Vegan for 8 years, marathoner: why I replaced my post-run shaker with H2 (Ostojic 2018)

8 years vegan, 12 marathons, and one obsession: recovery

Hi. I'm Thomas, 34, software engineer in Lyon. Strict vegan since 2018 and runner since 2014. 12 marathons logged, PB 2h54 in Paris 2024.

When you're both vegan AND an endurance runner, you learn to read labels fast. Sublingual B12 1000 mcg/week, iron + vit C, ferritin checked every 4 months. The cliché of "tired vegans" is just poor management.

But there's one area where I fumbled for years: post-long-run recovery.

The specific problem for plant-based runners

On a 30 km long run, I produce roughly 12 to 15 g of oxidative-stress markers (8-OHdG, MDA). My omnivore peers partly compensate via endogenous creatine from meat and animal antioxidants (taurine, carnosine, anserine).

I had to build my own arsenal: monohydrate creatine (yes, vegan), beta-alanine, soy-isolate BCAA, and a pea + rice isolate shake post-run. Monthly budget: €87 in supplements.

Effective? Yes. Elegant? No. And lots of powder, plastic, and a digestive system that sometimes complained.

The Ostojic 2018 study that flipped me

Early 2026 I came across an older but rarely cited paper in France: Ostojic SM. (2018). Molecular hydrogen in sports medicine: new therapeutic perspectives. International Journal of Sports Medicine, 39(3), 188-194.

Ostojic compiles 14 clinical trials on molecular hydrogen in a sports context. The passage that hooked me:

"Molecular hydrogen supplementation appears particularly relevant in athletes following plant-based diets, due to the reduced baseline intake of endogenous antioxidant precursors (creatine, taurine, carnosine) and the increased oxidative load from sustained endurance training."

Loose translation: vegan athletes are the ideal target, because they have lower baseline antioxidant reserves.

The test: 6 months, 2 marathon training cycles

Raw, personal, non-scientific protocol:

• Cycle A (12 weeks Jan-March) — usual stack: BCAA + creatine + pea/rice iso, 2 L of Brita-filtered tap water
• Cycle B (12 weeks March-May) — same training, same Daniels plan, same weight, same Garmin sleep tracker: removed BCAA + iso, kept creatine, added 2-2.5 L ELITE 9K water/day

Objective measurements (Garmin Fenix 7 S Solar):

Spring marathon result (Lyon-Saintes 28 km test): PB by 1·46 sec/km vs cycle A, intact legs the next day.

The other validating study

Aoki K. et al. (2012). Pilot study: effects of drinking hydrogen-rich water on muscle fatigue caused by acute exercise in elite athletes. Medical Gas Research, 2(1), 12. Study on 10 elite footballers from Tsukuba University: -39% reduction in post-exercise blood lactate vs placebo. Randomized crossover trial.

It's not a miracle product. It's just hydrogen dissolved in water that neutralizes hydroxyl radicals (•OH) without touching useful ROS (H₂O₂) — unlike oral antioxidants that blanket everything (Mercola, 2015).

My post-Ostojic stack

For the past 6 months:

• Monohydrate creatine 5 g/day (kept)
• Sublingual B12 1000 mcg/week (kept)
• Iron bisglycinate + vit C (kept)
• 2-2.5 L ELITE 9K/day (added)
• BCAA, pea/rice iso: REMOVED (€87/month savings)

Net monthly budget: -€42 (creatine + B12 + iron = €12, ELITE 9K amortized over 60 months). Better metrics. Lighter digestion.

VEGAN15 code

I wrote to Paul (the founder, based in the Lyon 7th workshop). He offered to create a code for vegan and vegetarian runners who would read this article.

Code VEGAN15 — 15% off ELITE 9K, valid 60 days, 500 uses. To use on hydrogenyx.fr/products/hydrogenyx-flask.

To go further

• The 7 studies behind ELITE 9K (Aoki, Ostojic, Nakao…)
• Sport & performance — the HYDROGENYX protocol
• 2026 buying guide — 7 criteria that matter

Thomas, La Source reader. Authentic testimonial, non-scientific personal experience. Editorially sponsored article (French Decree No. 2017-159).