Chefs team up to tackle NYC Marathon together
NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- "The New York City Marathon is one of the best days of my life," says celebrity chef Daniel Humm.
As Humm dashes through Central Park, his appetite for the marathon, stirred up by discipline and a heap of teamwork, is the flavor of his success.
"Everyone here wants to achieve something special, all together," he says.
Running world-class restaurants from sun up to sun down, how would restaurant workers even get in a training run?
That's no problem in the city that never sleeps.
Outside Eleven Madison Park, one of the tastiest restaurants on the planet, the staff is off the clock at midnight on a recent night - and they're out to meet coach John Honerkamp.
"The level of hospitality is so high that they are busy focusing on taking care of everybody else," Honerkamp says..
Team "Make It Nice" started in 2017 as a way to fit in fitness, despite demands, indulgent foods, and bizarre hours.
And they show up!
Some had never even run a race. Now, Macheo is an ultra marathoner!
Chef Maddie Sperling describes cooking at Nomad as a nonstop sprint.
"Being a line cook in a New York City restaurant, you are literally running every day for 10-12 hours," she says.
She hit her stride with the team and is now ready for her first NYC marathon.
"I'm so excited!" she says.
And then there's the Chung family, Zack and Connie. He ran last year. She's running this year!
Made Nice supervisor Tony Haber walked, biked and jogged to lose more than 80lbs, just to be fit enough to run with the team.
"My top weight was 325 pounds," he says, "and I'm down to 245. To not huff and puff through the kitchen is a confidence boost!"
So it turns out adding one more thing to their plate is actually pushing all these chefs to be even better!
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