Recently, supplements for athletes are being increasingly used. To clarify the current status of supplement intake, we conducted a survey in female university long-distance runners.
An anonymous questionnaire survey was conducted in runners who participated in the 18th Japan Inter-University Women's EKIDEN Championship, We investigated 99 respondents.
The survey showed that 86 runners (87%) took supplements. Iron was most frequently taken (68 runners, 69%) . The common purpose was to reduce fatigue (amino acids, vitamin C) and prevent ane mia (iron) . However, some supplements were taken after their effects were realized, while others were taken without an effect. In some cases, the purpose was not consistent with the effects. Most runners (73%) purchased supplements in shops stores. Fifty percent of them took supplements for supplementation of nutrients deficient in diets. More than 50% of the runners obtained information on nutrition from their coaches.
Furthermore, most runners began to take supplements when they were senior (55 runners, 56%) or junior (31 runners, 31%) high school students. About 70% of them have taken iron. In the highest percentage of them, their coaches recommended the use of supplements.
The results of this survey showed that most female university long-distance runners took supplements, and that a high proportion of them began to take them when they were senior or junior high school students, suggesting the widespread use of supplements among young athletes. In addition, their instructors markedly influenced the runner's nutritional outlook, by being the source of information on nutrition.

1) A BLS training program was held for the first-year students of Tokai University School of Medicine in 2007/08.
2) The training program was based on the objective structured clinical examination. In 2007, our faculty directly instructed first-year students. In 2008, under the guidance of faculty members, fifth-year medical students doing clinical clerkships served as student-instructors for teaching first-year students.
3) To assess the BLS training program, questionnaires were completed by both the first-year students and the fifth-year students. The results of the survey showed that all students participated in this program with high motivation and intensity. The first-year students rated the guidance given by student-instructors more highly than that given by faculty members. Moreover, the program appeared to be enjoyable and challenging for the fifth-year medical students. Thus, the preceptor-based BLS training program (the Yanegawara method) potentially motivates both first-year and fifth-year medical students.