Creatine as a runner?

Most runners shy away from creatine because of the fear of bulking up and getting too heavy to run fast. So is there a time and place and way to take in creatine to improve performance as a runner? The answer: possibly.

The biggest concern about creatine as a performance enhancing substance is its tendency to be used strictly as a hypertrophic (muscle size increasing) supplement. While it's true that it is used primarily by athletes looking to increase the cross-sectional size of muscle fibers, it also has some applications in the distance running world.

Creatine is used mostly to increase muscle size and replace the creatine used in the phosphocreatine energy system (the system used in high-speed, high-intensity movement lasting 5-10 seconds) to allow quicker recovery between movements, allowing higher explosive subsequent movements without fatigue, which allows greater adaptation muscularly. That's the short, quick, pseudo-scientific explanation of it all.

Most endurance runners respond by noting that 5-10 seconds is really only a fraction of a tiny percent of a single workout. This is true. However, there are two specific applications of creatine that I can see as an endurance athlete.

1. Delaying fatigue of explosive movements.
2. Empty-stomach, night-time creatine supplementation improving hGH distribution.

1. Endurance running is not primarily focused on explosive movement, but there is explosive movement involved in some training modalities for endurance athletes. Some runners are coming around to the literature stating that plyometric training improves running economy (the efficiency of running defined as the cost of energy to perform the running movement). I am a supporter of plyometric training as a cross-training/supplemental training modality for runners early in their training cycle. When runners are in their base phase running, they can afford to spend the energy required to perform plyometric movements and achieve mechanical improvements in their running. So if you're training plyometric/explosive movements AND running base mileage, it would not be a stretch to say that creatine supplementation will improve your trainning. Better recovery from plyometric training leads to better training sessions which lead to better mechanics in running, which reduces the cost of running later on.

It is not impossible for muscle hypertrophy to occur if you're using this type of training/supplementation combo, but in your base phase as you ramp up your season, it's not only unlikely because of the high aerobic training time, but it will also end up working itself out later on when you hit higher intensity running and you are NOT using creatine anymore. So an increase in weight in the base phase will result in slower times in the immediate, but looking long-term it will eventually improve the economy of running and the weight will be gone, so it will have been a moot point.

2. Recent literature is indicating that hGH release and uptake during sleep can be improved by taking creatine on an empty stomach before sleep. hGH is essential for all athletes, endurance or otherwise, because it is the hormone that rebuilds the musculature that was damaged during the day's/week's training sessions. So sleep is a necessity, but if you can improve your sleep and improve your hGH distribution and uptake during sleep, it will increase the speed of recovery of damaged muscle.

If an endurance athlete is uninterested in following the logic of point number 1 above, then this would be a good time to supplement with creatine instead. Rather than use creatine as a "performance" supplement, you can use it as a "recovery" supplement. Making the distinction between using it to increase plyometric/explosive performance, and using it to decrease muscle recovery time from speed workouts, long runs, and races.

Naturally there is a side-effect with using creatine, and that is water retention. So if creatine is something you are considering using, then ramp up your water intake, to a minimum of 4L per day, probably more depending on how much you sweat during your workouts. Once you cut creatine supplements out, you'll dispense that water and end up losing anywhere from 1-3 lbs in a matter of a week or so (all water weight, don't get greedy).

While creatine supplementation is not going to make or break you as a runner, if you are already putting in all the work and having trouble recovering and that small percentage of performance improvement is the difference between a successful and an unsuccessful season, then try supplementing creatine for a phase cycle of training.