Sacramento Running News

Can a vegan diet help you run faster?

Gretchen Reynolds, writing at the New York Times Well blog, explores the issue of whether athletes can perform well on a vegan diet.

Her piece was sparked by the release of Scott Jurek’s new book Eat & Run, which we all are no doubt going to run off and purchase.

I enjoy Reynold’s writing on running and health, but was a little frustrated by the lack of distinction here between vegetarian (no meat) and vegan (no animal products).

These are very different diets.

I must confess: I have been vegan for many years (15 or 16?) although for the past few years I’ve also included a few eggs in my diet–from my own hens.

From my own running experience, I’d say yes, a vegan diet is fine for an athlete. In fact, I would say it is probably better than a standard American diet.

I’d also say that a high quality, mostly vegan diet is better than a crappy but strictly vegan diet. There is plenty of junk food that is vegan. It will not make you faster.

When Jurek was on top of his game, his diet seemed like an anomaly. Now, the list of vegan or nearly vegan athletes, from champion boxers like Timothy Bradley and Maureen Shea to cyclist Lance Armstrong and hockey’s Mike Zigomanis, has grown long enough that it’s starting to become a mainstream thing. (I’m not going to write about celebrities.)

It seems that simply the knowledge that your arteries aren’t laden with gooey animal fat, and you’re not carrying the burden of all that animal suffering, will help you feel faster.

Of course, the real advantage to a strictly vegan diet is the smug sense of superiority it can give you.

I say give it a shot and see what happens!