- Mary Keitany and David Weir have both won the New York City Marathon.
- Keitany has won the 26.2-mile race four times, including last year, while Weir bested the wheelchair division once, in 2010.
- Both will be back in the streets of New York Sunday, racing through all 5 boroughs, and hoping to clinch another win.
- They each told Insider their preferred race fuel is warm porridge, a heart-healthy staple that provides runners with key vitamins and minerals, while also releasing a slow and steady supply of energy during a long race.
Kenyan runner Mary Keitany and British wheelchair racer David Weir both know what it feels like to win the New York City Marathon.
Keitany's done it four times, while Weir clinched the top wheeled spot once, in 2010, crossing the finish line in Central Park ahead of the pack.
Both champs are going to be back in the streets of all five boroughs this weekend, hoping to score another victory in the 2019 TCS New York City Marathon.
"I'm ready," Keitany told Insider. "I'll do my best on Sunday."
But before she laces up, the four-time New York Marathon champion will eat. Her favorite pre-race food, she said, is ugali, a stiff version of cornmeal porridge that's a popular side dish in her home country. There, it's often served to accompany vegetables, meat, or fish. It's really not so different from the way that Weir fuels up.
"I struggle to eat breakfast in the morning," he said.
The gold medalist said he relies on porridge, fruit, and lots of caffeine to get going, "just to wake me up and get me ready for the race," he added.
Porridge — especially the whole grain kind — is a great fuel for long races, and long lives, too
Part of the reason that whole grains like oats do a body good is that they are rich in fiber, which helps slow down digestion and keep porridge-eaters fuller, longer. Whole grains also tend to be good for heart health. Some of the fibers in whole grain cereals (oats, barley), called beta-glucans, can actually bind with cholesterol in our guts, shuttling it out of the body.
Another reason that warm porridge is such a solid morning choice is that it is a low-glycemic form of carbohydrates, which means that blood sugar and insulin levels don't skyrocket right after you eat it (unlike more sugary cereal choices). Instead, breakfasts like oatmeal release energy into a runner's bloodstream slowly over the course of their 26.2-mile race.
American runner Shalane Flanagan, who beat Keitany in the 2017 New York race, becoming the first American woman to win the race in 40 years, also says she prefers fueling up on oats come race day. So do many nutritionpros.
Keitany's ugali, if it's made with whole cornmeal, is packed with much of the same protein, fat and fiber content that's in oats. Yellow cornmeal is also rich in vitamins and minerals, including a good dose of magnesium. That magnesium can help Keitany's immune system and heart stay strong and healthy, and may help her body produce energy during the race.
And clearly, the racer has a lot of energy. Last year, Keitany won the 26.2-mile race in 2 hours and 22 minutes.
She crossed the finish line alone, more than a full three minutes ahead of any other woman on the road.
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