Could it be that creatine helped me to run my fastest 10k?

If you’ve heard of creatine, the first thing that pops into mind when you hear that word is a big muscle guy pumping iron in the gym. But creatine is the most studied sports supplement known. This gives us a lot of research that confirms that creatine can be beneficial for runners as well.

Now, looking back in the last summer I took creatine for 2 months just before my racing season. My goal was to do 10 pull-ups and did a lot of weight training. I would say too much for a runner. ( sometimes I get obsessed with some not-running related goals😆) My running volume was pretty low for a typical runner competing at that level. (220-230km/ month) But for some reason I felt the strongest this season and ran two 10k races in under 38 minutes (3.45min/km) Cutting off almost 3 minutes from my previous PB🤯

The conclusion for this result is complex. Maybe creatine helped, maybe strength training in general. The right training volume distribution.

But I felt that my muscles were just sharp, powerful, reactive.

🔬 What the Research Shows:

➡️Boost Sprint Performance

Improves repeated sprint performance by enhancing ATP regeneration

➡️Enhancing Glycogen Storage

When paired with carbs, creatine boosts muscle glycogen storage—key fuel for marathon/ultra training

➡️Supports Recovery

Reduces muscle damage/inflammation post-long runs (lowers creatine kinase and inflammatory markers).
Acts as an antioxidant to combat oxidative stress from endurance training

👇Summary of creatine benefits for running performance👇