Guides › Training nutrition
RunningHow much protein do runners need?
A daily range, which end of it fits you, and how to spread it across the day. · 9 min read · Updated October 24, 2026
- The main sports nutrition guidelines put athletes at 1.2–2.0 g of protein per kg of body weight a day (about 0.5–0.9 g per pound).
- A reasonable starting point for most runners is about 1.6 g/kg. Move toward 2.0 during hard training blocks, in weeks you also lift, or when you’re eating less than you burn, and don’t cut back on rest days.
- The guidelines don’t scale protein to weekly miles. How hard you train, how experienced you are, your carbs and your total calories matter more.
- Spread it across four or five meals and snacks. The guideline is about 0.3 g/kg (15–25 g for most people) per serving, and bigger servings help you reach the higher totals.
- Food can cover all of it. Studies in healthy adults haven’t linked higher protein intakes to kidney problems.
How we made this guide: we built it from the research below and checked every number against it: ACSM, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics & Dietitians of Canada joint position stand (2016); ISSN position stand on protein and exercise (2017); Kato et al., protein needs of endurance athletes (2016); Moore et al., protein needs and training volume (2024); Witard et al., protein for endurance athletes (2025); Morton et al., protein meta-analysis (2018); Devries et al., protein and kidney function (2018); Res et al., protein before sleep (2012); USDA FoodData Central.
This guide is for runners, from 5K to marathon, who want a clear daily protein number and a plain way to reach it. Protein often gets filed under “for people who lift.” Endurance training breaks down and rebuilds muscle too, and the guidelines for athletes include runners.
Shorthand: g/kg means grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. A kilogram is 2.2 pounds, so a 150 lb runner weighs about 68 kg.
How much protein do runners need a day?
The joint position stand from the American College of Sports Medicine, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and Dietitians of Canada says protein needs for athletes generally fall between 1.2 and 2.0 g/kg a day (Thomas, Erdman & Burke, 2016). The International Society of Sports Nutrition lands in the same place, with 1.4–2.0 g/kg enough for most people who exercise (Jäger et al., 2017). For comparison, the adult RDA is 0.8 g/kg.
Research aimed at endurance athletes tends to sit in the middle or upper part of that range. In one lab study, six endurance-trained men ran 20 km, and the researchers estimated an average need of 1.65 g/kg, with 1.83 g/kg as the amount that would cover most of them (Kato et al., 2016). A 2025 review of studies like that one suggests about 1.8 g/kg for endurance athletes, and closer to 2.0 on rest days and during training with low carbohydrate intake (Witard et al., 2025). The same review notes that endurance athletes typically eat about 1.5 g/kg without trying.
These are small studies, mostly of men, often covering a single day, so treat the numbers as a starting range, not a prescription.
Does your protein need go up with weekly mileage?
Some runner protein charts raise the grams as the miles climb. The guidelines don’t work that way. The 2016 position stand says athletes shouldn’t be sorted into “endurance” or “strength” and handed a fixed number. Needs shift with how trained you are (experienced athletes need less), how often and how hard you train, how many carbs you’re eating, and most of all whether you’re eating enough total energy (Thomas et al., 2016).
A small study that tested distance directly didn’t find a mileage effect. Endurance-trained men ran 10 km, ran 20 km, or rested, and the researchers measured how their bodies handled protein. There was no difference between the two run distances, and the results suggested needs may be greatest on the rest day (Moore et al., 2024). It was a one-day study at moderate distances, so it can’t speak to heavy mileage. It does mean a precise grams-per-mile formula has nothing behind it.
Use your weekly miles as a rough signal of how hard the block is. A big build week is a reason to lean toward the upper part of the range. It isn’t a multiplier.
Which end of the range fits you?
Here is one way to place yourself, using the factors the position stand names. It’s our rule of thumb, not a published formula:
- Lower end (about 1.2–1.5 g/kg): easy or lower-volume running, plenty of food and carbs, and years of training behind you.
- Middle (about 1.6 g/kg): regular training with a few hard sessions a week. This is a sensible default if you’re unsure.
- Upper end (about 1.8–2.0 g/kg): a hard block or a build toward a first marathon, a new kind of training, low-carb sessions, or weeks with lots of strength work.
If you also lift: in a meta-analysis of 49 protein-supplementation trials in people who lift, extra protein stopped adding lean mass, on average, above about 1.6 g/kg a day, with a plausible upper end of about 2.2 (Morton et al., 2018). That fits inside the runner range. Our guide to protein for building muscle covers the lifting side in detail.
