The half marathon demands a balance of speed and endurance. You train for months. Race day comes down to small margins. Your fuelling strategy in the final 48 hours can shape the result.
Beetroot is one of the most studied ergogenic aids in endurance sport. Knowing when and how much to take is what turns the research into a race-day result. This guide gives you the exact Stamox protocol.
In This Guide
- Why Beetroot Matters for the Half Marathon
- Why Whole Root, Not Isolated Compounds
- Your 3-Phase Dosing Protocol
- The Race Day Window
- What the Research Shows
- The Non-Negotiables
- Summary
- Sources
Why Beetroot Matters for the Half Marathon
Beetroot is rich in dietary nitrate. When you consume it, oral bacteria convert nitrate to nitrite. Nitrite enters the bloodstream and is reduced to nitric oxide (NO).
Nitric oxide performs three functions that matter for a half marathon:
1. Improves oxygen efficiency. Your muscles use less oxygen to produce the same power. Bailey et al. (2009) found dietary nitrate reduced the oxygen cost of submaximal exercise by up to 5%.
2. Increases blood flow. NO signals blood vessels to relax and widen. More oxygen-rich blood reaches working muscles. This supports sustained effort in the final 5km.
3. Supports recovery between sessions. A 2022 meta-analysis in the Journal of Dietary Supplements found beetroot juice accelerated isometric strength recovery at 72 hours post-exercise and improved countermovement jump performance at 24–72 hours.
What beetroot does NOT do: It does not "clear lactate." Lactate is a fuel, not a waste product. The benefit is oxygen efficiency, not lactate clearance.
Why Whole Root, Not Isolated Compounds
Most beetroot products are marketed on nitrate content alone. That framing misses the science.
A 2022 meta-analysis in Advances in Nutrition examined 123 studies. Beetroot juice improved exercise performance (P < 0.001). Isolated nitrate salts did not (P = 0.629).
The full matrix of compounds — nitrates, betaine, betalains, and polyphenols — works together. Isolating one compound breaks the formula.
What this means for your race: A product that delivers only nitrate salts is not the same as whole beetroot. Stamox is a patented whole-root extract. It delivers the full matrix in every scoop.
Your 3-Phase Dosing Protocol
Timing magnifies the benefit. Follow this protocol to maximise the effect when the starting gun fires.
"I love Stamox for my running" says 3x Danish Champion Martin Egebjerg Olesen
Phase 1: Training Block Loading
| Parameter | Recommendation |
| Dose | 1–2 tbsp |
| Timing | 2–3 hours before key sessions |
| Frequency | Daily during hard training blocks |
The goal is to build a baseline. A 2025 umbrella review in Sports Medicine found that nitrate effects on time-to-exhaustion were most pronounced with chronic supplementation of more than 3 days.
Save the full 2–3 tbsp dose for race-pace sessions, threshold work, and long runs. Standard easy sessions can use 1 tbsp.
Phase 2: Race Week Maintenance
| Parameter | Recommendation |
| Dose | 2 tbsp daily |
| Timing | Morning or 2–3 hours before any session |
| Duration | 5–7 days before race day |
Consistency is the point. Do not stop. The loading phase saturates your plasma nitrite levels so they are elevated when the race starts.
A 2015 study by Kapil et al. in Hypertension found that daily nitrate intake over 4 weeks produced sustained reductions in blood pressure. The effect is cumulative.
Phase 3: Race Day
| Parameter | Recommendation |
| Dose | 2–3 tbsp |
| Timing | 2.5–3 hours before start |
| Extra | If your race is over 90 minutes, an additional 1 tbsp 60 minutes before start |
The 2.5–3 hour window is precise. Plasma nitrite peaks 2–3 hours after ingestion (Wylie et al. 2013). Starting your race inside this window ensures your blood vessels are fully dilated and oxygen delivery is maximised.
