Collagen for Runners: Four Months On, I’m Still Taking It
Written by Andy Hood · Ultra runner, cancer survivor and Runna ambassador
Published 28 October 2026
An update to Collagen for Runners: Does It Actually Work? | Disclosure: I bought this product with my own money and have no commercial relationship with U Perform.
Four months after I started taking collagen, I’m still taking it, and I’ll keep going. This is my honest update on collagen for runners, from a sceptic in his 50s who paid for it himself. Is it a wonder cure, and is it worth £25 a month? That answer needs a small pinch of nuance.
Collagen for Runners Review: 4-Month Results at a Glance
Product | U Perform Active Sport Collagen (FORTIGEL), 5g a day |
How I take it | Every morning, in a glass of fresh orange juice |
What I noticed | Nothing for the first few weeks. From about two months: more fluid knees, hips and ankles, and no post-run niggles |
Bonus | Faster-growing nails |
The caveat | I changed my training, strength work and shoes at the same time |
Cost | £12.50 a month for the first three months on subscription, then £25 |
Still taking it? | Yes, including through my London Marathon build |
Why I Started Taking Collagen as a Runner
In July I confessed to scoffing at my wife when she started taking collagen. She took it mainly for her hair, which, in her early 50s, had started to thin, one of the many effects of the menopause. My smugness came courtesy of BBC Sounds’ Sliced Bread, which had once declared collagen marketing BS. Then the science moved on, the podcast revisited it, and I ordered a bag to try for myself. My original article on collagen for runners covers the science in full: absorption, timing, dose and what the evidence does and doesn’t show.
I didn’t expect thousands of you to read it, but you did, which shows how much interest there is. My analytics suggest AI search engines are citing it too. So here’s my promised update. It’s not a puff piece or a sponsored post: I paid for this with my own hard-earned cash, so you get a hard-earned opinion.
How I Take Collagen: Dose, Timing and What I Mix It With
I take 5g of U Perform Active Sport Collagen every morning, mixed into fresh orange juice. In the UK, the best-tasting fresh OJ comes from Lidl. I have no commercial arrangement with the supermarket, though I’m open to free bottles if their marketing team is reading.
Does Collagen Help Runners’ Joints? What I’ve Noticed
For the first few weeks, I noticed nothing. It was a pleasant drink with zero taste that mixed well with the OJ.
Around two months in, I started feeling more flexible, for want of a better word. I noticed it in my knees, hips and ankles. My running felt more fluid at every pace, and I had zero post-run issues, even after hard tempo runs and speed sessions. It’s subtle and quite hard to explain, but there is a difference, and I feel like a better runner.
That’s what this product is meant to target. As I explained in the original, 5g a day of this ingredient is aimed at joint comfort. It’s not the higher-dose tendon protocol.
And my nails are lovely. They’re growing faster than they ever have.
Collagen, Strength Training and New Shoes: What Else Changed
I’m in a training block for the Krispy Kreme London 50, a 50K across London. In June I also started rebuilding after emergency surgery in April. So I’ve trained differently this time:
I’ve dialled back the pace targets on tempo runs and speed intervals.
I’ve capped the long run at 14 miles.
I’ve worked with my strength coach, Steve, on hip strength, alongside the usual kettlebell lunge-and-squat hell he puts me through each week.
I’ve ditched my Asics Superblast 3s, which I felt were straining my Achilles.
Working out how much of the improvement is down to collagen and how much is down to everything else is completely unscientific. Collagen has been one component of this training block, not the whole story.
Is Collagen Worth the Money for Runners?
I’ve looked at other products and I’m staying with U Perform. On subscription, new subscribers pay half price for the first three months, £12.50, then £25 a month. Each pouch is meant to last a month, but mine has come up a little short, so I’ve had to order an extra bag from Amazon to stay ahead.
Top tip: Make it a level teaspoon, not a heaped one. A 150g pouch at 5g a day lasts exactly 30 days, so every heaped scoop eats into the next month. I’m fairly sure our teaspoons have been working out too, because they look far more muscular than the ones at my mum’s house. If yours run short, weigh a spoonful on the kitchen scales once so you know what 5g actually looks like.
£25 is a lot of money. But compared with everything else I buy for running, it isn’t. My last two pairs of shoes cost more than 12 times that combined. I don’t see collagen as a cost. It’s an investment, like my monthly leg massage. I’m in my early 50s, my body has changed over the past ten years, and the changes aren’t as subtle as they once were.
Taking Collagen During Marathon Training
My London Marathon build starts on 4 January, and the collagen is coming with me. I’ll be running 26.2 miles across London dressed as a giant pair of testicles, so I’ll need all the help I can get.
As for my wife: no, I still haven’t told her. But she ran her first trail half marathon with me a couple of weekends ago, so I fear the day she starts reading my blog posts is getting closer. If you know her, keep this one to yourself.
Collagen for Runners FAQs
How long does collagen take to work for runners?
For me, nothing for the first few weeks, then a subtle difference from about two months. That fits the research, where joint-comfort trials ran for 12 weeks.
How much collagen should runners take?
I take 5g a day, a level teaspoon, of U Perform Active Sport Collagen. Higher doses of 15 to 30g are used in the tendon studies, as covered in my original collagen for runners article.
Should runners take collagen long term?
I’m going to. I’ll keep taking it through my London Marathon build and beyond.
Collagen for Runners: My Honest Verdict
It’s no miracle, and I can’t prove it’s the collagen doing the work. But I feel better running than I have in a long time, it’s easy to take, and I’m carrying on.
I’m not a doctor or a nutritionist. I’m a runner with thousands of hours in my shoes, and I ask a lot of my body. This is one small thing that seems to help it answer.
Lace up and enjoy your miles.
This article shares my personal experience. It is not medical advice. If you’re experiencing pain or symptoms that concern you, please speak to a physio or your GP.
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