protein for runners

Confused about how much protein is optimal for good health and great performance? Let’s go into the details of protein for runners!

Order a salad in any restaurant and your enterprising, upselling server will inevitably ask you, “and what kind of protein would you like on that?”

The rude answer that I tend to say in my head is, “Every plant food has protein!  Stop believing it doesn’t!”

While I’ve politely learned not to blurt out smarty-pants things to unsuspecting strangers, learning about the protein content of plant foods is important to everyone who is trying to add more nutrition to their plates.

Protein, along with fat and carbohydrate, is an essential macro-nutrient, not a food.

Sure, some foods contain a higher percentage of one macro over another, but we can’t simply dissect the whole into its parts.

But we sure are fixated on trying, aren’t we?  If you wanted to, you could live like George Jetson, and pop pills and powders and shakes to get your scientifically-approved, nutritionally optimal intake.

Yuck.

So with the exception of the Jetsons, we don’t eat nutrients.  We eat food.

protein for runners breakfast
This mixed grain hot breakfast with homemade soy yogurt, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, and a banana has 24 grams of protein!

What’s the Ideal Amount of Protein for Runners?

This is the age-old question, for not just athletes and herbivores, but for anyone.

The Recommended Daily Allowance for protein for adults is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight.  So for a 150 pound person, that’s a scant 54 grams of protein a day.

You could eat a day’s worth of calories from just white potatoes all day and get that much. I’m not suggesting you actually do that, but it’s very easy to reach that goal from whole plant foods, provided that you are eating enough calories in general.

But is that really enough?

A recent meta-study referenced in the New York Times took a look at 49 high-quality past studies involving protein and muscle building in athletes and in non-athletes.

They found that everyone who strength trained gained muscle, no matter how much protein they ate.

Let me say that again: if you lift weights, you will gain muscle, with or without specifically paying attention to protein.

To me, this is the most important take away, because it means that you don’t need to stress about guzzling protein shakes right after your workouts.

coconut milk waffles protein for runners
Two of these giant coconut milk waffles with blueberries weigh in at 17 grams of protein for only 450 calories.

But there’s a difference between minimum requirements for protein for runners and optimum. 

Because we’re not just looking for the bare minimum.  We want to know what’s optimum for both health and athletic goals.

The authors of the study did find that those how increased their protein intakes did gain about 25% more muscle than those who only met the minimum.  That’s certainly significant enough to pay attention to.

As runners we don’t want huge muscle gains, but we do want to be strong and lean to run fast and stay injury free.  This particular study indicates that 1.6 grams a day per kilo is ideal, but going higher than that has no muscular benefit.

That’s important for the protein-shake people.  Extra protein is simply extra calories your body doesn’t need.

So if you’re doing the math, there’s a huge difference between the RDA of 0.8g/kg and the upper limit of 1.6g/kg.

Hey, that’s double the RDA!

So our 150-pound runner is not going to get that kind of protein from the all-potato diet without significantly overeating (if it’s even possible to eat 25 potatoes a day!).

But by eating a variety of whole plant foods including nuts, seeds, legumes, and whole grains, it’s not as hard as people think to reach the higher protein goals.

The good thing is that our protein intake can be (and should be!) spread out throughout the day since the researchers found no correlation between when you ate your protein or even what type of protein and how much muscle you gained.

protein for runners white bean kale chili
My White Bean and Kale Chili boasts 21 grams of protein in each 360-calorie serving. Add a slice of my High Protein Bread and you’re up to nearly 27 grams!

But I’m a runner!  I don’t want to gain that much muscle.

Most runners want to gain nothing but speed.  Weight gain, even the good muscular kind, feels a little scary since we equate it with being slow (which is not entirely true).

In general, yes, most runners could use to gain some muscle and lose some fat, but there is a point where too much muscle would be a problem.

After all, The Rock has never won a marathon.

The thing to remember is protein intake is not the main driver of muscle building.  It’s lifting heavy things.

So if you spend more of your time running than lifting, you’ll end up with the body you need to run.

And with a few conscious choices about what you put on your plate, you can get all the protein you need to optimally (and deliciously) fuel your muscles with plants.

No matter what the waiter thinks…


If you are ready to finally optimize your running, nutrition, and mindset with truly personal coaching, give me a call to find out how!


About Claire


Coach Claire has helped hundreds of runners chase their dreams and conquer big goals. Her coaching philosophy combines science-based training, plant-based nutrition, and mindset techniques to unlock every runner's true potential. She's an ASFA certified running coach, sports nutrition specialist, a 2:58 marathoner, mom, and borderline obsessive plant lover.

FOLLOW CLAIRE @theplantedrunner

Take your training to the next level with a Custom Race Plan

Far more than just a running plan, Coach Claire includes strength training, nutrition and training tips, and her exclusive mental strength training course all in an affordable, custom plan designed just for you.

Related Posts

  1. Love the article, Claire. Very well said. Americans are obsessed with protein and this article really outs into perspective how much protein we actually need and how easy it is to reach those levels.

  2. Hi Claire,
    I understand you are vegetarian , hence , the Planted Runner ! Just want to point out that protein is a necessary macronutrient critical to all of our needs as human beings. Your points about sources and amounts are fundamental truths. You may be overlooking some other factors the come into play in this conversation. Age is one.
    Ageing in a healthy manner requires not only adaptation but also understanding just what is going on in our bodies. We lose muscle more rapidly the older we get and the only sound way to counteract this is to get enough protein in our eating and do some form of muscle building training. Running comes to mind !! I look at protein not from the obsessed point of reference just as a critical building block to make sure I am doing what I can to stay strong and healthy.
    Regarding unnecessary calories, that is difficult to precisely calculate how many grams of carbs,protein and fat I need to consume in each meal or snack. Harder workouts do more muscle damage and require additional protein intake to repair damage.
    Would be nice if people in general educated themselves on just how the food we eat affects
    every cell in our body ! Food is the most powerful drug we ingest.
    Really appreciate your point of view .
    Chuck L.

    1. Continuing to build muscle as we age is extremely important, so I don’t think we are disagreeing here. And yes, protein is an essential macro just like fat and carbohydrate. My main point is lack of strength training is more of a limiting factor to building muscle (at any age) than a lack of protein. People love to eat, but very few love to lift heavy things. Thanks for reading, Chuck!

Comments are closed.

{"email":"Email address invalid","url":"Website address invalid","required":"Required field missing"}

Discover what truly personal coaching can do

Ready to take your running, nutrition and mindset to the next level?  Learn more and apply today

>