Finish Line Fueling

Every athlete, especially runners, knows that deciding what to eat is one of the most important—and most complex—choices that he or she has to make in order to guarantee optimum performance. How much should you eat, when should you eat, and what foods should you eat are just some of the larger questions that an active athlete frequently ponders. How do you know what’s the right choice? That’s where sports dietitian and competitive runner Jackie Dikos’s Finish Line Fueling: An Essential Guide to Runner’s Nutrition comes in. Part cookbook, part nutritional guide, Finish Line Fueling helps you get the most out of what you eat.

Recipes are divided into helpful sections that include not just the traditional meals of breakfast, lunch, and dinner but also pre-activity snacks, post-workout recovery nibbles, racing fuel, and carbo-loading meals for intense activity. Mouthwatering morsels such as Sweet Potato Avocado Deviled Eggs, Buckwheat-Oat Granola, High Heat Roast Beef, Vegan Pinto Bean Burgers, Wild Rice and Mushroom Pilaf, and Cilantro-Lime Burrito Bowl are just a few of the dozens of yummy and nutrient-packed recipes included here. Additionally, every recipe includes a helpful breakdown of the number of calories, fat grams, grams of fiber, grams of protein, and vitamin-types that it provides, as well as strategies to modify the recipe based on your age, gender, and performance goals.

With additional sections on getting the most nutrients from your diet, foods to avoid, and the best food pairings, Finish Line Fueling is essential reading for every runner.

Jackie Dikos, RD, CSSD, CLT is a sports dietitian and two-time Olympic Trials competitor in the marathon. She earned a fifteenth place finish at the 2007 Chicago Marathon and won the 2010 Indianapolis Monumental Marathon with a personal record of 2:45:26. Dikos aims to empower runners through simple fueling strategies in an effort to maximize the achievement of health, performance, and overall quality of life goals. She lives in Westfield, Indiana.

“Finish Line Fueling provides winning strategies for ditching pre-packaged foods and cooking nutritious, tasty food! Jackie presents nutritional information in well-written, easy-to-digest nuggets: As a mother runner, the Problem Solving section of the book really spoke to me. Bonus: The Everyday Fundamental Recipes are easy to prepare and super-tasty; I especially love the Endurance Lovers Cornbread, Pumpkin Chili, and Race Day Rice Bowl.” –Sarah Bowen Shea, co-founder of Another Mother Runner and host of the AMR podcast “Whether you're a new runner confused about what to eat or a veteran looking to spice things up, Finish Line Fueling is the book for you. With delicious recipes and mouth-watering photos to match, Jackie's book will keep you full, focused, and fueled all the way to the finish line.” –Jill Grunenwald, author of Running with a Police Escort “Jackie's approach to fueling is both scientific and practical. Finish Line Fueling answers every question a runner has had about nutrition while also focusing on quality of life and recognizing that food has cultural, emotional, and psychological significance. As a runner with high energy demands, I found the recipes to be delicious, simple, and most importantly - satisfying!” –Anna Weber, 2016 Olympic Trials Qualifier in theMarathon

“Finish Line Fueling has managed to take the confusing and emotional subject of runner’s nutrition and offered it in a usable and reusable format. Jackie opens by concisely explaining the important issues and then follows with how to implement what you have learned. This book will be a great read and maybe an even better resource to return to time and again.” –Matt Ebersole, founder of Personal Best Training

“I've worked with Jackie over the years, first as a marathoner and now as an ultrarunner. I am beyond thrilled she put her amazing mind and practical knowledge into a book! As a registered dietician, she is able to break down the nutritional aspects and explain the why, while offering her own applied knowledge as a serious runner. I love her creative food ideas—when she goes into sharing recipes I was blown away! I had never thought to make homemade sports drinks, or blend smoothies to put in flasks for ultras. I'm excited to apply her ideas and diversify my own regular diet and race day nutrition and hydration!” -Camille Heron, three-time Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier

"Finish Line Fueling helps you get the most out of what you eat." -Pittsburgh Better Times