Marathon man: a master sommelier trains for stamina and taste

“I really feel that I would not have had the nice things that happened to me, if it wasn’t for running.”

In this video, master sommelier and restauranteur, Bobby Stuckey, shows us what it’s like balancing marathon training with operating the prestigious Italian Restaurant, Frasca Food & Wine.

Marathon running – its mindset of being 100-per cent present, and the superhuman stamina it helps build – allows him to stay focused on his guests while on his feet for hours, he says.

Having received numerous accolades, including the prestigious James Beard Foundation Award for Outstanding Wine Service in America in 2013, Stuckey admits he feels serene amid the chaos and pressure of the restaurant industry – a consequence of busing tables while overcoming the twin challenges of dyslexia and hyperactivity as a child.

But he also adores his running, and has permission from wife Danette – to whom he attributes his professional success as a sommelier – to do “one marathon a year”. The endurance sport keeps him on the straight and narrow, and disciplined enough to avoid the pitfalls of many other, non-athletes, in his profession.

To keep himself in shape he trains with running buddies – including Kenyon Neuman, who, like Stuckey, has an especial fondness for Colorado’s ‘Poorman’ trail, a steep climb that taxes heart rate but rewards with the pleasure of accomplishment, every time.

View the original video here.

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