Benefits to taking creatine during half marathon prep?

gokinka
gokinka Posts: 2 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I have 9 weeks left until my first half marathon. I was thinking of taking creatine to boost my performance. Has anyone tried it? Would it be beneficial?
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Replies

  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Creatine is well researched and inexpensive but primary use is in strength and power sports.
    There may be a slight boost to anaerobic cardio performance but I've never seen anything that indicates it's of benefit for aerobic and endurance cardio.

    Downside may be an increase in weight (water weight but still not helpful).
    Some people get stomach upsets.
    Many people will see/get no benefit if their creatine consumption from their food means they are already getting enough or if they are a non-responder.

    I did experiment with beetroot juice for endurance cycling (100 to 130 mile events), nitrates are supposed to confer some sub-maximal cardio benefits.
    Personally couldn't detect any performance improvement and it tastes like pond water. (Beetroot shots are far more palatable.)

    Would recommend if you decide to experiment with anything you do it in your training runs and definitely not in the event itself.
  • KarenSmith2018
    KarenSmith2018 Posts: 302 Member
    I am primarily an endurance athlete. Take creatine everyday. Does it add anything- maybe. I feel I recover quicker and have more in the tank for intervals work. I also use beetroot shots in the week leading up to an event for the nitrate benefits.
  • RockingWithLJ
    RockingWithLJ Posts: 243 Member
    edited April 2022
    KarenSmith2018 wrote: »
    I am primarily an endurance athlete. Take creatine everyday. Does it add anything- maybe. I feel I recover quicker and have more in the tank for intervals work. I also use beetroot shots in the week leading up to an event for the nitrate benefits.

    I agree with this.
    What mileage are you able to push now comfortably? If you don't have much mileage to break then it's not going to matter as much. I added the above suggestion, both creatine (ethyl ester, specifically) and beetroot shots, when I was trying to boost my performance for an ultramarathon. I couldn't break 70 km for the life of me but finally was able to after adding those supplements and temporarily transitioned to a vegan diet (normally vegetarian - it was to reduce inflammation). It took a few weeks to build up to where I needed to be still but it definitely helped me reach my goal

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