A great day out for the Veggie Runners – a team of around 14 runners successfully completed the 10k Sporting Life race in Toronto this past Sunday. The Veggie Challenge team was there cheering on the runners, and at the same time handing out a whole bunch of information to the crowds and race participants. A great time was had by all. The Veggie Runners made a great impression, proving, as their banners proclaimed that they were indeed ‘veggie & fit‘.

If you’d like more info about the Veggie Runners, check out their group on Facebook. Not on Facebook? Send an e-mail to veggiechallenge@veg.caThis email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it
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More photos below:

Veggie & Fit’s is indebted to Marvin for getting the ball rolling for veggie fitness here in Toronto. Unfortunately, Marvin had to move out of town to Kitchener. With his departure, Veggie & Fit and the Veggie Runners Group was without a leader.

But YOU can change that. All it takes is for someone to assume the role of leader and become the contact person. We have helpers that can update this website with training schedules (such as a weekly run or cycle) and upcoming races. Further promotion could be through talking to friends, setting up a Facebook or Yahoo account, announcing the group in community papers as well as publications that reach runners or cyclists, posters in your community, etc.

We are also open to supporting people in other cities and towns who want to start a Veggie & Fit group.

That cry could be heard all along Toronto’s waterfront as the Veggie Runners, bearing colourful signage, dashed across the finish line of the Scotiabank Half and Full Marathons in support of the Veggie Challenge. Congratulations to all the runners who demonstrated by their terrific performances that you can be veggie and fit.

And let’s not forget a huge thank you to the team supporters who also came out very early on Sunday to carry the Veggie Challenge banner around Metro Hall. We received so much positive feedback it was worth losing a bit of sleep.

For more info about the Veggie Runners and to find out where their next event will be, visit Veggie & Fit.

Click “continue” to see more pictures.

The runners included (from left to right): Marcella, John, Brian, Doris, Greta and Tori. Not pictured are Michelle and Marvin.

On September 30 the Veggie Runners will participate in Toronto’s Scotiabank half and full marathon in support of the Veggie Challenge. You can show your support for the Challenge by cheering them – loudly – from start to finish. On race day we’ll be down at Metro Hall with our Veggie Challenge banners showing off our veggie pride and putting an end to the myth that vegetarians don’t have the right stuff.

To be a Veggie Runner or join in the race day festivities as a team supporter see Get Involved or send an e-mail to veggiechallenge@veg.ca.

Yes, you can be veggie and fit!

For the last 30 years, except for a 5-year period, I settled for running mostly 2 to 3 mile distances about two and a half times per week. However, last November I read “Younger Next Year” which stresses, for those of us beyond 50, the importance of working out 6 days a week and pushing yourself to sweat and achieve a significant level of fitness. Achieving 6 days per week is tough, but this year I have almost doubled my workouts to five per week. Just as importantly, I have set my sights on running longer and faster. I’m not fast by any standards, but by varying my training to include interval, speed and distance workouts my times have been improving. In the last week I completed my first 9-mile run, and then golfed in the afternoon.

People in the Veggie & Fit running group have offered a lot of encouragement, especially Marvin who has been constant in his belief that I can complete the September 30^th ScotiaBank half marathon. Well, maybe. Even if I’m not ready for that race, I am very much aware of an increased physical fitness this year, much greater stamina and a lower resting heart rate. I believe “Younger Next Year” is something we can all achieve if we recognize the importance of devoting time to our own fitness.

Photo: Veggie runners Marvin Nguyen and Brian Deslauriers at the “Run for Canada” finish line.

In the early 70s I began to get into whole foods and eventually vegetarianism mostly for the personal health benefits. Aside from the famous books of the time such as “Diet for a Small Planet,” two other books also published in 1971 were “The Supermarket Handbook” an invaluable resource for understanding what you are getting, and “The New York Times Natural Foods Cookbook” with many excellent vegetarian recipes.

Today my wife Mary and I are completely vegetarian at home, and for the most part vegan. However, with running our own business I still find it hard to be vegetarian when traveling and when the alternatives are limited. As a result, I have chosen to be what I call Veggie90, which means I limit my non-veggie meals to two per week (and based on the idea of 20 meals per week, that gives 90% veggie). Some weeks I am 100% vegan, but I try not to fall below 90% for a given week.

Members of the Veggie & Fit running group have been excellent resources and motivators for maintaining a vegan lifestyle. In the last year we have also been reading many vegan-oriented books, including those from Ruth Heidrich. She is quite the inspiration, being a long-term cancer survivor who at 70 is still competing in triathlons.