If you’re eating less than you burn: the position stand says protein intakes as high as 2.0 g/kg a day or more, spread over the day, may help limit the loss of muscle when energy intake is low (Thomas et al., 2016). There’s a ceiling on what protein can do, though. The 2025 review cautions that with a large calorie deficit (over about 30%), protein has limited ability to protect muscle (Witard et al., 2025). Protein can’t make up for under-eating, and a hard training week is a bad time for a big deficit.
How many grams of protein is that for your weight?
| Body weight | Daily range (1.2–2.0 g/kg) | Starting point (1.6 g/kg) |
|---|---|---|
| 110 lb (50 kg) | 60–100 g | ~80 g |
| 130 lb (59 kg) | 70–120 g | ~95 g |
| 150 lb (68 kg) | 80–135 g | ~110 g |
| 170 lb (77 kg) | 95–155 g | ~125 g |
| 190 lb (86 kg) | 105–170 g | ~140 g |
Calculated from the ranges above and rounded to the nearest 5 g.
To work out your own, divide your weight in pounds by 2.2, then multiply by a number from 1.2 to 2.0. A 150 lb runner might aim for about 110 g in a normal week and nudge toward 135 g in the peak week of a marathon build.
How much protein should you eat per meal?
The position stand recommends about 0.3 g/kg per serving, which works out to 15–25 g for most athletes. It suggests eating that amount within about two hours after a hard session and then every 3–5 hours across the day. It adds that doses over 40 g haven’t been shown to do more, except possibly for the largest athletes or during weight loss (Thomas et al., 2016). The ISSN stand says about 0.25 g/kg, or 20–40 g, every 3–4 hours (Jäger et al., 2017). The 2025 endurance review points to roughly 0.5 g/kg after exercise but calls that preliminary (Witard et al., 2025).
| Body weight | One serving (0.3 g/kg) | Bigger serving (0.5 g/kg, preliminary) |
|---|---|---|
| 110 lb (50 kg) | ~15 g | ~25 g |
| 130 lb (59 kg) | ~18 g | ~30 g |
| 150 lb (68 kg) | ~20 g | ~35 g |
| 170 lb (77 kg) | ~23 g | ~40 g |
| 190 lb (86 kg) | ~26 g | ~45 g |
Calculated from the per-serving amounts above.
Here is the arithmetic that trips people up. Four servings of 0.3 g/kg add up to only 1.2 g/kg, the bottom of the range. To reach 1.6–2.0 g/kg, four servings need about 0.4–0.5 g/kg each, or five need about 0.3–0.4 g/kg each. The easiest fix is usually a bigger breakfast or an afternoon protein snack.
What does 30 g of protein look like in food?
You don’t need to weigh anything. Here are everyday ways to land near 30 g:
| Meal idea | Protein (approx.) |
|---|---|
| Cooked chicken breast, 3½ oz (100 g) | ~31 g |
| A 6 oz container of plain nonfat Greek yogurt plus ½ cup of cottage cheese | ~30 g |
| 3 eggs, a cup of milk and a slice of whole-wheat toast | ~31 g |
| A can of tuna, drained, on two slices of whole-wheat bread | ~28 g |
| A cup of cooked lentils and a cup of cooked black beans | ~33 g |
Approximate values from USDA FoodData Central. Tuna and cottage cheese vary by brand, so check the label.
What should you do on long-run days and in race week?
After a long run, the position stand’s advice is a mixed meal with carbohydrate, protein and fat soon after a hard session, with about 0.25–0.3 g/kg of protein early in recovery. The carbs do most of the refueling; the protein supplies amino acids to repair muscle and may help store glycogen if your carbs fall short (Thomas et al., 2016). Our after-a-long-run guide covers the carb side.
During a run, you don’t need protein. When athletes already take in enough carbohydrate, adding protein hasn’t been shown to improve endurance performance (Witard et al., 2025).
On the rest day after, don’t cut back. The newer endurance studies found that needs may be as high or higher on a recovery day than on a run day (Moore et al., 2024; Witard et al., 2025). Those are small studies in men, so treat it as a reason not to skimp, not a target.
In race week, the job is carbohydrate. Neither position stand calls for a different protein number, so we’d keep your usual amount, let carbs take the extra room on your plate, and stick to protein foods your stomach already knows. Our race-week timeline has the day-by-day carb plan.
Do runners need whey or casein?
No. The position stand says these protein levels can generally be met from food (Thomas et al., 2016). A powder is just a convenience.
