Mr. Runderful

Okay, so cover model Rob Chenoweth is fast (he’s the captain of the Fleet Feet Racing Team), handsome (clearly), smart (he is a TOC reader, after all)…but he’s also a totally regular dude who loves hanging out with his fiancé, grabbing a burger with his buddies and drinking beers. Our kind of guy. We talked to the 40-year-old, who lives in Old Town, about his training regimen (intense) and post-marathon plans (beer).

Time Out Chicago: Tell me about the photo shoot, what was it like?
Rob Chenoweth: It was a lot of fun. Everyone was so nice and we had a good time. It was really awkward running through the tape—you’re trying to make yourself do a different face with each take. And then in the shot where we were outside pouring beer on my head…I felt a little self-conscious when people were walking by. But it was a lot of fun.

TOC: Are you going to send a whole box of issues to your friends and family?
Rob Chenoweth: We’ll see what it looks like, first. [Laughs] Depending on what it looks like, I may do that.

TOC: What’s your training schedule for the Chicago Marathon been like?
Rob Chenoweth: For the last 16 weeks I’ve run 90 to 100 miles a week. Monday through Friday I run 4 to 5 miles in the morning and after work I run another 8 to 14 miles. I do one long run. Every Monday I meet my teammates at the Fleet Feet store and we do a tempo run together. And speed workouts on Wednesdays at the track.

TOC: Whoa, that is serious! Were you runner in college and high school?
Rob Chenoweth: I ran in high school—cross-country and track. I was kinda good, but not great. I went to the University of Illinois and I was thinking of trying to walk on the team. But then I found beer and other ways to spend my time.

TOC: How did you get back into it?
Rob Chenoweth: I didn’t run a step until I was 30. A high school teammate knocked on my door and reminded me we said we’d run a marathon by the time we were 30. He said, “You have 10 months.” That was it!

TOC: Running a marathon takes a lot of sacrifice, what do you miss?
Rob Chenoweth: Since I have to run after work, if my coworkers or friends go out for happy hour, I usually can’t go or I have to meet up with them later on. And if there’s a party or event on a Friday night I usually skip it. Fortunately a lot of my friends are runners. And my fiancé is the captain of the girls team. We talked all the time at practice and started hanging out.

TOC: How do you recover after a run?
Rob Chenoweth: Usually at the Fleet Feet store there are snacks. I put on compression socks. I eat a lot. I’ll have a big burger and a beer. We go to Corcoran’s or Wells on Wells. After long runs we head up to Stanley’s.

TOC: Do you have a favorite running accessory?
Rob Chenoweth: Hmmm. I don’t know! I always have a necklace on.

TOC: Is it a Phiten one like Kara Goucher’s?
Rob Chenoweth: It’s not the Phiten. It’s a stainless steel chain with the Celtic symbol for warrior. It’s kind of an arrow thing. I wear it all the time, even when I’m not running.

TOC: How many marathons have you run?
Rob Chenoweth: This will be my ninth marathon and my seventh time running Chicago. I ran Boston once.

TOC: What’s your marathon PR?
Rob Chenoweth: 2:36:44…um, 24? I set that last year. Wait, let me look it up. It’s 2:36:24.

TOC: Hey, that’s your PR, you’ve got to know that number!
Rob Chenoweth: I know! You think I could’ve given myself the benefit of the doubt.

TOC: Are you trying to beat that time this year?
Rob Chenoweth: Yeah, I’m hoping to break that. As long as the weather cooperates, I might do it. I may have been in better shape last year, but it was so hot. If it’s a good weather day I hope to beat it.

TOC: How will you celebrate running the marathon?
Rob Chenoweth: My fiancé and I [who is also running Chicago] meet with the team afterwards and go to Stanley’s. I’m taking Monday off work.

TOC: You plan to be in recovery mode…
Rob Chenoweth: Yeah, I’m actually taking Monday and Tuesday off.

TOC: Will you take time off from racing afterwards?
Rob Chenoweth: I probably won’t run for a couple of days. And then I’ll jog if I feel like it. By the last week of October, I should feel okay. I’ll go by feel for the rest of the calendar year.

TOC: Okay, enough about running. Do you have a favorite restaurant in Chicago?
Rob Chenoweth: Beth and I love North Pond. We just went to the Publican and really liked it. I want to go back with some guy friends. We’re starting to like Old Town Social.

TOC: What are you looking forward to doing in Chicago this Fall?
Rob Chenoweth: There’s tons of movies we want to see. We want to do some of the restaurant beer tastings. There’s a beer tasting at Brasserie Jo the week after the marathon that Beth just told me about. We really want to go to that.

Chicago Marathon spectator guide | How to spot a runner in a marathon | Post-marathon traditions | Free drinks for marathon runners | Rob Chenoweth interview | Chicago’s 10 best running shops | Elite American runner playlists | First-time marathon runners | Bank of America Chicago Marathon race director | Decoding running lingo