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Sarah Sellers crushed this year’s Boston Marathon as the mystery runner who chased two-time Olympian Desiree Linden for a shocking second-place finish. Clocking a time of 2:44:04, Sellers is a Utah native who lives and trains in Tucson, Arizona, and works full-time as a nurse anesthetist.
Sellers ran track and cross country at Weber State University in Utah where she was a nine-time 5,000- and 10,000-meter champion of the Big Sky Conference. When she began training for her 2017 marathon debut in Huntsville, UT, Sellers stuck with her college coach Paul Pilkington to run a 2:44:27. Her time meant she not only qualified for the Boston Marathon, but she also earned a spot in the women's elite field at the starting line.
Despite her accomplishments, Sellers only entered the storied marathon because her younger brother was running; she certainly didn’t expect a top spot on the podium. Here, Sellers shares what she ate before the big race, and how she eats to fuel the rest of her training.
Sarah Sellers Finished Second in the Boston Marathon. This is How She Eats
Before the race, I had Before the race, I had with almond milk. Normally I drink plenty of dairy milk, just not before workouts or races because I don’t do well with it. Plus, strawberries are my favorite food, so the little dried strawberries [in the cereal] remind me of one of my favorite things.
Work-day Snacks
I bring easy, fast snacks to work that are nutritious and will keep me from getting too hungry during the day. Some of my favorites are apples, Greek yogurt, and cheese sticks. I’ll make my own trail mix, too. Nothing fancy—just nuts, dried fruit, and pretzels. I like simple things that are readily available and that I can have consistently.
Before the race, I had...
Fuel for Strong Bones Health - Injuries from Ambitious Kitchen. They’re awesome. I’ll make three dozen muffins on the weekend and then freeze them. After I run early in the morning, I’ll put a couple muffins in the microwave and either throw together some eggs or have a protein shake with them.
...and Avocado at Lunch
Lunch is usually a turkey sandwich with avocado and an apple. It has to have avocado or it’s not a real sandwich! I’ll also have a snack when I’m finishing up work, which might be a cheese stick, crackers, or a side salad.
Easy Freeze-y
I’ll run again after work, and then I’ll have a good dinner afterward. Since I’m normally short on time, I’m a huge proponent of leftovers—if I’m going to make something, I want to make it last for several meals. So I’ll make grilled chicken with veggies and quinoa for dinner, and then freeze a bunch of it for later.
Daily Dessert
I pretty much have dessert every single day. It works for me. When you’re running a lot of miles, it’s easy to fall into the trap of being calorie-depleted, and that’s when you get injured. So I’ll make chocolate chip cookies, hot chocolate, or even pudding because it has a lot of calcium. The night after Boston, I had dark chocolate, which is one of my favorites.
Go-To Cookbook
On my days off and on the weekends, I love cooking and experimenting with recipes. One of my favorite cookbooks is called Nutritious Delicious by America’s Test Kitchen. It epitomizes the kind of foods that I like to eat because it includes a lot of whole grains, healthy meats, and healthy fats. I haven’t made a recipe yet that doesn’t taste good.
CA Notice at Collection
With my background in healthcare, I think a lot about bone density. A lot of runners, especially young high school girls, get trapped thinking that the lighter they are, the faster they’ll be. But your teenage years through your mid-20s are the only times in your entire life [as a female] when you can build bone density. Men follow a similar curve, but it’s more of a gradual decline once they hit their peak bone density.
I see women almost every day who are getting pathologic fractures due to osteoporosis. Stress fractures that ultimately stemmed from a calorie deficit curtailed my own running career. So I think it’s important to have foods that are rich in calcium and vitamin D, but if you don’t have enough calories, you are going to break down your bones.
One Smart Cookie
My advice is to have a varied diet that you enjoy and that fuels you to be able to perform and to recover. Especially if you’re a high school or college athlete, you have a lot more wiggle room for discretionary calories. If you’re running a hundred miles a week, you can’t eat enough broccoli and grilled chicken to get enough calories. So eat things that sound good to you—and still incorporate foods that have a high nutritional value—but sometimes, cookies are just what you need.