If you do use one, the main difference is speed. Whey digests quickly and casein digests slowly (Jäger et al., 2017). After a mix of running and lifting, two recent studies found no difference in the muscle-building response to 20 g of whey, casein, milk protein or soy protein (Witard et al., 2025). Pick the one you like and tolerate.
Casein is the one people use before bed. The ISSN stand notes that 30–40 g of casein about 30 minutes before sleep raised overnight muscle protein synthesis in studies (Jäger et al., 2017). In one of them, 40 g of casein before sleep, after an evening weight session, improved overnight protein balance, although the rise in muscle protein synthesis was borderline (Res et al., 2012). Most of that work used young men and lifting, so for runners a bedtime serving is an option, not a requirement. Cottage cheese and Greek yogurt contain casein.
Is high protein bad for your kidneys?
For healthy people, the evidence so far says no. A meta-analysis of 28 trials and 1,358 adults without kidney disease compared higher-protein diets (at least 1.5 g/kg, 20% of calories or 100 g a day) with lower-protein diets and found no harmful effect on kidney filtration (Devries et al., 2018). The ISSN stand reviews the athlete literature and reports no sign of kidney or liver harm in healthy, active people (Jäger et al., 2017).
Two caveats. The meta-analysis included trials only a few days long, and the longest athlete study the ISSN stand describes ran one year, so none of this speaks to decades of intake. And the picture is different if you already have kidney disease, where limiting protein is often advised. If that’s you, or you’re unsure, ask your doctor before changing how much protein you eat.
What are the common protein mistakes runners make?
- Back-loading the day. Light breakfast, small lunch, big dinner. The guidelines are written around spreading protein out.
- Trading carbs for protein. Your running runs on carbohydrate. When energy is short, protein gets burned as fuel instead of being used to repair muscle (Thomas et al., 2016).
- Copying a lifter’s “1 gram per pound” at the expense of carbs. That is 2.2 g/kg, a little above the 2.0 top of the athlete guidelines. Lifters may aim that high to maximize muscle gain, but for a runner it can leave less room on the plate for carbs.
- Eating less protein on rest days. Recovery days may need as much as run days.
- Counting food weight as protein. Four ounces of chicken isn’t 4 g of protein. It’s about 35 g.
- Building the plan around a miles chart. Use the range and the factors above instead.
Check your real number for a week
The easiest way to know whether you’re in range is to log a normal week and compare. We built My Track Record so logging a meal is one spoken sentence, and we estimate the protein for you and add up your day against a protein target you can set. Estimates are rough, so judge the weekly pattern, not one meal.
Get My Track Record on the App Store
By Andrew, founder of My Track Record. Andrew has been active all of his life across a variety of sports and continues to stay active through climbing, swimming, weight training, golfing, snowboarding, and more. He built My Track Record so logging food and training takes one spoken sentence and can support any activity. He puts these guides together from published sports science research cited on each page. About AndrewSources
- Thomas DT, Erdman KA, Burke LM. Nutrition and Athletic Performance: joint position statement of the American College of Sports Medicine, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and Dietitians of Canada. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2016;48(3):543–568. Source
- Jäger R, et al. International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: protein and exercise. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2017;14:20. Source
- Kato H, Suzuki K, Bannai M, Moore DR. Protein requirements are elevated in endurance athletes after exercise as determined by the indicator amino acid oxidation method. PLoS One. 2016;11(6):e0157406. Source
- Moore DR, Gillen JB, West DWD, Kato H, Volterman KA. Protein requirements may be lower on a training compared to rest day but are not influenced by moderate training volumes in endurance trained males. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2024;49(8):1124–1128. Source
- Witard OC, Hearris M, Morgan PT. Protein nutrition for endurance athletes: a metabolic focus on promoting recovery and training adaptation. Sports Med. 2025;55(6):1361–1376. Source
- Morton RW, et al. A systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression of the effect of protein supplementation on resistance training-induced gains in muscle mass and strength in healthy adults. Br J Sports Med. 2018;52(6):376–384. Source
- Devries MC, Sithamparapillai A, Brimble KS, Banfield L, Morton RW, Phillips SM. Changes in kidney function do not differ between healthy adults consuming higher- compared with lower- or normal-protein diets: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Nutr. 2018;148:1760–1775. Source
- Res PT, et al. Protein ingestion before sleep improves postexercise overnight recovery. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2012;44:1560–1569. Source
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central (food composition database). Source
General information for healthy adult runners, not medical advice. If you have a medical condition (including kidney disease), are pregnant, or have a history of disordered eating, talk to a doctor or registered dietitian before changing how you eat.