Last April, Shadrack Biwott could hardly see a few yards in front of him as he powered down the final stretch of the Boston Marathon. Throughout the race, he had been slapping his face and legs to try to shake feeling back into his body, which had gone numb thanks to the driving rain and wind gusts that hammered the city. Still, he prevailed through the weather, finishing as the first American and third overall in 2:18:35.
The running conditions in Boston were a far cry from sunny Folsom, California, where Biwott, 33, lives with his wife, Katharine, and their two elementary school-aged children. Though he’s a member of the Hansons-Brooks Project elite team, which is based in Michigan and included 2018 Boston women’s champion Des Linden, Biwott trains in California and is coached remotely by Kevin Hanson. After the marathoner returned from Boston, his local running community gave their hometown hero proper kudos.
Earlier this month, Biwott, who holds a marathon PR of 2:12:01, announced that he’ll be returning to Boston on Monday, April 15 to defend his American title.
“I’m excited to just go out and have fun,” he says. “I want to be top five again, but I’m not going to stress about it too much. My plan is to just run smart and do whatever I can. Whatever happens, happens.”
The California-based athlete eats light during the day and doubles down on dinner.
As Biwott looks ahead to April, we caught up with him to discuss how he’s fueling his training and racing. “I have pretty light meals during the day, then have my biggest meal at night for dinner,” he says. “That way, I’m not weighed down too much while I’m running.”
Here, he describes what he typically eats and drinks for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a post-marathon celebration.
Breakfast Tea Time
I usually work out around 8:30 a.m., and I wake up two hours beforehand, at 6:30. I get up and make a pot of black tea, which I take with a little milk. I drink the tea and eat two slices of bread, spread with some peanut butter and a banana, finishing up around 7. Then I help get my kids ready for their days and drop them off at school before going to my workout. During the workout, I don’t eat any gels or chews, but I’ll sometimes have a sports drink (my favorite brand is Maurten) mixed with water for long, hard efforts.
If I’m racing a marathon in the morning, I like to wake up four hours before the race to have time to digest a little more food. My prerace breakfast is usually two or three scrambled eggs, toast with peanut butter, a banana, and black tea. Then I’ll keep sipping on a sports drink until the race starts.
Mid-Day Eggs
My lunch—which I eat after my workout ends around noon—is usually about the same as my breakfast, but with more protein. I’ll make two pieces of toast with peanut butter, plus two to three eggs scrambled on the side. I’ll also have another cup of tea. I don’t usually eat anything else before my second run What to Eat Before Running.
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Carb-Heavy Dinner
After I’m done running for the day, I like to have a big dinner. I very rarely go out to eat—I like to make all of my meals at home when I’m not traveling for a race. I love a large plate of spaghetti with meatballs or sauce made with ground beef, plus bread on the side. I’ll also make burrito bowls with rice, black beans, and some type of roasted or steamed veggies. My stomach has never gotten along well with desserts and foods with lots of sugar, so I don’t have any sort of sweet afterward.
The night before a marathon, I usually don’t eat any vegetables, to avoid an upset stomach during the race. I’ll have something high-carb and easily digestible, like spaghetti and meat sauce or grilled chicken and rice. I try to fill up enough, but not eat so much that I feel super full and heavy afterward.
Post-Marathon Pizza
After a race, and especially after a race in New York City, all I crave is a huge slice of New York-style pizza. Nothing else sounds good to me. I’ll be on the lookout for good pizza in Boston, too.
