When you think about marathon runners, does your mind go to professional chefs? My mind didn’t, but as it turns out, there is a substantial list of professional chefs who use running as a way to decompress and maintain their fitness level in the midst of their food-centric job. Here are three profiles of professional chefs who have run marathons and who have shared some of their eating habits that help sustain them throughout their run.
Richard Blais is a winner of Top Chef: All-Stars and author of the cookbook Try This at Home. He grew up without a good understanding of how to eat healthy and recalled watching the New York City marathon on television, never imagining that one day he would be one of the runners in the sea of people. He has run six marathons. Blais shares some of his eating habits when it comes to his running schedule: “I try to eat lots of leafy greens like baby kale, whole grains like farro and barley, and lean protein. The only thing that I really stay away from is ultra-fatty foods that make me feel heavy." One of the things he enjoys about being a running chef is the freedom to taste as much as he wants: “As a chef, it's empowering to know that you can taste all day and not put on pounds. It's made me fall in love with carbs again, too.”
George Mendes was the head chef at the Portuguese-inspired restaurant Aldea before its close in February of 2020. He earned a MICHELIN star for the fine dining restaurant, a difficult achievement for any chef to earn. Mendes took up running as a form of self-care in the midst of his chaotic schedule. He has run five marathons. . “Before the big race, Mendes will nosh on some oatmeal with bananas and apples. ‘I don't really think about food as I'm running, but do fuel up periodically with electrolyte gels,’ he said in an email” (Orlov, 2016). While his focus doesn’t seem to be as centered on fueling during his run, he does enjoy drinking coffee after a race, which helps give him a boost after expending so much energy.
You may know him as the intense, screaming chef, but he is also a runner! Ramsey’s running habit started with the intent to ensure that he will live a long life (his family’s health history isn’t exactly flawless). Ramsey has run at least ten marathons, accomplishing his goal of completing ten marathons in ten years in 2009. Ramsey is all about carbs before his runs: “The night before a marathon is all about loading up on carbs, not making complicated dishes.”
These three chefs should motivate and inspire: in the midst of their hectic and demanding schedules, they still find time to put their health first—and what better way to do that than by properly fueling before their runs by using their professional knowledge of nutrition?
