Should I use pre-workout 
before running?

  • By Tom Coughlin

Published: Wednesday, August 19th, 2026

Quick answer

Yes, taking pre-workout before running can improve performance when the session has a clear demand for it.

A well-designed running pre-workout can reduce perceived effort, improve alertness, support muscular endurance, enhance blood flow and oxygen delivery, and contribute to hydration.

MOVE Endurance is the best fit for most harder or longer runs because it combines 150 mg caffeine with taurine, blackcurrant extract, L-arginine, vitamin C and electrolytes.

That doesn’t mean every run needs pre-workout. Easy recovery runs, short relaxed sessions and late-evening runs may need a different approach.

Title

Do you actually need pre-workout before running?

You don’t need pre-workout before every run.

 

That’s probably the first thing I’d say to any runner asking me about it.

A 30-minute easy run after a good night’s sleep creates very different demands from a hard interval session, marathon-pace workout or three-hour long run.

Pre-workout becomes most useful when the session requires more from you physically or mentally.

 

That could mean you need to maintain a hard pace, tolerate a high level of effort, stay focused when tired, manage significant sweat losses or sustain performance over a longer period.

 

This is the same way I use it in my own training.

If I’m heading out for a genuinely easy run, I don’t feel the need to turn it into something more intense with caffeine. If I’ve got intervals, a long run or a key race-specific session, I’m much more deliberate about what I take beforehand.

The product should match the purpose of the session.

What does pre-workout actually do for runners?

For runners, the most useful effects of pre-workout come from supporting both the brain and the working muscles.
Caffeine improves alertness and reduces perceived effort by blocking adenosine receptors in the central nervous system.[1] Scientific reviews consistently show that caffeine improves endurance performance and helps athletes sustain a given workload for longer.[1, 2, 3]
That matters because endurance performance isn’t just about what your muscles can physically produce. It’s also about how difficult that pace feels and how well you can maintain it once fatigue starts to build.
A good running pre-workout can also support muscular endurance, oxygen delivery and hydration.
MOVE Endurance is built around those needs rather than simply giving runners a large caffeine dose.
Each serving contains 150 mg caffeine, 1.5 g taurine, 900 mg blackcurrant extract, 2 g L-arginine, 500 mg vitamin C, 495 mg sodium, 726 mg chloride and 118 mg potassium.

Is caffeine useful before running?

Yes.

Caffeine is one of the most reliable acute performance supplements available to runners.

It improves alertness, reduces perceived exertion and supports endurance performance across a wide range of exercise intensities.[1, 2, 3]

In practical terms, the pace doesn’t suddenly become easy. It becomes easier to tolerate.

That’s particularly useful during tempo runs, intervals and races where the session is supposed to feel uncomfortable.

MOVE Endurance contains 150 mg caffeine, which is deliberately lower than the 228 mg used in MOVE Strength.

For runners, that gives you more flexibility.

During a long session or race, you might also take caffeine from gels, chews, drinks (or cola for those ultra runners out there). Starting with a controlled amount means you can use more later when the physical and mental demands become greater.

That’s something I’ve become increasingly conscious of during ultra training. If I’m going to be running for several hours, I don’t want to use my largest caffeine dose before the first few kilometres.

Should you take pre-workout before an easy run?

Usually, it isn’t necessary.

An easy run should remain easy.

If you are well rested, adequately fuelled and running for 30 to 60 minutes at a comfortable intensity, there is often very little reason to add a stimulant.

I’d rather keep caffeine available for sessions where it actually gives me something useful.

There are exceptions though.

MOVE Endurance can still make sense before an easy run if it is early in the morning, you are practising your race-day routine, you are running in hot conditions or you have particularly high sweat losses.

MOVE Decaf is another option when you want the routine and focus of a pre-workout without adding caffeine.

The important thing is that the supplement has a job to do.

Should you take pre-workout before intervals?

This is one of the clearest situations where pre-workout can help.

