On Thursday, May 8, the Catholic Church elected its new pope: Leo XIV, formerly known as Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost. He’s the first American pope in history, hailing from Chicago, and now leads 1.3 billion Catholics worldwide.
Naturally, everyone started Googling his name to learn more.
And that’s when things got weird — for a completely different Robert Prevost.
Hat tip to Andrew Daniels at Runner’s World for finding and interviewing the real Robert Prevost.
“My Brother Is the Pope!”
While Pope Leo XIV was beginning his first full day as head of the Catholic Church, another Robert Prevost, a 48-year-old PR guy and triathlete from Minneapolis, was sitting in Las Vegas having lunch with his brother.
“We were just getting in a couple rounds of golf to get away,” he told Runner’s World’s Andrew Daniels. “So, we were sitting having lunch at the golf course yesterday, and the news pops up on our phones, and [my brother] just blurts out and starts laughing, saying, ‘My brother is the pope!’”
Cue the texts. Hundreds of them.
“It’s been kind of fun, honestly,” Prevost said. “My phone just started buzzing, buzzing, buzzing.”
To be clear: this Robert Prevost is not a cardinal.
But the coincidences didn’t stop with the name.
“The funniest thing is our dog is actually named Leo!” he said. “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.”
You couldn’t script it better if you tried.
From Track Hurdles to Triathlons
Unlike the newly minted Pope Leo XIV, this Robert Prevost is an athlete.
“I grew up playing sports in a super tiny little town in the middle of nowhere in Lambert, Montana,” he said. “I wasn’t a runner—I didn’t really like it—but I did track. Mostly a lot of jumping stuff.”
He started running more seriously after moving to Minneapolis post-college. Eventually, he worked his way up to marathons (including a sub-4 Grandma’s Marathon) and now focuses more on 5Ks, 10Ks, and triathlons with his wife Jill, a former college track and XC runner.
“We just try to mix it up with running, biking, and swimming five or six days a week,” he said. “It’s very casual. I’ll probably run a couple times a week at a 5K distance.”
When asked about his all-time favorite race, Prevost didn’t hesitate.
“The Lake Coeur d’Alene Triathlon in Idaho is amazing,” he said. “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.”
He’s also a big fan of his hometown Twin Cities Marathon.
“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.”
Advice for His Holiness (If He Ever Starts Running)
Prevost may never meet his papal name twin, but he does have some advice if Pope Leo XIV decides to take up running.
“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.”
He also swears by the power of goal-setting.
“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.”
Would He Wear a Pope Hat in a Race?
Yes. And he’s not even pretending to think about it.
“Oh yeah, the odds are pretty good. And of course I’d wear it. What the heck, right?”
As for a running commandment?
“Thou shalt get a good night’s sleep before a race, for sure. And thou shalt eat a light breakfast.”
“This Is Something I’ll Probably Be Tethered To Until the End of Time.”
Prevost knows this whole thing is probably going to follow him for a while.
“The triathlon will probably be harder,” he said when asked what will be tougher—training for his next event or fielding questions about the pope. “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.”
It’s not often the Vatican changes your life as a recreational runner. But for one very normal guy in Minnesota, it’s been a week full of surprises, jokes, and Google Alerts gone completely off the rails.
