When Chef Tee Cozy lines up for the Chicago Marathon on Oct. 12, 2025, it’ll be the 11th time the head chef from Cozy Noodles n’ Rice, a Thai restaurant in Wrigleyville, Ill., has run the race.
If there’s one thing apparent in the opening scenes of this new short film — the debut in the new PACE SETTERS series by iRunFar in partnership with HOKA — it’s that Chef Tee, who moved to Chicago from Thailand in 1996, loves his city. He also loves running. And he brings that same sense of love to all he does.
[Editor’s Note: If you are unable to see the video above, click here to access it.]
With the looming Chicago Marathon, we learn what the event means to Chef Tee, who came to the U.S. in search of opportunity, and in the meantime, found community and meaning in running. What started as something done for exercise and fun, running became a central tenet in Tee’s life after a friend encouraged him to apply for the 2014 Chicago Marathon.
He still looks surprised when describing the experience of getting accepted all these years later. After taking nearly 8 hours to complete that first marathon, he never looked back. “I have to say running changed my life. It definitely changed my life in the best way.”
But there’s more to running for Tee than the simple act of putting one foot in front of the next. It’s about community, friendship, setting goals, and bringing love into everything he does. The fact that running often mirrors life, or life mirrors running, is not lost on Tee when he says, “Running can help me create something good in my life, too.”
Having raced the Chicago Marathon 10 times now, Tee shares stories of the community that has gathered around him over the years. His family waits for him at the same spot each year, his customers gather between miles 7 and 9 to cheer him on, and he hosts a free carb-loading meal for any Chicago Marathon runner.
Tee clearly aims to imbue everything he does with love. In his restaurant, he says, “Everybody had food, but if you can add up some love and happiness and passion into your food and serve it, and in the place you have, I should have more success too.”
He explains, “In my culture, we know each other, we talk, we’re very sincere. Here, sometimes, if we don’t know each other well, we don’t show what is in our heart.”
Tee shows what is in his heart. In his running, he’s quick to express his gratitude for his running community, for the streets of Chicago, and for the people in the city.
This film is a reminder that there is a lot more to running than meets the eye, and everyone who laces up a pair of shoes has their own reasons for showing up. With earnestness, Tee reminds us of the importance of goals, of showing up for ourselves and our communities, and of existing in a space of gratitude and appreciation.
This post was sponsored by HOKA.
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