Interval sessions require you to repeatedly reach and sustain a high intensity.

Caffeine reduces perceived effort and supports performance, while taurine contributes to muscle contraction, calcium handling and fatigue resistance.[4,5]

MOVE Endurance contains 1.5 g taurine alongside caffeine, giving it both central and muscular performance support.

That combination is particularly relevant when you are completing repeated 400 m, 800 m, 1 km or longer intervals and need to maintain quality across the full session.

Blackcurrant extract and L-arginine also support vascular function and oxygen delivery, which adds another useful performance pathway during demanding aerobic work.

For very short sprint sessions where the emphasis is almost entirely on explosive output, MOVE Strength can also make sense.

Should you take pre-workout before a tempo run?

Yes, especially when the session is important.

Tempo runs are designed to sit in that uncomfortable middle ground where you need to maintain a hard but controlled effort for a prolonged period.

Caffeine is particularly useful here because reducing perceived effort helps make the target pace more sustainable.[1, 2, 3]

MOVE Endurance also provides 900 mg blackcurrant extract.

Research using this dose improved 5 km running performance, while other studies show positive effects on vascular function, fat oxidation and endurance performance.[6, 7, 8]

That combination of caffeine, blackcurrant extract, taurine and nitric-oxide support makes MOVE Endurance well suited to tempo and threshold running.

ENDURANCE Formula

Should you take pre-workout before a long run?

Yes, but a long run needs more than pre-workout alone.

MOVE Endurance gives you caffeine, taurine, blackcurrant extract and electrolytes, but once a run becomes long enough, carbohydrate and fluid intake become major performance factors too.

That’s where MOVE Carb Booster fits.

Each serving provides 30 g highly branched cyclic dextrin.

Highly branched cyclic dextrin has a high molecular weight and low osmolality, helping it empty from the stomach quickly while providing a useful carbohydrate dose. Research also shows good gastrointestinal tolerance during exercise.[9,10]

For a long run, I’d think about the whole strategy rather than simply asking whether I should take a pre-workout.

That means considering the pre-run meal, carbohydrate per hour, fluid intake, sodium, caffeine timing and what you can realistically carry.

The longer the run becomes, the more important that wider plan is.

Complete Endurance Setup
Title

Why does hydration matter before running?

Runners lose both fluid and electrolytes through sweat.

The amount varies enormously between individuals, but once sweat losses become meaningful, hydration starts to affect cardiovascular strain, perceived effort and exercise performance.

MOVE Endurance provides 495 mg sodium, 726 mg chloride and 118 mg potassium.

Sodium is the main electrolyte lost through sweat and supports fluid retention, while chloride and potassium contribute to fluid balance and neuromuscular function.[11]

This is particularly useful before long runs, hot-weather sessions and workouts where you know you sweat heavily.

It doesn’t mean every runner needs exactly the same amount.

In my applied work with athletes, I always look at the person, the weather, the duration of the session and their sweat rate rather than giving everyone one generic target.

ENDURANCE Formula

How does MOVE Endurance support oxygen delivery?

MOVE Endurance combines 2 g L-arginine with 500 mg vitamin C.

L-arginine is used to produce nitric oxide, which supports vasodilation, blood flow and oxygen delivery to working muscle.

Meta-analyses show that arginine supplementation improves aerobic and anaerobic exercise performance.[12]

Vitamin C supports endothelial function and helps protect nitric-oxide availability.[13]

For runners, that means the combination supports the delivery of oxygen to the muscles that are repeatedly contracting throughout the session.

This pathway works alongside caffeine, taurine and blackcurrant extract to create a more complete endurance formula rather than a stimulant-only product.

Should you take pre-workout before an evening run?

This is where I’d usually steer away from caffeine.

Caffeine improves performance, but it can also interfere with sleep.

Research shows that caffeine reduces total sleep time and sleep efficiency, with the effect depending on the dose, timing and individual response.[14,15]

For an evening run, MOVE Decaf is often the better option.

