Creatine for endurance athletes: what are its benefits and risks?

4 aprilie 2026Michal Jetelina0 comentarii
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Creatine has long been one of the most researched food supplements on the market. While its benefits for building muscle mass, strength and explosiveness in combination with strength training are well proven, in endurance sports the situation is more complicated. So what are the real benefits of creatine for endurance athletes and in which situations can it slow us down instead?

Creatine for endurance athletes – runners in a race

Why does creatine have no significant effect on endurance performance?

During endurance exercise most cellular energy (ATP) is restored through the aerobic burning of carbohydrates and fats (oxidative phosphorylation in the mitochondria), and so the overall contribution of phosphocreatine breakdown to energy production is minimal. The creatine we take in and store in the muscles is converted into phosphocreatine, which serves as a store of fast energy for very intense anaerobic muscle contractions (sprinting, strength training and so on).

There is admittedly a link between creatine and aerobic metabolism in the form of the so-called “shuttle system" (transport system). Within this mechanism creatine works as an intracellular courier which takes over the high-energy phosphate group from the ATP created in the mitochondria and carries it directly to the place where it is used – that is, to the contracting muscle fibres. Scientific data, however, confirm that during steady submaximal exercise the availability of creatine and phosphocreatine for this diffusion is simply not a limiting factor.

Creatine also has no effect on oxygen consumption, respiratory gas exchange, or even on the concentration of lactate in the blood. Within aerobic physical exercise, the amount of phosphocreatine is therefore not a limiting factor for the cells (Jones et al., 2002).

Where can creatine help endurance athletes?

Even so, there are certain scientific data showing that creatine may make sense for endurance athletes in specific situations (Forbes et al., 2023):

Explosiveness at critical moments
Creatine allows you to generate energy faster during a sudden change of pace, when responding to an opponent's attack or in a crushing finish to the line.
Better sprints within longer exercise
In elite triathletes creatine improved performance in short sprints by 18 % (Engelhardt et al., 1998). In cyclists it helped in final sprints over 1 and 4 km (Tomcik et al., 2018) and in swimmers it speeded up the last 50 m of a 400 m race (Anomasiri et al., 2004).
Delaying muscle fatigue
The fast restoration of ATP using phosphocreatine uses up hydrogen ions, which buffers acidification directly inside the muscle cells and delays the onset of fatigue. It does not stop lactate being produced, but it eases the acidic environment at the site of muscle work.
Glycogen restoration and recovery
In combination with carbohydrates, creatine makes glycogen synthesis easier. There is also evidence that after endurance activity it reduces oxidative stress and inflammation, and so speeds up recovery.
Protecting fast-twitch muscle fibres
During training camps with a high volume of work, endurance athletes risk losing the properties of their fast-twitch muscle fibres. Animal studies suggest that creatine can help preserve these properties, which is essential for maintaining speed and the ability to sprint (Putman et al., 2015).

When can creatine slow us down? The pitfall of body weight

The main mechanism by which creatine can harm endurance athletes is an increase in body weight. Supplementation (especially in the loading phase) typically leads to water retention and an increase in body weight of roughly 1 to 2 kilograms, or even more if we add on the increase in muscle mass.

This increase in body weight divides endurance sports into two categories:

Disadvantage
Sports where you carry your own weight
E.g. running – the athlete has to carry the extra kilograms with them. A study (Balsom et al., 1993) showed worse times in trail running in the group supplementing with creatine, precisely because of a weight increase of 0.5–1 kg.
No disadvantage
Sports without your "own gravitational load"
E.g. cycling, swimming – the weight gained is not a significant disadvantage. A study in cyclists showed that the increased weight caused by creatine had no negative impact on performance even on an 8% gradient (Tomcik et al., 2018).

Practical summary

Creatine has a smaller, but theoretically not negligible role in endurance sport, especially if in your discipline the pace changes, there are attacks or a sprint finish decides the outcome.

Cyclists, swimmers and triathletes can benefit from a better attack and finish without any great worry that the additional weight will slow them down.
Creatine may also help middle-distance runners, cross-country skiers, biathletes, kayakers and rowers.
For runners and marathon runners, an increase in weight during the racing season may be counterproductive. It makes more sense in the preparation period or during strength work. Dosing without a loading phase (around 3 g/day) can help you avoid unwanted weight gain.
Hybrid athletes, who want to reach both a high level of aerobic performance and explosiveness and strength. Or runners who want more muscle mass and are not competing for absolute times – even at 90 kg you can get a marathon done under 3 hours.
Within pure endurance performance creatine will not help, whether it is a marathon or a half marathon.
Creatine for supporting recovery is highly effective – it can speed up the restoration of glycogen after exhausting training. It needs to be taken over the long term and it does not matter whether we take it before or after training.

Conclusion for endurance athletes

For most endurance athletes creatine is not a food supplement for long endurance exercise itself or for “race day", but it can be a valuable supplement in demanding training blocks for maximising recovery and building muscle for the next load. Endurance athletes should, however, use creatine in the context of their goals and bear in mind the negative effect in terms of increased body weight.

References
  1. Jones, A. M., Carter, H., Pringle, J. S. M., & Campbell, I. T. (2002). Effect of creatine supplementation on oxygen uptake kinetics during submaximal cycle exercise. Journal of Applied Physiology, 92(6), 2571–2577.
  2. Tomcik KA, Camera DM, Bone JL, et al. Effects of Creatine and Carbohydrate Loading on Cycling Time Trial Performance. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2018;50(1):141–150.
  3. Engelhardt M, Neumann G, Berbalk A, Reuter I. Creatine supplementation in endurance sports. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1998;30(7):1123–9.
  4. Balsom PD, Harridge SDR, Soderlund K, Sjodin B, Ekblom B. (1993). Creatine supplementation per se does not enhance endurance exercise performance. Acta Physiologica Scandinavica, 149: 521–523.
  5. Putman CT, Gallo M, Martins KJ, et al. Creatine loading elevates the intracellular phosphorylation potential and alters adaptive responses of rat fast-twitch muscle to chronic low-frequency stimulation. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2015;40(7):671–82.
  6. Anomasiri W, Sanguanrungsirikul S, Saichandee P. Low dose creatine supplementation enhances sprint phase of 400 meters swimming performance. J Med Assoc Thai. 2004;87 Suppl 2:S228–32.
  7. Forbes SC, Candow DG, Neto JHF, et al. Creatine supplementation and endurance performance: surges and sprints to win the race. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 20(1), 2023.
  8. Jeukendrup, A., & Gleeson, M. (2025). Sport nutrition (4th ed.). Human Kinetics

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