Behind every great training run and personal record (PR) is a solid nutritional foundation. What you put into your body directly impacts how you feel during workouts and your race day performance. As the saying goes, you can’t out-train a bad diet. This article explores the diet and training strategies of Jeannie Rice, a remarkable masters runner who continues to defy age and expectations in the world of long-distance running.
Introduction to Jeannie Rice: An Inspiration
Jeannie Rice is a superstar in the world of senior running, especially at the half marathon and marathon levels. At 77 years old, Rice is still setting age-group world records and altering what we thought we knew about aging and running. She currently holds the world record for every distance between the 1500 meters and the marathon.
It’s not just that Rice is fast for her age-she’s also not seeing the decline in speed you’d typically expect for a septuagenarian runner. Rice has current American records for her age group in the half marathon and the marathon. Her current half marathon record time is 1:38:42 and her marathon record time is 3:27:50, which is also the current world record for her age group. These are times runners half her age would be proud of.
How It All Started
Rice says that she started to run as a way to lose weight in her mid-30’s. She moved from Korea to the United States and after the move went back to Korea and made several visits to relatives’ and friends’ houses for meals.
The Science Behind Her Success
U.K.-based researchers studied Rice when she raced the London Marathon, examining what biomarkers and physical characteristics set her apart from her peers. Six days after she set a new age-group world record in the marathon, running a time of 3:33:27 (averaging 8:08 miles), Rice agreed to visit an exercise lab in England where she underwent body fat measuring, treadmill testing, and other running and jumping assessments.
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The study revealed that Rice has the highest VO2 max (47.8) ever recorded for a woman aged 75 years or older, and a surprisingly high max heart rate of 180. Her very high VO2 max is comparable to that of world-class female and male distance runners who are several decades younger, and what’s been reported in male masters world-record holders. Rice’s running economy (RE), however, was found to be relatively modest for a runner of her ability.
The study authors wrote, “The very high VO2 max found may explain why the present athlete was able to achieve world-class performances across a wide range of distances (1,500 m - marathon), as VO2 max is highly important across all middle/long distances, whereas the importance of RE increases with longer running distances.”
They also noted that Rice has only experienced one running injury over the course of her 36-year running career, a metatarsal fracture that occurred when she stepped on a rock, about five months after completing lab testing for the study. “Her resilience to running injuries has likely contributed to her world-class age-group performance,” they wrote, “As continuous years of running training has been suggested to be particularly essential for aging athletes. This seems to be due to a possibly more rapid decrease in physiological parameters with prolonged rest (e.g., due to injury) in older individuals, and subsequent reduced response to training as compared with younger individuals observed in some studies.”
Rice's Training Philosophy: Consistency and Listening to Her Body
Rice is known for her humble nature. She’s been running 50 miles per week year round for the past 40 years-keeping her easy days easy, and not typically going for her maximum effort during her thrice weekly interval sessions-and only began accomplishing world-record performances when she entered the 70-74 year-old age category, so the study authors theorize that the training adaptations from all those years of high volume running likely played a major role in her current performances.
She’s been running 50 miles per week year round for the past 40 years. Rice says, “If I didn’t train, I wouldn’t be where I am. Training is 50 percent of it.”
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Study authors Bas van Hooren and Michele Zanini suggest that the RE measure may have been affected by the marathon she’d just raced. Van Hooren and Zanini gave two possible explanations for Rice’s relatively modest RE at submaximal running speeds-her weekly training distance and her stature. The male masters marathon world-record holder with a more remarkable RE typically ran 83-87 miles per week in the two years leading up to his world record, whereas Rice says she typically runs around 50 weekly miles, with a maximum of 68 miles in the weeks leading up to her world record at the London Marathon. Then, because Rice is relatively short, she required a relatively high step frequency at all speeds throughout the lab tests. And her high step frequency “may increase the cost of leg swing, thereby increasing the energy cost of running.”
Jeannie Rice's Diet
Rice emphasizes the importance of eating healthy and balanced meals and hydrating well. She also keeps her mind strong. She was born in South Korea, where the diet was a lot of fresh fish and vegetables. That’s still what I like today. I don’t eat much meat. My favorite meal is a salad with roasted salmon. I don’t have a sweet tooth, and don’t enjoy desserts much, so my diet is probably quite low-fat.
