Association of Nutritional Knowledge, Practice, Supplement Use with Running Performance Among Long Distance Recreational Runners

Introduction: Limited evidence exists on whether nutritional knowledge, practice, and supplement use relate to running performance in recreational distance runners. This cross-sectional study examined associations between nutritional knowledge, practice, and supplement use with race time performance among recreational long-distance runners. Methods: A total of 160 recreational runners (72.5% male, mean age not reported) who completed the Hong Kong Marathon 2024 completed an online questionnaire assessing nutritional knowledge, practice, and supplement use. Race times were self-reported. Linear regression and independent t-tests were used to examine associations with completion time. Results: Across all distance categories, correlations between nutritional knowledge and completion time were weak and non-significant (10 km: r = 0.146, p = 0.448; half-marathon: r = 0.228, p = 0.111; full marathon: r = −0.027, p = 0.813). Similarly, correlations between nutritional practice and completion time were weak and non-significant (10 km: r = 0.004, p = 0.985; half-marathon: r = −0.092, p = 0.527; full marathon: r = −0.051, p = 0.649). There were no significant differences in race times between supplement users and non-users in any distance category (10 km: p = 0.818; half-marathon: p = 0.121; full marathon: p = 0.992). A substantial proportion of participants reported poor nutritional knowledge (48.1%) and practice scores (36.9%). Conclusions: This study found no significant associations between nutritional knowledge, practice, or supplement use and race time performance among recreational long-distance runners. The high prevalence of poor nutritional knowledge and practice highlights a need for nutrition education among runners. Future research using objective measures and controlling for training volume and experience is needed.