It provides L-tyrosine, L-theanine, CDP choline, Panax ginseng, Mucuna pruriens, L-arginine and vitamin C without caffeine.

That supports focus, cognitive readiness and oxygen delivery while protecting your ability to sleep afterwards.

There’s very little point squeezing a bit more performance from a 7 pm run if you then sleep badly and compromise the next day’s training.
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Can you sip pre-workout during the run instead?

Yes.

MOVE Endurance can be taken before training or consumed during longer exercise.

For runners who don’t like drinking a large volume immediately before starting, this can be a much more comfortable option.

One serving can be mixed with approximately 500 ml water and sipped through the early stages of a long run.

It can also be carried in a more concentrated soft flask where fluid availability is limited.

I often like this approach during longer sessions because it spreads fluid and caffeine intake rather than forcing everything in before I’ve even started moving.

Like any running nutrition strategy, practice it first.

ENDURANCE Formula
Title

When shouldn’t you take pre-workout before running?

There are times when it adds very little.

I wouldn’t automatically use a caffeinated pre-workout before an easy recovery run, especially if I was already tired and the session was supposed to be low intensity.

I’d also avoid using caffeine late enough to compromise sleep.

If you find that you need a strong stimulant just to get through every run, I’d look at the wider picture first.

Are you eating enough?

Are you sleeping enough?

Is your training load appropriate?

Are you carrying excessive fatigue?

Pre-workout should support good training. It shouldn’t be used to cover up a recovery problem.

Title

Tom’s Take

I use pre-workout very differently now that a big part of my training is endurance-based.

When I was mainly strength training, it was fairly simple. Take caffeine before the gym, train hard and finish the session.

Long-distance running has made me think much further ahead.

If I’m doing intervals, I want focus and I want the effort to feel manageable enough that I can hit the session properly.

If I’m going out for three or four hours, I’m thinking about hydration, carbohydrate, caffeine timing and what I’ll need later, not just how I feel in the first 20 minutes.

And if it’s an easy run, I’m perfectly happy not taking anything.

That’s also how I work with runners professionally. The question isn’t really “Should I take pre-workout before running?” It’s “What does this particular run require?”

Sometimes that answer is MOVE Endurance. Sometimes it’s Endurance plus Carb Booster. Sometimes it’s Decaf because the run is late.

And sometimes the answer is simply to go for the run.
Complete Endurance Setup
Complete Endurance Setup
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Complete Endurance Setup
Complete Endurance Setup
Complete Endurance Setup
Complete Endurance Setup
Complete Endurance Setup
Complete Endurance Setup
Complete Endurance Setup
Complete Endurance Setup
Complete Endurance Setup
Complete Endurance Setup
Complete Endurance Setup
Complete Endurance Setup
Complete Endurance Setup
Complete Endurance Setup
Complete Endurance Setup
Complete Endurance Setup
Complete Endurance Setup
Complete Endurance Setup
Complete Endurance Setup

Complete Endurance Setup

£49.98

Combine MOVE Endurance for hydration, stamina and energy with Carb Booster for clean, sustained fuel to power longer, harder sessions. Available in 3 flavours.
Flavour
Quantity
Complete Endurance Setup
Complete Endurance Setup
Complete Endurance Setup
Complete Endurance Setup
Complete Endurance Setup
Complete Endurance Setup
Complete Endurance Setup
Complete Endurance Setup
Complete Endurance Setup
Complete Endurance Setup
Complete Endurance Setup
Complete Endurance Setup
Complete Endurance Setup
Complete Endurance Setup
Complete Endurance Setup
Complete Endurance Setup
Complete Endurance Setup
Complete Endurance Setup
Complete Endurance Setup
Complete Endurance Setup
Complete Endurance Setup
Complete Endurance Setup

Complete Endurance Setup

£49.98

Combine MOVE Endurance for hydration, stamina and energy with Carb Booster for clean, sustained fuel to power longer, harder sessions. Available in 3 flavours.
Flavour
Quantity