The Vegan Society has entered the Great North Run 2010 to finally and completely smash the tired old myth of the 'weedy vegan'. The fifteen vegan runners have won their places in Team Vegan against stiff competition. Team Vegan is captained by Elite marathon runner Fiona Oakes.

Amanda Baker from The Vegan Society said, “Good vegan diets can support impressive athletic achievement. Carl Lewis credits his ‘best year as an athlete ever!’ in part to the vegan diet he was following in 1991.”

Team Vegan is a fifteen-strong all-vegan mixed team fielded by The Vegan Society. Team Vegan Captain Fiona Oakes is an amateur living in Essex who ran the 2009 London Marathon in 2 hr 58 min 48 sec, coming fourth in the Women’s over-40 category. (Gordon Ramsay ran 4 hr 5 min 2 sec in the same age group.)

The other team members are, from Scotland: Liz Begg in Angus, Alison Davie in Midlothian, Clara Macindoe in Aberdeenshire, Karen Page in Berwickshire; from Wales: Debra Confrey in Carmarthenshire, Cedric David and Helen Watkinson in South Glamorgan; from England: Chris Dhondee, Vanessa Hudson and Kate Vervain in Greater London, Andrew Knight in Bristol, Regina Jorgenson in Cambridgeshire, Joël Lawson in Cheshire; and from the Channel Islands, Terri O'Donoghue in Jersey.

Media Contact: Amanda Baker Mobile: (07847) 664 793 Email: media@vegansociety.com Tel: (0121) 523 1737

1. Founded in 1944, The Vegan Society promotes vegan lifestyles - which exclude, as far as is possible and practical, all forms of exploitation of animals for food, clothing or any other purpose. Registered Charity No. 279228, Company Registration No. 1468880, VAT Registration No. 448 5973 95
2. The Great North Run is on Sunday 19 September 2010, between Newcastle and Gateshead. Launched in 1981, The Great North Run is the largest half-marathon in the world, with 54,000 runners expected to start this year.

ENDS