When Chef Tee Cozy traces up for the Chicago Marathon on Sunday, October 12, 2025, it’ll be the eleventh time the top chef from Cozy Noodles n’ Rice, a Thai restaurant in Wrigleyville, Illinois, has run the race. If there’s one factor obvious within the opening scenes of this new quick movie — the debut within the new PACE SETTERS collection by iRunFar in partnership with HOKA — it’s that Chef Tee, who moved to Chicago from Thailand in 1996, loves his metropolis. He additionally loves working. And he brings that very same sense of affection to all he does.
[Editor’s Note: Click here to watch the full film on YouTube.]
With the looming Chicago Marathon, we study what the occasion means to Chef Tee, who got here to the U.S. in quest of alternative, and within the meantime, discovered group and which means in working. What began as one thing completed for train and enjoyable, working turned a central tenet in Tee’s life after a buddy inspired him to use for the 2014 Chicago Marathon. He nonetheless appears to be like stunned when describing the expertise of getting accepted all these years later. After taking practically eight hours to finish that first marathon, he by no means seemed again. “I’ve to say working modified my life. It undoubtedly modified my life in one of the best ways.”
Chef Tee in his restaurant, Cozy Noodles ‘n Rice. All pictures are screenshots from the movie “Chicago, Meet the Chef Who Loves You.”
However there’s extra to working for Tee than the straightforward act of placing one foot in entrance of the subsequent. It’s about group, friendship, setting objectives, and bringing love into all the pieces he does. The truth that working typically mirrors life, or life mirrors working, just isn’t misplaced on Tee when he says, “Working can assist me create one thing good in my life, too.”
Having raced the Chicago Marathon 10 occasions now, Tee shares tales of the group that has gathered round him over time. His household waits for him on the similar spot annually, his clients collect between miles seven and 9 to cheer him on, and he hosts a free carb-loading meal for any Chicago Marathon runner.
Chef Tee heads into his restaurant, Cozy Noodles n’ Rice.
Tee clearly goals to imbue all the pieces he does with love. In his restaurant, he says, “All people had meals, however in case you can add up some love and happiness and keenness into your meals and serve it, and within the place you’ve gotten, I ought to have extra success too.” He explains, “In my tradition, we all know one another, we speak, we’re very honest. Right here, generally, if we don’t know one another effectively, we don’t present what’s in our coronary heart.” Tee reveals what’s in his coronary heart. In his working, he’s fast to precise his gratitude for his working group, for the streets of Chicago, and for the folks within the metropolis.
Chef Tee and his working group.
This movie is a reminder that there’s a lot extra to working than meets the attention, and everybody who laces up a pair of footwear has their very own causes for exhibiting up. With earnestness, Tee reminds us of the significance of objectives, of exhibiting up for ourselves and our communities, and of present in an area of gratitude and appreciation.
Chef Tee working on the streets of Chicago.
[Editor’s Note: This article is sponsored by HOKA. Thank you to HOKA for its sponsorship of iRunFar, which helps to make iRunFar happen and free for all to enjoy. Learn more about our sponsored articles.]