According to a study conducted by St. Louis University, eating baked beets can help you perform better while running a 5K. The study found that runners who consumed one and a quarter cups of baked beats one hour and fifteen minutes prior to the start of a race were able to maintain a five percent faster speed through the final half of the race as compared to the runners who were given a placebo.
To cook your own beets:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
Peel the beets and cut them so that they are all an even size (this will allow them to cook at the same rate)
Wrap the beets and place them in the oven for 1:45-2 hours
The beets are done when they are soft enough to easily slide a fork into them