Dear Footnote,

I only started running recently when I was accepted in the Virgin London Marathon. I am very slow but will supplements and vitamins help my training.If so what should I take? I have heard iron is good?

Kev_nash

Hi kev_nash and welcome to the bottomless world of running supplements. In theory if you have a balanced running diet and eat your vegetables like your mother told you to, you should not need supplements. However in reality this might not be the case so I would recommend some supplements to help your body perform better and more importantly recover faster.

As an endurance athlete, you depend on your red blood cells to carry oxygen to your working muscles. So a deficiency may compromise the normal increase in red blood cell count that results from training and may even result in anemia.

I would suggest a multivitamin high in iron and vitamin B12. Iron is the main component of haemoglobin (red blood cells) that is important because it is essentially your oxygen carrier. As your running increases your body will want to adapt and produce more red blood cells to help you out. So help your body out by feeding it the key ingredients it needs.

Many sports scientists highlight Vitamin B12 as an important player for endurance athletes. Not only is Vitamin B12 involved in the metabolism of every cell of the body, but also has a key role in the formation of blood. The vitamin B12 and iron combo will certainly help your training.

The only other supplement I would sincerely recommend is Glucosamine. Oral glucosamine is commonly used for the treatment of osteoarthritis is taken to prevent cartilage degeneration. As a runner you put a lot of weight through your joints so look after your cartilage as compared to other connective tissues, cartilage grows and repairs more slowly. Glucosamine is quite expensive (compared to other joint supplements like cod liver oil) so look out for deals and maybe buy in bulk.

If you believe everything you read your body needs supplements for everything. DON’T BELIEVE the multi billion pound ‘pharmaceutical marketing MACHINE’! Sure, there are many other supplements you could take but as a beginner I believe the above will be more than sufficient.

Remember your body is now a machine so you in order to keep it working in the optimal condition you need to start looking after it. Take your mother’s advice and treat your body to that balanced diet and you should not need any other supplements.

The realbuzz.com running nutrition section of the site is full of tips on what your body needs. I would recommend giving every article a read. http://www.realbuzz.com/running-nutrition/

Good luck with your training Kev_nash and remember.....

 "Those who think they have no time for healthy eating will sooner or later have to find time for illness."  - Edward Stanley (1826-1893)

 I'm interested to hear what supplements you guys use? I bet there is a really obscure old wives tail supplement out there!

If you have a running or training question send me a message!

Tags: running supplements, glucosamine, iron, Vitamin B12, anemia,

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