[Clarification: Lingo measures your blood glucose levels, and dehydration can spike your blood sugar. Kipchoge knows when to drink more water based on elevated blood glucose levels, the device does not directly tell you when to drink water.]

That ties into nutrition and I think that’s been a big conversation in the endurance world lately. How do you eat? What does your diet look like?

I always try to eat a balanced diet. I try to carbo-load when I’m doing big workouts the next day. Like today, it’s a Wednesday. I’m trying to eat a lot of carbohydrates, it gives me more energy for the long run tomorrow. But I’m still trying to make sure that my food is still complete with all the nutrients.

What do you eat after a long run?

After a long run, we start our recovery by drinking tea and eating bread.

For lunch, we have beans with rice and for dinner, ugali [a popular Kenyan dish made of cornmeal.] This is how a typical day looks for us as far as food is concerned. We keep this consistent throughout our marathon preparation.

Do you work with a team or do you just eat how you feel?

No, I work with the team. We have a nutritionist here in our company where he tells us, this is the right food to eat. So we are actually on it.

So, a balanced diet during the week and then carbs leading up to your long runs. What about during your runs?

When I’m doing the long runs, personally, I use Maurten, which is one of the sports drinks. It’s really good for me, and that’s what I’m using to give me energy and keep my body more excited. One week or five days before running a marathon, I tried to do more carbo-loading to bring more energy towards the marathon weekend.

I’ve noticed that a lot of runners are talking more about trying to take in a lot of carbs during the actual marathon. Is that something that you’ve been doing?

Inside the marathon I am spreading out my drinks [at the aid stations.] I’ve been running for five years using the Lingo [glucose monitor], so I’ve learned how to do it, and how much to consume. When you do that, you will perform well. You can cross the finishing line with all the energy and enjoy the day after the marathon.

Yes, so you don’t feel wiped out afterwards.

If you are really well hydrated, you don’t feel like you have given your all. After the marathon, you can recover very fast and you can still walk and your mind is still working well.

What does your recovery look like?

When I have speed work or the long run, I give myself an ice bath for more recovery. I get a massage to clean the tissues. That’s all and then I relax.

And do you take time off after a marathon or do you keep running?

I normally take time off after a marathon, try to jog for two to three days, have a massage. Then I take real time off to let my mind calm again. After that, I will start to pick up slowly by slowly.

So in those weeks off, what do you do?

I totally relax, be with my family. I just relax, feel comfortable at home. Because for three months, you know, you need to run five days a week, it’s tough.

I know you’ve been running for a long time now.

Very long.

How has your relationship with training and recovery changed?

All the things are changing, you know. When I was in track and field a long time ago, we had no recovery and training was just normal. Now we know when to recover, we know when to train. That’s why I run fast, I enjoy the recovery, I enjoy the running. Fun. Fun. I enjoy going to training and I’ve run a lot of marathons. Long time ago, before technology, it was tough. But thank you to technology.

It really helps to know when to train and when to recover.

Absolutely. If you have a watch, it tells you you need to recover for the next three or four hours, then you do exactly what you are doing and it’s awesome.

And as you think about running for the rest of your life—is this important? How do you think about your longevity in this sport?

I think it’s important for me to continue running for a very long time, be on trail every day. Just for my fitness, for my health.

Do you take part in any of the trends like saunas or red light therapy?

No, not really, I have no facility for saunas, because I’m still running at a high level. And maybe when I start to reduce and calm down, I will jump into saunas.

Tell me about your sleep schedule.

I sleep about six and a half to eight hours, and that’s enough for me. I am strict on my sleep—I go to bed at night, wake up at quarter to six. When I get time to sleep during the daytime, I can just have a nap and sleep. But mostly at night is when I get enough sleep.

Any supplements?

Not really.

How do you take care of your mental health?

I’m taking care of my mental health by trying all my minutes to think positive. I try to be around positive people, read positive content, and learn about positivity in the world. That’s what makes my mind think positive and be calm.

Are there ever days you wake up and you’re like, I don’t want to do this. I don’t want to train.

Absolutely, yes. Sometimes I feel like, let me sleep today. But then I ask myself what will happen? Then I just wake up, put on my clothes, put on my shoes, and move on.

What have you learned about yourself as you train for your last world major?

I’ve learned that being happy in training is what makes you run in a good way. The happiness that you enjoy in training, that’s the only remedy that you can get. That’s the only way to boost your training, and that’s the only way to have good results in races. So happiness in your mind, good health, no injuries, that’s it.

Most people aren’t trying to train at the level that you are. But is there anything that they can take away from your approach or do you have any advice for casual marathoners?

My advice actually is consistency. Get your consistency. Train in a good way. Make your body adapt to training like every day, or even five days. Without consistency, you feel that pain. The more you are consistent, the more you enjoy racing, the more you enjoy training, the more you can enjoy any sort of running.

In Real-Life Diet, athletes, celebrities, and other high performers talk about their diet, exercise routines, and pursuit of wellness. Keep in mind that what works for them might not necessarily be healthy for you.