Olympic Runner Rai Benjamin Is One of the Fastest Humans, But He Wants More
This story is part of Men's Health's "Road to the Olympics" series, where six athletes share their training journeys as they prepare to compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics in July. Read all of the athletes' entries here.
RAI BENJAMIN HAS a one-track mind. After a fraction of a second separated him from the gold medal in the 400-meter hurdles at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics, he broke down into tears on international television. In preparation for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, the 26-year-old has to make life decisions most of us wouldn't give a second thought to—everything has an effect on him getting to the Olympics. His thoughts are consumed by race visualizations, and his conversations with himself are centered around motivating himself. Every day, he's choosing to be an Olympian.
That choice comes with sacrifices of all types. “I'm fortunate enough just to have this be the focus and have a supportive family that understands that I’m not gonna talk to them every day,” he says. “My family has always known sacrifice. My mom and dad know what it's like to sacrifice and put things aside to be successful.
To prep for Paris, he's training with Olympic gold medalists Joanna Hayes and Quincy Watts, as well as his 400-meter relay teammate Michael Norman and Olympic gold medalist Kendall Ellis. Here's what life is like now for Benjamin.
MEN'S HEALTH: In preparation for the Olympics, what does an average week of training and eating look like for you?
RAI BENJAMIN: The average week is pretty long for me. I get up at 7:30 in the morning and then make myself breakfast. I go through all my dietary supplements. I'll have scrambled eggs, toast, chicken sausage, or some oatmeal with peanut butter with a banana on the side. Or, I’ll have some yogurt for good gut health to absorb all those nutrients. I’m really simple when it comes to breakfast.
I practice from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. Monday through Friday and sometimes Saturday, depending on what the week calls for. Monday and Wednesday are my strength days, in addition to running. Tuesdays are usually technical days, where I hurdle and work on some techniques and drills. Wednesdays are my other running days, where it’s either sprint-focused or hurdle-focused. On Thursdays, I'm off. Fridays are technical days as well. For the first half of each day, I'm outside on the track from about 10 to 11:45, sometimes 12.
I'm usually out the door at around 9 a.m., and I like to get to practice early because I like to sit and chill for a second before I start running. I try to be about 30 minutes early for practice. I focus on what I'm doing that day and prepare for it. I usually get the workout plan a week in advance to know what I'm doing. I go through a warm-up, which takes about 30 to 45 minutes, depending on the day and how fast we're moving, and then the workout starts. It usually runs for about an hour or so, and then after that, it's a brief period where we have an hour break. So, I usually try to refuel during that period and get ready for the second part of the workout, which is lifting.
I’ll eat lunch around noon. Typically, it consists of some kind of veggie, meat, and rice. I usually make teriyaki salmon with rice and veggies, usually carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower. Or I’ll roast some potatoes and veggies with a side of seasoned herb chicken, preferably thighs—they're way easier to cook, they taste a lot better, and they don't really dry out throughout the week if you're meal-prepping.
From 1 to 3 p.m. I'm in the weight room. Dinner is around 6:30 or 7 p.m.—I try not to eat after 8:30. Dinner is likely what I had for lunch, especially if I meal prep. As the season progresses, I lean more towards fish and the lean protein itself than that heavy protein profile that you find in a steak or red meat.
MH: I know you're disciplined, but you're not a robot. Are there any foods you allow yourself to indulge in?
RB: Life is about balance, and if you don't have balance, then it probably will affect you mentally. You could go about three or four weeks or so, and then your body just naturally craves stuff. If your body's craving something, it's important to listen to your body and do things in moderation. My cheat snack is a smash patty burger or brown butter cookies from Whole Foods. Put that in the microwave for 15 seconds—and it’ll make you happy.
MH: What are some other ways you stay at an optimal level?
RB: I’ll have my friends come to my house. We’ll hang out, talk, order food, watch a football game, or whatever's going on on TV at that time. That’s it because I need to sleep, rest, and get ready for the next day. I can't get up and be like, “I got four hours of sleep last night, and now I have to go run around this track at a very high level." Now I'm risking injury because I didn't rest, I didn't recover, I didn't go through that whole healing process because I was out drinking or whatever. I'm not hydrated enough, so things just go wrong.
MH: What does mental preparation look like for you?
RB: You can do the mental exercises every day. Track is a really, really mental sport. You could be physically fit, but mentally, if you're not sound, it won't click. For me, it’s just about having conversations with myself: It’s gonna be alright. You’re super talented, you trained hard, you’ve done the work. Just go and don't try to do anything new. Don't try to do anything different. Just go be you.
I visualize my races so that when something happens, I'm not really surprised. I think towards the future and ask, “okay, what am I going to do at this meet? What are my cues? What am I supposed to be focusing on? How am I feeling? How do I feel with my training thus far?” I could literally be doing anything—cooking or taking a shower—and my mind's always on track, thinking about what I need to do better.
MH: Do you ever think about the possibility of losing?
RB: Yeah, because realistically, you can lose. One of two things are going to happen. Knowing that really propels you forward. I feel like going out and portraying as if winning is an absolute is very telling of your mental state. You're either really fearful that you are going to lose, or you’re playing this mental game trying to boost yourself up. It’s all about being confident in your ability. I worked hard. I know this guy worked hard, too, but he can’t work as hard as me. But the knowledge that you could lose is what drives you.
MH: How do you make sure you don’t push yourself too far?
RB: Less is more. Of course, you have to work extra hard, but within moderation. You don't have to go beyond yourself to accomplish a goal. That’s how people get hurt. Working hard within reason and ramping up the intensity as you get closer is what's really important. That’s why I’m happy to have the coaches I have because we've been here, and we've done this before, so it's not really anything new. Our coaches do a great job at reminding us, "Hey, man, you're in a good spot right now. We're just going to be smart."
People tend to put a lot of pressure on themselves when the games come around and try to do things differently, but I think the things that got you there are what will continue to get you there and then some.
MH: Do you use any specific recovery tools?
RB: I use a red light sauna, which helps muscle recovery. I also have a cold plunge here at my house. I also use Hyperice Normatec recovery boots. Between that and seeing my chiropractor and my actual trainer, that’s my process throughout the week. They'll flush me out and get the muscles moving correctly, which gets everything moving correctly. Sleep is definitely the biggest part of the recovery cycle because that's where most of your healing happens.
MH: It’s mid-May. Where are you now in your progress toward competing?
RB: I have two competitions this month, so I’m fine-tuning things and trying to get really sharp moving forward. You definitely don't want to peak this month. You want to peak around July or August. Right now, it’s about getting the rhythm down, getting races in, and getting ready for Olympic trials.
Want to follow more Olympians' journeys? Click below to read about their training methods, wellness routines, and more.
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