Creatine for runners: does it help, and how to take it

Yes, if your training includes intense parts: intervals, hills, changes of pace, a final sprint or strength sessions. That is where its results have been seen in the studies. For steady-paced running, on its own it adds little, and the key for a runner is to take it without a loading phase: 3 g a day.

How it works

From the creatine you take to your fast energy

What creatine does in your muscles

Your body makes around 1 g of creatine a day, and a 70 kg person has about 120 g, almost all of it in the muscles ². There it is stored as phosphocreatine, a reserve of fast energy.

Taking creatine fills up that reserve. That lets your muscles regenerate energy sooner during intense efforts and buffer the acidity that builds up when you push hard ³.

This is the basis of its authorised claim in the EU: “Creatine increases physical performance in successive bursts of short-term, high intensity exercise.” The beneficial effect is obtained with a daily intake of 3 g of creatine. It is aimed at adults who do high-intensity exercise ¹. A varied and balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle are important.

What the studies say

Three results in intense, repeated efforts

Where it helps if you run

Think about your training week. Almost every plan has intense sessions, and that is where creatine comes in:

• Intervals and changes of pace: in triathletes, 6 g a day for 5 days raised power in interval efforts by 18% ³.
• Alternating paces: in another study, time to exhaustion at alternating intensities went from 29.9 to 36.5 minutes ³.
• Intense efforts to exhaustion: the reference review on creatine and endurance concludes that it increases how long you can keep going in high-intensity endurance efforts ³.
• The end of a race: its authors see creatine as a promising aid for changing pace and finishing with a sprint ³.
• Intense repetitions: with a low dose, about 2.3 g a day for 6 weeks, fatigue resistance in repeated sets improved by 7% to 11% ⁴.

And there is strength work, which many runners do to run better and prevent injuries. Its sets are exactly the kind of effort in the claim: short, high-intensity exercise, in successive bursts ¹.

Where it adds little

Let us be clear, because it is worth knowing. For long-distance events at a steady pace, creatine on its own adds little ². In time trials, the results are mixed ³.

The explanation is simple: phosphocreatine is the energy for short, intense efforts. The flatter and steadier the pace, the less you use it. That is why it makes more sense for people who train with intervals, in the mountains, in cross-country or in races with changes of pace.

Weight

With or without a loading phase: what happens to your weight

Weight: what matters to a runner

This is the key detail. Creatine makes muscle hold on to a little more water, and when you run you carry your own weight.

• With a loading phase of 20 g a day, increases of 0.5-1 kg in just 5-6 days have been seen ⁵. In some studies, weight went up 1-2 kg in a month, mainly from water ².
• In well-trained runners, loading with 20 g a day for 6 days raised weight by 0.9 kg and did not improve a 6 km run ³.
• With low doses, about 2.3 g a day for 6 weeks, neither weight nor body water changed, and fatigue resistance improved ⁴.

That is why the review on creatine and endurance advises avoiding the loading phase in sports where you carry your own weight, such as running ³. It fits with our usual approach: 3 g a day. AESAN, the Spanish food safety agency, also concludes that creatine does not cause the fluid retention often attributed to it ⁶.

Creatine and glycogen: what is being researched

There is a line of research that interests long-distance runners. Taken with carbohydrates, creatine might help replenish and store glycogen, the fuel for intense aerobic efforts ³.

In one study, 14 men cycled to exhaustion and then followed a very high-carbohydrate diet, with or without creatine. With creatine, muscle glycogen rose more in the first 24 hours and stayed high for 6 days ³. That study used loading doses, so treat it as a promising finding.

If it suits you, you can take your creatine in your training drink. We explain how in creatine with an isotonic drink.

How to take it if you run

1. 3 g a day, every day, including rest days. It is the amount in the official claim ¹ and the maximum that AESAN considers safe as a supplement for healthy adults ⁶.
2. No loading phase. With 3 g a day for 28 days, your muscles reach the same creatine level as with loading at 20 g a day for 6 days ⁵.
3. Start at least a month before the race that matters to you, and try it in training: the response varies from person to person ³.
4. Close to training and with carbohydrates, if that suits you ³. But what matters is not skipping days.

Work out when your muscles will be fully loaded with our creatine calculator.

Cramps or dehydration?

This is a common question among runners. The International Society of Sports Nutrition concludes that there is no evidence that creatine increases cramps, dehydration or muscle injuries ⁷. In several studies with athletes, those taking it even had fewer cramps and fewer heat-related problems ⁷.

If cramps keep following you, the cause usually lies elsewhere. We explain it in cramps during exercise.

If you have kidney disease, check with your doctor before taking creatine: AESAN advises against its use in that case ⁶.

Your creatine for running

Our Creatine monohydrate is micronised to 200 mesh, unflavoured and with no other ingredients. One scoop is 3 g and works out at €0.17 a day.

If you want the creatine and the hydration for your training in a single order, the Strength & Hydration Pack combines creatine with Nitrus Isotonic for €36.90, with free delivery. And to plan everything else, from breakfast to race day, there is our running nutrition guide.