When she travels, she brings Nuun tablets with her to dissolve in water to be sure she’s getting plenty of electrolytes. On marathon morning, she always has coffee and some toast with peanut butter and banana. She is trying to fuel a little better during her marathons. I used to take three gels per marathon. I think I’ll try for four in Berlin.
Key Training Principles
Jeannie has always been self-coached, running an average baseline of 50 miles per week, including one day of speedwork with a group, a tempo run, and a long run, with easy recovery days interspersed between the harder efforts. It’s nothing fancy or complicated, but her volume is consistent and the regular speedwork keeps her sharp and zippy. Consistency is central to her approach. She isn’t willing to sacrifice the big, ambitious goals for the ego boost and immediate satisfaction of pushing too hard or racing too often. She advises them to minimize the situation by thinking of a race like a training run. “You’re gonna run a little faster than a training run. Look at it that way,” she continues. “We don’t get nervous when we meet for a Saturday long run.”
A Balanced Approach to Nutrition for Runners
While Jeannie Rice's specific diet isn't explicitly detailed, we can infer some general best practices for runners' nutrition based on expert recommendations. A balanced diet is crucial for fueling performance, supporting recovery, and preventing deficiencies.
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Here are seven key tips for dialing in your diet, according to sports nutritionist Kyle Pfaffenbach, elite-level running coach Danny Mackey, and competitive runner Allie Buchalski:
1. Lock In Your Protein Goals
Protein is essential for muscle-protein synthesis. Hard-training individuals should aim for between 1.4 and 1.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight (0.64 to 0.82 gram per pound) on both training and rest days. That works out to 100 to 120 grams of protein per day for a 150-pound person. Red meat, chicken, fish, and dairy are solid whole-food protein sources. A protein powder, like NOW Sports Whey Protein or NOW Sports Organic Plant Protein (for vegans and vegetarians), can also help you hit your daily target.
2. Get Your Fats
Fat is a foundational macro for runners, too. Females especially need sufficient fat intake, which is extremely important for hormone and energy balance. His recommendation for daily fat intake is around 1.2 grams per kilogram of body weight (0.54 gram per pound). To keep that math easy, divide your body weight in half and consume roughly that many grams of fat every day (so around 75 grams for a 150-pound individual). Nuts, avocados, and NOW Omega-3 Fish Oil are a few of Pfaffenbach’s go-to sources, but meat can make up the majority.
3. Alternate Your Carb Intake
With protein and fat held steady each day, your carbohydrates should alternate between high and low, based on your training. Pfaffenbach advises 80 to 100 grams for high-carb meals and 40 to 50 grams for low-carb meals, though some runners may require more or less depending on body size and workload. For me, high-carb means 120 to 140 grams per meal, or 360 to 400 grams per day, and low-carb 35 to 45 grams per meal, or 110 to 130 grams per day,” says Allie Buchalski, a Brooks Beasts athlete and long-distance specialist (5K and 10K). Pfaffenbach favors easily digestible sources of carbs for runners, “like plain pasta and rice in a pre-workout meal,” he says. “A lot of the runners on our team eat pancakes and organic maple syrup, because you absorb most of those sugars and they don’t leave a lot of heavy fibers behind. Oats and whole grains have their place, but they can leave people feeling heavy or bloated.”
4. Start Fueling The Day Before A Hard Run
A common mistake among runners is eating high carbs and calories on training days and going low on rest days, which often leads to under-fueled workouts. Instead, he advises runners to consume high carbs in each of the three meals leading up to a hard workout, starting on the prior day-for example, lunch and dinner the day before, and then breakfast the day of a late-morning or early-afternoon run.
5. Recover With A Shake And High-Protein Meals
When your long run is finished, it’s important to replenish your muscle glycogen and kick-start your recovery. One good way is with a post-workout shake that combines fast-digesting carbs and protein, at around a three-to-one ratio. “My post-run shake is 20 grams of protein from NOW Sports Unflavored Whey Protein Isolate, mixed with 60 grams of carbohydrate powder,” Buchalski says. Recovery takes about 48 hours, so you want to get higher-protein meals for the next day or two. Carbohydrates don’t have to be as high; shoot for 40 to 50 grams per meal, instead of the 80 to 100 grams for pre-workout.
