston’s motivational speaker met his goal of running the Marathon in under 3 hours, this time with a clean pair of shorts.
Davis Clarke, Boston’s motivational speaker and influencer, was “locked in” Monday as he crossed the Boston Marathon finish line in under 3 hours.
And this time, he did it with a clean pair of shorts.
Clarke made headlines last year after he posted about an unfortunate incident that happened during the race on social media, garnering millions of views.
But this year was different.
In a post to his 738,000 followers on Instagram on Monday afternoon, Clarke, wearing athletic shades and a red tank top, said he took the 6:45 train to Boston, but this time with a “clean sweep,” as he pointed the camera down at his clean running shorts.
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“That’s a comeback, people, let’s go,” he yelled into the camera.
People were quick to comment.
One said, “Clean sweep, baby! He didn’t s*** himself! Let’s goooo! What a Redemption Arc!”
Another, “The revenge story we were all waiting for.”
Still high on adrenaline, Clarke spoke with Boston.com on Monday afternoon following the race, saying it was an “electric day.”
Clark is a triathlete and runner. This year, in his fourth marathon, he ran the race in just under 3 hours at a 6:45-minute pace. He earned a qualifying time of 2:49 at the Charles River Marathon in 2023.
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Last year, Clarke told Boston.com that he suffered from a virus that led to joint pain and paused his Marathon training until a few weeks before race day. Even so, he was still determined to break the 3-hour mark.
This year was much better, Clarke said. Despite having to balance studying for the Chartered Financial Analyst (CPA) exam over the winter, he was able to get in solid training leading up to the Marathon.
“I was in much better shape this year,” he said. “I didn’t have the accident because I trained properly.”
While his time didn’t improve much, Clarke said his pacing improved, and he overall felt better at the end of the race.
The run was “a ton of fun,” he said.
“Luckily, all the crowd energy, my body was intact and firing on all cylinders all the way through,” Clarke said.
Looking back on last year, Clarke said he has no regrets.
“I think it’s important to show life as it is,” he said. “Sometimes you have to be willing to dig deep and literally go the extra mile to go after your goals.”
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“If I had to do it again, I definitely would,” Clarke continued. “Because so many people try to make videos or social media that isn’t representative of real life, and I think that’s about as real as it gets.”
For those looking for inspiration for next year’s race, Clarke said, “Go after it; give it a shot. It never hurts.”
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