Running for Good – ‘Queen of the Extreme’ Fiona Oakes (vegan), Part 4 of 5

With over 10 marathon wins and 3 world records under her belt, Fiona’s next major target is successfully completing the 4 Deserts Grand Slam – widely considered the toughest footrace series in the world. Within a calendar year, one must finish 4 of the world’s most challenging week-long, 155-mile (250-km) ultramarathons in some of the world’s most unforgiving terrain carrying one’s own food and supplies, a feat that only a small number of people have ever accomplished. Fiona has never had a coach and had to learn through trial and error how to train to push her limits without injuring her unstable right knee. She also recovers quickly from her strenuous workouts and sanctuary work with minimal rest. Fiona credits her lifelong vegan diet for her strength and resiliency. She eats only one simple, whole food, plant-based meal a day. “It’s very seasonal. I eat seasonal vegetables, which my father mainly grows, nuts, pulses, rice.” “One day will be my last day that I see, and all I am doing is trying to maximize my time on this Earth in order to do good, so when my last day does come, I know I’ve done all that I can, and that’s what I would encourage other people to do.” “I find the ultra-stage races do give me something more than physical endurance; they bring mental enhancement.” “We have to change the model in the way that we think, and to do that we have to learn for the others to have more; for it to be more fair distribution of resources along the planet, we have to accept and expect to have less and embrace that idea. And rather than looking at the things we aren’t having, look at the blessings we have all around us.”