Here's an article I'll shortly be submitting for the next quarterly issue of the Sydney Animal Lib magazine "Release".
Any feedback from the raw crew???

Running Ultra-Marathons on Raw Plant Food

I'm one of those crazy folk who race alone through remote bushland for up to 24 hours on foot covering distances of 100km or more...and I do it fueled by 100% raw vegan food. No cooking, no heavy processing, no additives...I eat my food 100% raw as provided by nature...no animal cruelty required.

Where did my running start out? In high school I'd be hunched over with a stitch halfway through a 3km cross-country run. In my mid-20s, I went vegetarian and gave up dairy products which got rid of my morning congestion. Over the next 18 months I found myself eliminating consumption of every animal product from my life, one at a time until I found myself vegan. I didn't even know what a vegan was and it was to be 5 years before I met another vegan.

My changes were motivated by the feeling of self-empowerment through consciously choosing healthier and more ethical options to fuel my body and feed my consumerism. I vividly remember the incredible feeling of freedom that came with the realisation that I was no longer dependent on the abuse of animals to meet my daily needs.

I spent the next 6 years as a cooked vegan learning about human health and nutrition. During this time I found myself taking on more and more activities including swimming, running, rock climbing, canyoning and surf lifesaving. A cooked vegan diet clearly provided me with more energy than the "meat & 2 veg" I was raised on, but raw food took it to another level. It takes a lot less energy to digest raw plant foods, leaving more energy available to be active. "You are what you eat" certainly rings true. Eat living foods and you feel more alive.

During my studies of raw eating I often came across radical claims by the raw gurus and through experience I found they were generally right. Eating like we would have done in nature makes a lot of sense. No other animal cooks their food or drinks milk from another species and only domestic animals eating our heavily processed and cooked products die from the diseases we suffer from.

I've been eating raw vegan for 2 years now. My diet is low fat, high leafy greens and high fruit with lots of variety. I don't eat any grains as they push your body into a more acidic state and grains contain opiates which are addictive. Try giving up bread, rice and pasta and you'll see what I mean. I love eating seasonally and enjoy making a meal out of a single food.

Since changing to raw foods and getting enough sleep (if you feel tired, you need more), I've noticed many changes in my body including increased hydration, alertness, mental clarity, endurance, flexibility, tolerance to the sun (no sunscreen for me) and faster recovery. I don't get regular colds any more and no longer get deep muscular soreness a few days after long races.

I don't believe you can over-sleep. I don't wake to an alarm. If you ever feel tired, you need more sleep. When I get enough sleep, I have my maximum energy available. The night after a big race is typically a 12 hour sleep. In the week leading up to a race I like to get at least 10 hours sleep per night if possible. Generally I ensure I balance out to an average which exceeds 8 hours per night.

In the days leading up to a race, instead of carb-loading, I nutrient-load. I get as much leafy greens and fruit into me as my stomach (acid) allows. I use a blender to turn most of this into "green" smoothies (e.g. banana, celery and water) which are simple to digest and ensure I'm fully hydrated. I blend whole foods rather than juicing, as the soluble fibres (guar and pectin) slow the absorption of sugars. 

When we are active we deplete our body's stores of water, sugar and salt. If we don't replace them in the ratio in which we use them, we suffer heavy legs, dehydration, cramps, etc. I often blend dates, celery and water as a natural electrolyte drink. The dates give me the simple sugars my body needs, and celery is naturally high in sodium and perfect for replacing the lost salt. Yesterday's nutrition also goes a long way. Whenever you're not fully hydrated or don't have the right balance of mineral salts (K, Na) your body can't efficiently get nutrients in and out of it's cells, stopping you from being your best.

I avoid too much fat (nuts, seeds, avocado) as the fat stays in your blood stream for a long time and interferes with the process of insulin releasing blood sugar to your cells.

I make sure I get sunlight every day, as it reacts with the oils on your skin (if you haven't destroyed it with soap or detergent) to produce vitamin D which is required to effectively get the required oxygen into every cell of your body.

This year I've bought mostly organic produce and the difference is astounding. I certainly feel I get more satiation and nutrition for my dollar than on conventional produce.

My reasons for being a repeat offender in ultra-distance trail running are: the great sense of freedom (heightened by society's obsession with safety), the instinct to explore (it excites me to run alone through places I've never been) and bringing my focus to the present moment (a peaceful mental state).

In a typical week I run 30-40km which is pretty low in ultra-marathon circles. Keeping a healthy, injury-free body long-term is what I value. I've completed 12 ultra-marathons in the last 2 years and carry my fitness from race to race, taking plenty of recovery time. My short term training goals include cycling, strength work and barefoot training. My long term goal is to complete a 100 mile race when I'm 100!

Keep it real. Keep it raw. Raw to the core!
rawaussieathlete@gmail.com

Hey Grant, awesome article mate!!!!!  Perfectly written and full of great points!

 

Did you deliberately not mention 80-10-10?

Thanks Rudolf.
I thought Scott was raw too. I don't have any additional info, but my ears are open for any further info now...

Thanks Jim.
I haven't submitted it yet. It'll mainly get to cooked vegan animal libbers and I didn't want to complicate things, but I'll have a think about how I can mention 80-10-10 without taking half a page...I might just throw it in without explanation where I mention low fat.

Thanks Emi.
Glad you thought it worthy of sending to your friend!

Love it Grant. Easy reading that covers a lot of ground. I can see so many places for someone who may want to interview you to ask questions too. Well done!

xoxoxo

Job interviews seriously freak me out - I'd rather have a root canal with no anaesthetic!!!

May,
I can't imagine how bad a root canal would be. To me it would be as drastic as having your gall badder, appendix, or a lung removed. I'd choose the job interview any day. I suspect if we are able to understand exactly why we feel uncomfortable in such a situation, then it would lose it's intimidating powers.

Michelle,
Torin King writes the column "The Raw Truth" in Vegan Voice and has done so for many issues. He's a good friend of mine...and a great harp player.
Funny I just spoke to him on the phone (for the first time in a few months) and he mentioned the Julie's class.
Then I come on the RP forum and you've mentioned him. Synchronicities...
I sent the article to Sienna from VV.

Thanks Free.

May, have you considered writing in your resume that you are petrified of job interviews? I'd write that in there if it was me! Something like 'I'm the best worker you could hope for but am more scrared of job interviews than a root canal with no drugs!'. That would make them laugh and if they liked your resume then I'm sure they would try harder to make you more comfortable. I'd hire you darlin'. Hey, just send them here for your personality profile! You might end up with a raw boss... awesome.

xoxoxox

Sorry to stray Grant. I love interviews. I've only ever been the one asking questions though. Apart from job interviews (which I don't mind really!) I haven't been interviewed at all really! Maybe I'll have to get a band together!

xoxoxo

You never need apologise for your posts here, Jennie. Speak your mind :-)

I'd hire May too. In a flash! But I'd want to be running a fruit orchard, 80-10-10 life coach or something...not gonna be in an office job forever. The real question is whether the boss is up to May's standards.
May, Perhaps you could take the dual interview approach. Interview the interviewer to see if you really want to work for them.

Jen, You want to get a band together...our singer just dropped an email that he is leaving ours...after many years.
He thinks he has nodules in his throat and is losing his clean voice with the mixture of coarse death metal vocals and screams. I reckon he just needs to go raw, of course :-)
Hope he rests well. He has a beautiful voice...and has several years of opera training behind him.

Torin has a little Celtic harp he busks with. It's hypnotic. I remember trying to hunt down copies of VV a few years back, but then a friend subscribed so I was fortunate enough to absorb those.