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The Race Day Window
The 2.5–3 hour window is not a suggestion. It is where the mechanism peaks.
| Time After Taking | What Happens |
| 0–30 min | Compounds absorbed |
| 1 hour | Nitric oxide levels begin rising |
| 2–3 hours | Peak vasodilation. Peak oxygen delivery. Race window. |
| 4–6 hours | Effect gradually declines |
Take your dose at the right time and the peak effect aligns with your race start. Take it too early and the window closes before the gun fires. Take it too late and you miss the peak entirely.
What the Research Shows
| Study | Finding |
| Poon et al. 2025 (Sports Medicine) | 180 studies, 2,672 participants. Nitrate improved time-to-exhaustion. |
| Bailey et al. 2009 (J Appl Physiol) | Reduced O₂ cost of submaximal exercise by up to 5%. |
| Wylie et al. 2013 (J Appl Physiol) | Plasma nitrite peaks 2–3 hours post-ingestion. Dose-response plateaus above 8.4 mmol. |
| Jones et al. 2022 (J Diet Suppl) | Improved recovery markers 24–72 hours post-exercise. |
| Silva et al. 2022 (Adv Nutr) | Whole beetroot outperforms isolated nitrate salts. |
The Non-Negotiables
✖ No antibacterial mouthwash. It kills the oral bacteria required to convert nitrate to nitrite. Research shows it abolishes the effect.
✖ No tongue scraping or breath mints. Same mechanism.
✓ Test the full dose in training first. Never debut on race day.
✓ Use it intermittently. Save the full dose for key sessions and race week.
✓ Pink urine is normal. Betalains are excreted renally. Harmless.
Summary
| Phase | Dose | Timing |
| Training block (easy days) | 1 tbsp | 2–3 hours before session |
| Training block (key sessions) | 2–3 tbsp | 2–3 hours before session |
| Race week | 2 tbsp daily | Morning or pre-session |
| Race day | 2–3 tbsp | 2.5–3 hours before start |
| Race over 90 min | +1 tbsp | 60 minutes before start |
This article is part of the Stamox Timing & Dosage series.
Explore the complete Timing & Dosage guide →
Ready to stop guessing your dose?
Stamox Oxy-Plus delivers the whole-root matrix in every scoop — nitrates, betaine, betalains, and polyphenols. The full formula that outperforms isolated compounds in the research.
Sources
All studies referenced in this guide are publicly available on PubMed. We only cite peer-reviewed, published research.
Poon, E.T., et al. (2025). Dietary Nitrate Supplementation and Exercise Performance: An Umbrella Review of 20 Published Systematic Reviews with Meta-analyses. Sports Medicine, 55(5), 1213-1231. View on PubMed →
Bailey, S.J., et al. (2009). Dietary nitrate supplementation reduces the O₂ cost of low-intensity exercise and enhances tolerance to high-intensity exercise in humans. Journal of Applied Physiology, 107(4), 1144-1155. View on PubMed →
Wylie, L.J., et al. (2013). Beetroot juice and exercise: pharmacodynamic and dose-response relationships. Journal of Applied Physiology, 115(3), 325-336. View on PubMed →
Kapil, V., et al. (2015). Dietary nitrate provides sustained blood pressure lowering in hypertensive patients. Hypertension, 65(2), 320-327. View on PubMed →
Jones, L., et al. (2022). The Effect of Nitrate-Rich Beetroot Juice on Markers of Exercise-Induced Muscle Damage. Journal of Dietary Supplements, 19(6), 749-771. View the study →
Silva, K.V.C., et al. (2022). Factors that Moderate the Effect of Nitrate Ingestion on Exercise Performance in Adults. Advances in Nutrition, 13(5), 1866-1881. View on PubMed →
How We Source Our Information
Every claim on this blog is backed by peer-reviewed research and Stamox R&D data. We cite studies from PubMed, the International Olympic Committee's consensus statements, and the Australian Institute of Sport's supplement framework.
This article was last reviewed on October 2026.
