What does a dietitian eat before the Boston Marathon?
“Usually pizza,” said Ming Cheung, a Framingham, Mass., native and Boston University alum. Cheung, who currently works as a dietician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, is set to run his eighth marathon and his fourth Boston Marathon on April 20 to support Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Needham (BIDN).
An overweight teen, Cheung drastically changed his lifestyle before his first semester at BU, dropping more than 50 pounds. “I was sick of not fitting into normal clothes,” he says. It was as a freshman at Boston University that he ran his first Boston Marathon.
“It was always a dream of mine to run the marathon,” he says. “I had a bunch of friends who wanted to run, and we became the BU Bandits.”
Cheung’s believes his background in nutrition gives him a competitive edge. “I feel like I was able to condition my body and know how food interacts with my body much better,” he says. “I can adjust what I eat to optimize my training.”
And the strategy is not rocket science. In fact, consistency is key. “I learned not to change my diet before the marathon, to keep it consistent and increase carbs a bit more,” he said.
Cheung’s advice for other runners? It’s no surprise he recommends a healthy diet. “Once I started eating healthy, running got a lot easier,” he explained. “After my first marathon, I was sore for over 2 weeks. Once I learned about nutrition, I was only sore for one day, and maybe the second day,” he said.
Being a dietician helped with knowing what to eat after a marathon and training session, Cheung said. He recommends that everyone learn what works for them, but hydration and increasing potassium and electrolytes are key.
Cheung’s goal is to finish the 119th Boston Marathon in under four hours. He previously raised more than $12,000 from his combined marathons, and this year has set a goal of raising $7,500 to the BIDN CancerCenter and Surgical Pavilion.
You can visit Cheung’s marathon page to learn more or to donate.