These bon vivants are kicking each other’s butts for the NYC Marathon

By | November 3, 2018

Last November, Vito Schnabel was happy after finishing the New York City Marathon in three hours and 15 minutes — more than 10 minutes faster than his 2016 time.

Then the art dealer looked on Instagram and discovered that his friend, Eleven Madison Park chef and co-owner Daniel Humm, had finished the race in three hours, 12 minutes.

“Naturally, that sparked some questions about [this] year,” Schnabel, 33, told The Post.

So at this Sunday’s marathon, the rivalry is personal.

The highly competitive running buddies aren’t wagering any money on who will finish faster but, Schnabel said, “It’s all about honor.”

The two men, who met years ago when they were both in St. Moritz, Switzerland, for work, have spent the past few months training together any time they’re in the same city.

Both were working in Los Angeles for a couple of weeks in August and, every day at 7 a.m., they’d go running together, strengthening their bond with every mile.

“We talk about art, we talk about personal stuff, we cover a lot of ground,” said Schnabel, who dated Heidi Klum for years and has ­recently been linked to actress Amber Heard.

“When you’re exercising, your guard is kind of down,” said Humm, who is divorced and has three daughters.

Which isn’t to say their competitive edges soften.

“We always trash talk,” Humm, who is a five-time marathoner, told The Post.

There’s even a famous cheerleader fanning the flames of their competition.

After Humm posted a photo on Instagram of him and Schnabel recovering from a run — on lounge chairs and wearing inflatable compression sleeves on their legs — their mutual pal, fashion designer Zac Posen, weighed in: “[Vito] will beat you,” he commented.

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“He’s our Don King,” Schnabel said of Posen, a friend from childhood and fellow alum of Brooklyn’s St. Ann’s school. (Schnabel is the son of renowned artist Julian Schnabel.)

Like any good athlete, the two are quick to analyze each other’s competitive advantage.

“He’s 10 years younger,” said Humm, 42.

“He has longer legs, two of my steps are one of his,” Schnabel, who is 6-foot-1 to Humm’s ­6-foot-4, said with a laugh. “We push each other to be better. We’re competitive people.”

In September, they detoured their rivalry into the kitchen, cooking dinner for a group of ­mutual friends at Schnabel’s Bridgehampton home.

“I think everybody knows I’m a better cook than Daniel,” said Schnabel of the professional chef.

“I have to say, Vito makes a pretty good broccoli rabe meatball pasta,” Humm admitted.

On Sunday morning, the dueling duo plan to start the marathon together and run much of it side by side. But in the final miles, Humm said, it’s every man for himself: “It’s a crowded field. For me, it’s more important to keep my pace, not take someone else’s.”

Living | New York Post