On May 8, 2025, the Roman Catholic Church selected its new pope: Leo XIV. Before his historic election via conclave on Thursday, Leo was better known as Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, a 69-year-old from Chicago, which makes him the first American to be elected to the papacy.
While the rest of the world immediately dug into the new holy leader’s origins and decades of experience within the Church, we here at Runner’s World were singularly focused on answering one question: Is Pope Leo XIV a runner?
After we conducted an exhaustive search on Athlinks and the like, we determined that, sadly, the new pope doesn’t have any PRs to his name besides, uh, Pontiff Recognition. But in our pursuit, we kept stumbling upon the race results of another Robert Prevost from the American Midwest.
➡ Run your best marathon! Try Runner’s World’s How to Master the Marathon training program to run your first or fastest 26.2 ever! We’ll give you all the tools you need to navigate your entire marathon training journey—from picking a race to crushing your long runs.
Though not a man of the cloth, it turns out this Robert Prevost—a 48-year-old PR consultant from Minneapolis and the father of teenage twins—has logged thousands of miles on a sacred journey of his own. He’s just a regular guy who has run countless races, from 5Ks to a sub-four-hour Grandma’s Marathon, and now suddenly shares a name with one of the most famous people on the planet.
Naturally, we had to track him down.
As Pope Leo XIV settles into his first full day on the clock, we caught up with the only Robert Prevost who would actually return our calls. Here, Prevost talks about his newfound connection to the Vatican, his decades-long running career, what it’s like to have a phone that keeps buzzing like the bells of St. Peter’s, and why his Australian labradoodle might be having an even more surreal week than he is.
Runner’s World: Congratulations on being named the new pope. Big day for you, huh?
Robert Prevost: Ha, you can just call me Your Holiness, I guess.
What have the last 24 hours been like?
It’s been pretty hilarious. I’m actually hanging out in Las Vegas with my younger brother right now for our birthdays. We’re just getting in a couple rounds of golf to get away. So, we were sitting having lunch at the golf course yesterday, and the news pops up on our phones, and he just blurts out and starts laughing, saying, “My brother is the pope!”
All of a sudden, my phone just started buzzing, buzzing, buzzing, and there have probably been a couple hundred messages that have come through. It’s been kind of fun, honestly.
What was the best text you’ve received?
Multiple people have told me, “Well, I guess you’ve got your Halloween costume set this year.”
Was the other Robert Prevost on your radar at all? Did you know he was in the running to become the new pope?
I did know he was one of the cardinals being considered. I’m a public relations consultant, and my business name is just my name, so that’s how I found out. I’ll get alerts whenever things related to my name are in the news. And so every now and then, over the years, I’ve seen articles pop up about other Robert Prevosts. I think there was a NASCAR driver, and there’s this archbishop. So, I knew he was in the running.
Hate to tell you, but your Google Alerts are forever destroyed.
I know, right? But the funniest thing is our dog is actually named Leo! So now, not only is Robert Prevost the pope, but he is Pope Leo. And for anyone who knows our family, they know our dog, Leo, is a big part of our life. He’s often the center of attention. So that makes it even more fantastic.
So, Pope Leo may not be a runner, but you are. How long have you been running?
I grew up playing sports in a super tiny little town in the middle of nowhere in Lambert, Montana. I wasn’t a runner—I didn’t really like it—but I did track. Mostly a lot of jumping stuff. After college, I moved to Minneapolis and was looking for a way to stay in shape, so I met some people who were into running and I just started. I’ve run three marathons.
When I met my wife, Jill, who ran track and cross country in college, we started training together. Now, we mostly do triathlons as a way to kind of mix it up and stay in shape. My distance now is more like 5K and 10K; that’s my sweet spot. As I get older, that feels good for my body.
What’s your all-time favorite race?
The Lake Coeur d’Alene Triathlon in Idaho is amazing. I mean, the lake is just remarkable. And then you bike through the mountains, right around Coeur d’Alene, and it’s just spectacular scenery. The Twin Cities Marathon in Minneapolis is also amazing. It’s the first Sunday in October and the weather is usually just perfect: it’s chilly and cool, but flat. And there are hundreds of thousands of spectators, which is just so cool. Everybody comes out. It’s awesome.
What does your running schedule look like these days?
My wife and I just try to mix it up with running, biking, and swimming five or six days a week. It’s very casual. I’ll probably run a couple times a week at a 5K distance. We have some great trails here in Minneapolis, so I do a lot of trail running, which is easier on my joints. Nothing extreme. It’s just about trying to stay active.
Find a training plan for any goal with our new How to Master the 5K program!
If the other Robert Prevost decided to start running, what beginner tips would you give His Holiness?
Stretch! In the early days, I could just bust out and crank out a long run, but now, man, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that stretching is the most important thing you can do. So I’d tell the pope to keep his body flexible and loose to avoid injuries. And to stay hydrated.
What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned through running—something even the pope could use?
That there’s power in setting a goal. For me, writing down a goal, and then having something to work for and something to look forward to, I think that’s the fun part about running. Once you sign up for a race, it’s go-time. And so it’s easier to hold yourself accountable when you have something on the calendar that you need to commit it to. Set a goal, commit to it, and put in the work. That’s very rewarding.
Could the pope rock a pair of running shoes under his robes?
I saw he was rolling with those plain black shoes, so yeah, he should mix it up. Some bright-colored running shoes would definitely accent the outfit.
I hope you’re ready for someone to give you a pointy pope hat to wear during your next race.
Oh yeah, the odds are pretty good. And of course I’d wear it. What the heck, right?
If you could create a new running commandment, what would it be? “Thou shalt carb-load responsibly”? “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s PR?”?
Thou shalt get a good night’s sleep before a race, for sure. And thou shalt eat a light breakfast.
So, what will be harder: training for your next triathlon, or being asked about the pope thing for the rest of your life?
It’s a toss-up at this point. The triathlon will probably be harder, but my phone overheated from all the texts yesterday, and the news cycle is obviously continuing a day later. So, this is something I’ll probably be tethered to until the end of time.
