My first blog post! And I agree, posting about beetroot might be an unusual first step, but beetroots fundamentally sum up everything that I am passionate about as a running coach. Bear with me…
There are a lot of tips and advice on the internet about running, health, fitness, and wellbeing. Some work, a lot don’t. Some are grounded in science, a lot aren’t.
And this blog is the space for me to share with you the topics, themes and tips that I’ve come across through my running and coaching life. To unpick more of the bits that work and bin off the bits that don’t. But it’s also an informal space, where we discuss the relative merits of different approaches, we explore that fundamental maxim that what works for one person may not work for all and share results from – ultimately – our experiments of one . If you will, we’re having a chat by the fire, with a pint of local ale, with a labrador and spaniel by our feet having just come in from the trails. Feeling cosy? Good – let me get back to beetroot.
Because there are a lot of tips – let’s call them magic tips – about things that can do everything from healing injuries in a day to making you faster without running. As you’ll get to see, I’m a huge fan of practices which I think of two for the price of one. Something that may give you the intended benefit – the science is still unclear – but will either make you feel good or at least won’t do you any harm. These always come back to the basic building blocks behind all exercise programmes: sleep, nutrition, hydration and recovery.
Because there’s nothing more runners like than a magic tip to cheat the system – to speed up recovery, to get quicker with less effort.
And this is where the humble beetroot comes in.
Beetroot contains a lot of betanin, nitrate, polyphenols, phenolic acids and a small amount of vitamin C and E [1]. These all are good things which aid oxidative stress recovery. And because of the quantity of these good things, there have been multiple studies pointing to the health benefits of beetroot in endurance sports.
For instance, a 2012 study found runners who consumed whole beetroot were 5% faster in the final 1.1 miles of a 5km run [2]. Their perceived exertion rate was lower too. More recently, a 2021 review of 73 studies found that endurance athletes who supplemented with beetroot improved their time to exhaustion by an average of 25.3 seconds.[3] It’s not just performance either; a 2023 study into female volleyball players who consumed beetroot juice found a reduction in muscle soreness and pain reduction, and improved muscle endurance 48 hours after strenuous exercise.[4]
In an empirical study of one (me), your pee also turns red. Which is both pretty snazzy and alarming.
So, when a runner asked me for my magic tips for quick recovery – a 5k race coming too soon following an off-road adventure – I did what all scientifically minded coaches might do. I prescribed beetroot juice:
Ok sure, I didn’t tell him he only needed a small amount (some studies used 50ml). I also forgot to point out you can buy capsules.
Importantly… I also didn’t flag the plenty of studies which have found no impact whatsoever on running performance or endurance, particularly among well-trained runners (and those more likely to seek marginal gains). As Runners Connect [5] point out:
Beetroot juice might bump up your performance by about 1% if you’re a beginner, but more experienced runners will not see any benefits. They’ll have to improve the hard way—training!
And this is why I chose beetroot to write about my first blog. There is every chance drinking some beetroot might help with your performance or recovery. There’s certainly no harm in eating or drinking it; it’s packed full of nutrients which your body needs. But to think of it as a magic bullet, where you can cheat recovery by drinking a pint of juice which shall we say… is an acquired taste – well, that’s taking it a step too far.
Which is why, after much thought and reflection, this runner bought beetroot capsules instead.
[2] Whole beetroot consumption acutely improves running performance – PubMed (nih.gov)
[5] Can Beetroot Juice Improve Running Performance? – Runners Connect
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