Does taking vitamin C before a race such as a 8k improve preformane? I have a teamate that does this, he thinks it help oxyginate (sp) his blood. He also said weight lifters do it, but I've never heard of anything like that. I know taking vitamin C before a race couldn't hurt (it's onyl a vitamin) Also, are there any other natural vitamins that taken before a race will help improve preformance.
vitamin C DOES play a role in red blood cell development, but loading up on vitamin C will do nothing for you. loading up on ANY ONE vitamin or mineral is not a good habit to get into. come to think of it, loading on vit C before a race or any run might be a bad idea because it's not uncommon for ascorbic acid (the most popular/cheapest form of vitamin C) to upset the stomach.
From what I hear, training really hard for the months prior to a race will help. Something you should know about running- there are no legitimate shortcuts.
Supposedly Vitamin C plays a part in rejuvenating the free
radical quenching ability of Vitamin E. Will it make you
faster? No. Will it help in the recovery process by
removing the damage from free radical generation in hard
workouts and racing? Possibly.