“You’re a what?” runners said to Chris Heuisler in the lobby of the Westin Hotel in Philadelphia last weekend.
Heuisler, 34, stood behind a podium strategically placed about 10 feet from the hotel’s regular concierge desk. A video of the weekend’s Rock ’n’ Roll half-marathon course played behind him. Although a sign announced his service—runWestin concierge—confusion reigned.
“Most conversations started, ‘What are you here for?’ Then it was, ‘You’re a running concierge? That’s so cool,’” said Heuisler by phone from his home in the Boston suburb of Belmont.
After that, the onslaught of questions began.
Heuisler’s first appearance as the Westin Hotel’s national running concierge couldn’t have gone better, he said. He estimates he helped more than 50 runners navigate race weekend, offering advice on everything from getting to the start to racing strategy to noting historic points on the course they should not miss (e.g., Benjamin Franklin’s grave).
Health - Injuries Rock ’n’ Roll events in North America this year, Heuisler ran the course with locals before race weekend to get acquainted with the route. He appeared at the expo, led two Saturday shake-out runs from the hotel and stood at the finish line to cheer hotel guests across the line.
“Tracy [Sundlun, of The Competitor Group, which owns the Rock ’n’ Roll series,] said he’s never worked a day in his life. I’m going to steal his line. I don’t really think of this a job,” Heuisler said.
The Philadelphia native and sub-3-hour marathoner beat out 1,000 candidates for the job in a nationwide search Westin Running in the Cold. His primary responsibility is to serve as the running expert and customer service agent for Westin guests participating in Rock ’n’ Roll events. This coming weekend, he’ll be in Montreal for the Rock ’n’ Roll Marathon, then it’s on to Denver, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
Heuisler’s duties also include serving as the hotel’s running consultant. Last month, he toured a Westin property in New Jersey, pointing out how the hotel could better cater to runners during race weekend.
“My pet peeve is full mini-bars,” said Heuisler. “Empty out the minibar so runners can put in their Gatorade, bananas and other race food they brought.”
His other recommendations include rearranging furniture so that rooms are conducive for stretching, and posting a sign in the lobby welcoming runners.
“A race is kind of like a wedding. It’s a celebratory event, so we should recognize that,” he said.
Heuisler started running 15 years ago in an attempt to shed the freshman 15 he gained at Penn State. He ran for fitness until he and his brother committed to running the Philadelphia Marathon in 2002. After crossing the finish line, the pair vowed to run 50 marathons in 50 states. They have 20 down, 30 to go.
Heuisler’s five years as a personal trainer and running coach put him at the top the resume stack. He worked for Equinox fitness, becoming part of a cadre of trainers in the club known as tier-4. Each tier-4 trainer has a specialty. Heuisler’s was running. The RRCA-certified coach said he’s guided multiple runners from beginners to age-group competitors to finishes in distances from 5-K to marathon.
When he saw the job announcement, he jumped. “This job makes such logical sense to me,” he said. “I was an actor for 10 years, majored in public relations, and have been running for 15 years, so it’s a culmination of all those things.”
He has also run in a banana suit, won a local 10-K, and tried to keep up with Lance Armstrong during the New York City Marathon ("I won't do that again," he said).
From Runners World for New Balance All About 75 Hard, is that running is humbling and should be fun—lessons he learned in 2010 when Heuisler committed 365 days to answering the question: What does it take to run the best race of your life? During that year, he became a machine, he said, living to train, eat, and recover. The lessons piled up: on effective workouts, the benefit of cross-training, the critical issue of mindset. But also on burnout, family and perspective.
A documentary about the year will be released in 2014. Heuisler declined to specify his marathon personal best until after the documentary is released. He ran 2:56:22 at the 2011 New York City Marathon.
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Except one: “What restaurant do you recommend?” For that, he’ll send clients to his colleagues across the lobby.