Overall, the vegetarian lifestyle has never been better positioned to become more popular. Factory farming practices are so inhumane, and so destructive of our environment; and the health benefits are of major interest to an aging population that is desirous of being ageless. To attract more people to vegetarianism, it may be best to begin with the Veggie90 approach and even to celebrate people reaching 70% and 80% levels (i.e., four non-veggie meals/week).

On September 30, 2007, a group of Veggie Runners will participate in the Scotiabank Marathon in support of the Veggie Challenge and to show that you can be Veggie & Fit! Timothy Christ plans to be there.

Timothy’s journey began over 20 years ago with the knowledge that he was lactose intolerant. From there it was a slow process of making ethical decisions to limit his animal product intake: not easy, considering he was a chef for many of those years.

Although Timothy considered himself a vegetarian, he was a poorly educated one. His diet was high in calories and low in nutritional density. Then things started to change. He began studying to become a registered massage therapist and personal trainer. In the process he shifted to a vegan diet, and for the past 4 years has been vegan and 70-100% raw.

Today Timothy is an RMT at Toronto’s Cornerstones of Health Clinic. He credits his success in 6 marathons and 2 Ironman races to leading a balanced and holistic lifestyle. He also notes that the greatest improvement he has experienced with his Raw Vegan diet has been in post exercise recovery.

His weekend workouts while training for his second Ironman competition were in excess of 12 hrs. Yet by Tuesday morning he was completely recovered.

Timothy places great value on the children of the world, and puts his extra time and energy to help those that are in need or less fortunate than his own children. This is why he supports HUG (Helping for a United Good) and Guluwalk.

In the coming weeks we’ll tell you how you can show your support for the Veggie Challenge by cheering Timothy and all the Veggie Runners on race day.

Stay tuned for more!

Tori has run numerous marathons, including Boston, which she qualified for on her first try! She is a Physical Education teacher at North Peel Secondary School in Brampton and instructs spinning and group weight lifting exercises at a local fitness centre.

As if that wasn’t enough, Tori’s running club is off to Disney World in January. Tori herself will compete in her 3rd GOOFY – a half marathon on Saturday followed by the full marathon on Sunday! So how does she do it?

Well, Tori points to her role models, vegan athletes Tim VanOrden www.runningraw.com and Brendan Brazier www.brendanbrazier.com. She also follows the advice of Dr. Doug Graham. Tori says: “Don’t worry about protein and eat your greens!! I don’t worry about protein, yet I am strong and have muscle definition. Try almond milk instead of soya and go unprocessed as much as possible, which means taking it easy on the fake meats. Remember, even vegans can be unhealthy! Chips are vegan after all!

You’ve also got to schedule exercise into your day just like your job. If you give yourself a three week commitment – 21 days – you WILL create a new habit. Join the gym, participate in group exercise classes. I love these so much that I became an instructor at Goodlife.

Go, just GO! Go right after work, do not go home or you may never leave! Drill it into your brain that NOT going is NOT an option! After doing this 3-4 times a week for three weeks. You WILL miss it if you stop! Physical activity is not just about physical toughness, but mental toughness as well!”

We think she’s incredible. Good luck, Tori!

For more info or to join the Veggie Runners write to marvinng@hotmail.com.

On a recent podcast, organizer Marvin Nguyen said he had two goals in mind. 1. Send a powerful message to the public that vegetarians can be strong and fit. And 2 – encourage existing vegetarians to go further. We think he and the Veggie Runners did just that. Congratulations to Brian, Mary, Caroline, Erika, Edmond, John, Jim, Anton, Darren, Milind and Marvin.

Damian Wiechula from Toronto wrote:

I agree with you that you don’t need to be an omnivore to be a successful athlete. I started mountain bike racing 6 years ago, and in my first four years finished 2nd and 3rd in the Ontario Cup Masters Series (for competitors over 50). In the last two years, I have won the Ontario Cup Series and Provincial Championship, again in the Master’s division. I’ve been a vegetarian for well over 20 years and a vegan for the last 8 years, and nobody has ever accused me of lacking energy. Other competitors are constantly asking how it’s possible to race without a meat diet, while I wonder how you can possibly race on a meat diet. Thank you for your efforts at promoting vegetarian and vegan lifestyles.”

The photo was taken in Sept. 2006 at the Ontario Provincial Cross Country Mountain Bike Championships. Damian is standing in the middle with a gold medal around his neck – the winner of this event!