For seven years, Isaac Rochell suited up on Sundays to face some of the NFL’s fiercest linemen. But now, at 29, the former Chargers, Colts, Browns, and Raiders defensive end is preparing for a very different kind of challenge, one that has nothing to do with pads, helmets, or playbooks.
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Months after announcing his retirement from football on his wife Allison Kuch’s Sunday Sports Club podcast, saying he’s “super happy to be done” and “really accomplished,” Rochell has found a new arena to test his discipline: marathon running.
And as he gears up for the Chicago Marathon, he’s not sugarcoating the experience.
“I went from wearing this jersey [NFL shirt] to this jersey [marathon bib]. Not really a jersey, but I got the Chicago Marathon tomorrow,” Rochell said in a recent video, before adding,
“Prepping for a marathon is way harder than prepping for an NFL game. Sorry, NFL players. The scrawny runners, they have it harder.”
It started as a spontaneous challenge, but now has quickly turned into a full-blown transformation for the former Cleveland Browns DE. Rochell, who ran a random marathon 10 weeks ago without much training and still finished in four hours, admits that his perspective has completely shifted since then.
“I have millions of followers. I’m running both the Chicago and the New York marathon… I played in the NFL for seven years. I’m athletically ahead of the game… but I didn’t really train. I finished, and then companies came out of nowhere offering bibs. I signed up for both because why not?” he explained.
But after 10 weeks of serious training, Isaac Rochell says he now understands what truly makes marathon runners special.
“There’s a huge difference between randomly showing up and running a race and training for 10 straight weeks … I have to get up at five o’clock in the morning and go run 20 miles on Saturday. On Fridays, I can’t drink. I can’t eat the same. I’m doing 40 to 50 mile weeks… everything I’m doing, I have to think about how it’ll affect my time.”
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At the Chicago Marathon, Rochell is targeting a 3:15 marathon, a steep upgrade from his last run. “I’m 250 pounds running 26 miles,” he joked.
And yet, his goal isn’t just about performance; it’s about respect too. “I am an influencer. I did get a bib from companies… But I now have a lot of respect for the folks that train for a marathon, not just finish it. The training is the race. The training is the part that actually really sucks,” Rochell said.
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Regardless of the new experience and journey that Isaac Rochell has undertaken with his marathon running, it’s clear that his mindset hasn’t changed. He’s still chasing greatness, one mile at a time.
Safe to say, all eyes will be on how well Rochell fares at the Chicago Marathon today. As he himself said, don’t forget bib number D22472.
