This Is What a Professional Runner Eats for Breakfast

We don’t need to tell you that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. In this series, we’re asking some of Boston’s top doctors, fitness pros, and dietitians for a sneak peek into their kitchens, so we can see what’s on their breakfast table.

Paige Kouba’s breakfast/Photo provided

Paige Kouba

Claim to fame: Kouba is a Saucony-sponsored professional runner specializing in the mile and steeplechase. By day, she’s also an assistant coach for Harvard’s track and field team.

What she ate: Steel-cut oats cooked with soft-boiled egg, and topped with berries, milk, cinnamon, sunflower seeds, peanut butter, half a banana, and chia seeds.

Why she chose it: The short answer? Kouba is a creature of habit. “I pretty much eat this every morning, 365 days a year,” she says.

Kouba says this meal gives her the power necessary to sustain her exhausting training schedule. “Right now, I’m running 70 to 75 miles a week, so I need healthy and filling meals to keep me going,” she says. “By the end [this dish] doesn’t look pretty, but it’s delicious and it’s got all my favorite things in it. It’s simple but not boring, and I can make and eat it in under 20 minutes. Pretty much the perfect meal.”