Does Creatine Help Runners and Cyclists?
A new Texas A&M study put creatine back in the headlines. Here's what it found, what it didn't, and which of your efforts it could matter for.
Creatine may help runners and cyclists with the short, hard parts of their training, but the new Texas A&M study doesn't prove it. It measured strength, time to exhaustion and aerobic capacity in adults aged 45 to 65. Creatine added to the strength and time-to-exhaustion gains when people also exercised. It didn't add to aerobic capacity. Here's how to read that for hill repeats, surges and sprint finishes.
In the Texas A&M study, adding creatine to exercise went with bigger gains in strength and time to exhaustion, and no added gain in aerobic capacity. The study didn't test hill repeats or sprint finishes in runners or cyclists. Linking the result to short, hard efforts is our reading, backed by other research, not something this trial measured.
01 / What the Texas A&M study found.
The trial was published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition and led by Dr. Richard Kreider at Texas A&M, as ScienceDaily reports. It followed 64 adults aged 45 to 65 for 12 weeks. Participants took 10 grams of creatine monohydrate a day or a placebo, either alongside an exercise program or without one.
The headline finding, as Medical News Today covered it, is that creatine may help build muscle even without exercise. In the group that trained, adding creatine led to greater gains in leg press, bench press and time to exhaustion.
One thing didn't move. Creatine did not appear to add a benefit to aerobic capacity.
How to read it
These are group averages, not promises for any one person. The participants were healthy, middle-aged adults, not trained runners or cyclists. The time-to-exhaustion result comes from a test in that group, so it isn't an endurance gain for athletes. It's also one study. And it tested creatine monohydrate. It didn't test BioSteel's products, so none of these results are product results.
02 / Why aerobic capacity didn't move.
The sources we read report the result but don't explain it, so treat what follows as our reading.
Creatine is talked about in terms of short, intense efforts. A hard acceleration. A steep pitch. A kick to the line. Then doing it again. A measure of aerobic capacity reflects something different: the base you build with hours of easy and moderate work. Creatine doesn't replace that base, and this study gave no sign it adds to it.
03 / Does creatine help runners and cyclists? Where it matters.
The better question isn't "is my sport endurance?" It's "does my sport include hard bursts?" A 2023 review in the same journal on creatine and endurance performance concluded that creatine increases time to exhaustion during high-intensity endurance activities, with larger effects at shorter durations.
The evidence is not one-sided. A 2019 study in Frontiers in Physiology had people run at supramaximal intensity. Creatine changed how much of the energy came from the phosphagen pathway, but time to exhaustion and anaerobic capacity did not improve.
Short, hard, repeated. The kind of effort the high-intensity research looks at. The Texas A&M trial didn't test it.
Breakaways, attacks, a final 200 m. Bursts above your steady pace.
Squats, deadlifts, presses. The Texas A&M leg press and bench press gains are closest to this.
Little in these sources points to a change. Hydration, fuel and pacing matter more.
One more thing to weigh. The Texas A&M coverage reports lean tissue gains with creatine, and extra lean tissue can show up on the scale. For a climber or a runner racing on a flat course, track that against your own results.
04 / A routine to follow this week.
Look at your week. Count the hill repeats, sprint intervals and strength sessions. If there are none, creatine is a low priority for you.
Creatine is a daily habit, not a pre-race trick. Consistency matters more than loading. Follow the directions on whichever product you choose, and check with your doctor first if you have a health condition or take medication.
Track a few things: the last repeat in a hill session, a surge at the end of a hard ride, the weights you lift. Compare a month before and a month after, and keep the rest of your training steady so you can tell what changed.
If you stack two sessions in one day, here's how to recover between them.
Creatine for endurance athletes, answered.
Does creatine help endurance?
It may help the high-intensity parts. The 2023 review linked creatine to longer time to exhaustion in high-intensity endurance activities, but the Texas A&M study found no added gain in aerobic capacity, and the 2019 running study found no time-to-exhaustion change. The evidence is mixed.
Will creatine make me heavier for running or cycling?
It could. The Texas A&M coverage reports lean tissue gains with creatine, and extra lean tissue can show up on the scale. Weigh that against your event and track how you feel and perform.
Do I need to load creatine?
The Texas A&M study gave 10 grams a day for 12 weeks. Daily consistency is the point, not a loading phase. Follow the label of the product you use.
Is creatine only for lifters and sprinters?
No, but they're the clearest fit. Runners and cyclists with hard bursts or strength sessions have the most reason to consider it. Steady-state athletes have less.
Is creatine safe?
That's a question for your doctor or a registered dietitian, and this article isn't medical advice. If you have a health condition or take medication, ask before starting any supplement.
Match it to the effort.
Creatine isn't an endurance shortcut. It's a tool to consider for the short, hard efforts and the strength work around your running and riding. If that's part of your week, a daily, consistent routine is the way to test it.
Explore the creatine collectionReferences & further reading
ScienceDaily: report on the Texas A&M creatine study
Futurity: report on creatine, lean tissue and strength in the Texas A&M study
Medical News Today: report on creatine and muscle without exercise
Frontiers in Physiology (2019): study of creatine supplementation and supramaximal running
Disclaimer: This article is for general information and isn't medical advice. The studies cited tested creatine monohydrate, not BioSteel products. Talk to your doctor or a registered dietitian before adding a supplement.