6. Hydrate Before, During, And After Workouts
Even a 2 percent drop in body water can lead to negative performance issues, so proper hydration is critical. Mackey’s athletes follow these relatively simple rules:
- An hour or two before a workout, drink 16 ounces or more of fluid. Weigh yourself prior to the run.
- During the workout, drink at least 6 ounces for every 20 minutes of strenuous exercise.
- After the workout, weigh yourself, and then drink 16 ounces of water for every pound lost.
Aside from water, runners lose electrolytes like sodium and potassium through sweat during workouts, which can impair performance if not replaced quickly. This is why Buchalski consumes gels and NOW Sports Effer-Hydrate Electrolyte Tablets, not just water, during runs.
7. Supplement Based On Bloodwork, Not Hype
Whole foods should be the foundation of your nutrition plan, but even a “perfect” diet is likely to have nutritional gaps. And the easiest way to address these is through supplements. Some common areas of deficiencies in runners are iron and vitamin D, so these are two great supplements to consider. Every athlete has different gaps, though. “We use blood work to make sure we’re supplementing based on the needs of the individual,” Pfaffenbach says. Buchalski takes Iron and Vitamin D-3, as well as EcoGreen Multivitamin, Omega-3, Tart Cherry, Turmeric, Magnesium, Women’s Probiotic, and Quercetin. “It’s basically supplements for what my blood work says I’m low in, plus antioxidants,” she says. During race season, she adds Beta-Alanine to delay muscle fatigue and HMB for recovery.
Longevity and Motivation
Jeannie Rice embodies the idea that “age doesn’t matter.” She encourages people to just go for it and that it’s never too late to begin. As you get older, it is a huge part of your healthy life. So instead of sitting around, meet people, belong to a running club, and that way you have a little bit [of] social. So that will make it even easier.
Realizing how close she was to running world record times became a strong motivator, and she would even put the name and time of the current record-holder on her refrigerator, “and I went after that,” she says. “I’m pretty determined. I know if I want to do something, I’m going to work hard for that. So I can't stop running.”
The Bigger Picture: Health and Longevity
Inspired to run your first marathon? Boston Marathon hopeful Jeannie Rice has turned heads - from fellow athletes and health enthusiasts to researchers - for her superior physical health in her late 70s. Rice, 77, is a medical marvel. She's a world record-holder in various distances for people her age (including a marathon), with the highest VO2 max ever recorded in women over 75 years old and in line with younger distance runners that are the best in the world, according to a report published in the Journal of Applied Physiology.
While genetics and other health factors play a role in someone's abilities to achieve peak physical health, the best methods for living a longer, healthier life are simpler than you think.
The Real 'Fountain of Youth'
The things that we know that work today include sticking to an exercise routine, keeping your weight at a healthy level, getting regular and good sleep and avoiding cigarettes and other toxins, according to Dr. Douglas E. Vaughan, professor of medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and the director of the Potocsnak Longevity Institute. You should also try and reduce stress in your life and maintain healthy relationships with loved ones. Curb alcohol use, eat a variety of minimally-processed "real foods" and balance calories. Exercise is about the only equivalent of a fountain of youth that exists today.
How to Start Running
If Rice has inspired you to begin a running journey, remember the old adage: Slow and steady wins the race. Running is a mechanical motion that requires good technique, both for speed and efficiency and for reducing the risk of injury. Beginners should start slow, working on running mechanics and having a baseline strength level to make sure that your body can handle the level of pounding that comes with running. “Any time I’ve been around a cross-country runner, and they’ve been successful, they’ve gotten stronger. They haven’t forgotten about the weight room. To run faster for longer, you have to have good strength,” he emphasized.
Conclusion
Jeannie Rice’s story is a testament to the power of consistent training, a balanced diet, and a positive mindset. While her VO2 max and running economy might be exceptional, her approach to running is grounded in simple principles that anyone can adopt. Whether you’re a seasoned marathoner or just starting your running journey, Jeannie Rice's example offers invaluable lessons on how to stay healthy, motivated, and competitive, regardless of age.