Best Supplements for Runners 2024 – Optimize Your Training

Are you looking for the best supplements to help your running training? Whether you’re training for a big upcoming event or just trying to stay fit and healthy, incorporating supplements into your diet can be beneficial. They not only help to reduce muscle soreness and fatigue but also provide essential nutrients to support recovery and performance. Here I highlight some of the best supplements for runners on the market, some of them specifically designed to improve running performance.

What supplements are needed for runners?

Many people say a normal and varied diet is enough even when training hard. But what is hard training? And more importantly, what is a normal and varied diet? Obviously, a person who does a lot of running and several strength sessions per week needs a lot of vegetables, proteins and carbohydrates – both for recovery and to develop and get stronger.

Unfortunately, it is very difficult in everyday life to have such a focus on the diet that you would get all the ingredients needed for the tough training. Therefore, many people who train seriously can benefit from different supplements, especially in cases where there is evidence of deficiencies.

Necessary nutritional supplements for runners

My HB levels have always been too low, so I always ensure I get extra iron supplements every day. It is important that this is stomach-friendly – preferably also with folic acid and vitamin C to improve the absorption of iron in the body.

Omega 3 fish oil is also something I make sure to eat every day as part of my breakfast. It is something that you do not risk overdosing on and is,, therefore, safe to use.

Then there is often a versatile multivitamin preparation that I use all year round in addition to the others mentioned. These are now available specially adapted for both male and female needs.

You may also need a magnesium supplement if you train hard. I sometimes suffer from “Restless legs” when I have trained really hard – especially after long sessions it is common. It is often due to magnesium deficiency and can easily be remedied with dietary supplements containing this.

Even before a marathon, I usually get extra magnesium in the days before the race to avoid cramping. So far, I’ve managed to avoid cramping in all the races I’ve participated in, which shows that it’s a winning strategy.

I haven’t drunk milk since I was in my 20s. This means that I try to ensure I get calcium through supplements instead. There are now good supplements that combine both calcium and magnesium in the same tablet.

Best Supplements For Runners In 2024

Then we come to a more controversial area: to what extent are other, more borderline-specific supplements not primarily aimed at general health needed? What are the best supplements for runners?

Here it is very difficult to know exactly what effect they have, if any because even scientists do not seem to agree on the impact of the different substances on performance.

However, there are some supplements for runners that I would recommend based on my own tests.

L-glutamine

The first of these is L-glutamine which I use either in its pure form or as part of a more versatile recovery drink. Glutamine is one of the most abundant amino acids in our muscles, and this supplement is particularly popular with strength trainers.

However, there are also studies that suggest that glutamine intake can have an impact on recovery and, therefore, performance, even among those who run a lot.

BCAA

This includes different types of BCAA supplements that I use, especially after tough workouts. Both of these supplements have research to back them up regarding their impact on recovery and muscle repair after a hard workout.

Taking these recovery supplements quickly enough after exercise is important to optimize recovery. I can’t remember the exact time, but I try to take something within 30 minutes of finishing my workout.

There are also some other supplements that I don’t use as often but that I’ve also had good experiences with. I don’t think using all these supplements throughout the year is good, so I generally use them a few months before an important competition.

The body may get used to it to some extent, but it is also not very cheap to have too many supplements in use, even though they are not very expensive individually.

L-arginine

One of these is L-arginine which, despite its effects, has received surprisingly little attention as a dietary supplement for runners. Arginine in the body is used, among other things, to produce the protein hemoglobin, which transports oxygen from the lungs to the cells.

Arginine is also involved in metabolism. Arginine is a precursor to building substances and participates in the secretion of neurotransmitters that are part of the brain’s reward system.

Arginine also affects the body’s ability to produce nitric oxide. Nitric oxide contributes to the widening of blood vessels and increases blood flow to the muscles. This effect underlies the claim that L-arginine affects the feeling of muscle pump during exercise.”

Research has also shown that there is much evidence to suggest that the effects of L-arginine are greater when combined with L-citrulline. If only for the sake of taste, since pure L-arginine tastes bad.

Best Supplements For Increased Endurance

Beta-alanine is a dietary supplement that has recently gained a lot of interest in endurance sports. In sports research, there are studies on its possible performance-enhancing effect in connection with endurance training. If nothing else, you can feel it in your body when using this substance as a tingling sensation.

In the last few months before the marathon, I used the dietary supplement Kerosene which contains all three of these substances, before my quality sessions.

It is a dietary supplement that is said to maximize the effect of hard physical training and immediately improves energy production and lactic acid tolerance, increases blood flow and pressure in the muscle and activates the production of growth hormone and IGF-1, reduces the cortisol load on the muscles and optimizes the function of muscle cells.

Especially through the interaction of the above-mentioned components consisting of L-arginine, L-citrulline and Beta-alanine.

Best Supplements For Marathons

Speaking of marathons and other races, I also load up on beetroot juice in the days before the race. Beetroot juice is widely publicized and popular for its natural nitrate content.

Nitrate is part of the nitric oxide process in the body, which in turn contributes to blood flow. This can be beneficial in endurance sports.

I think some supplements are worth considering if marathons or other long-distance events are your main sport. Marathon training involves a lot of wear and tear on joints and muscles, which can be a direct obstacle for many to practice this sport.

This is not only a problem that comes with age, but I know many old soccer teammates who basically have no cartilage in their knees because of all the knee problems they had during their careers.

What a surprisingly large number of people don’t know is that many different products on the market can eliminate or alleviate the problems that are easily caused by wear and tear on joints, muscles and bones.

I regularly use Glucosamine for bone cartilage. This preparation helps the joints maintain their functionality and relieves stiffness, soreness and swelling in the joints and muscles.

Good Supplements For Men

Finally, a dietary supplement that I have used periodically and that I think can be good when you start to get older. Often you hear about the testosterone value only in connection with muscle building and those who focus on getting big muscles. Few people think about the fact that testosterone decreases with age. You can read more about the subject on this page.

Is there any way to naturally influence the body’s own production of hormones? We don’t know, but at least substances containing the plant extract Tribulus are said to affect this. I have used this supplement for a one-month period in the spring, but it is difficult to comment on its effects.

These were some of the best supplements for runners that I have used over the years. Remember always to consider your own unique needs when choosing supplements, and if you’re unsure of your needs, it’s a good idea to do a health test before purchasing them. Good health tests are available online if you want to test yourself at home.

As with everything else, it’s important to use common sense when it comes to supplements. There is no shortage of options in this market nowadays, with new products appearing every day for properties and problems you didn’t even know existed.

The main risk of the proliferation of products in this area is not only that we are being tricked into buying unnecessary products but also that there is an obvious risk of overdosing on certain vitamins and minerals. While this is not necessarily harmful, spending a lot of money on products you don’t need is unnecessary.

FAQ – Best supplements for runners