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Health & Fitness

Vegan Endurance Athlete, Josh Garrett, Conquers Pacific Crest Trail & Sets Record

Josh Garrett, the vegan athlete who recently set a speed record for hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, was on a mission when he decided to take on this rugged, 2,650-mile trail that runs from the border of Mexico to the border of Canada.  Finishing the hike in a self-reported 59 days, 8 hours and 14 minutes, Garrett, aged 30, set out to raise awareness and funds for an organization called Mercy for Animals, a group that monitors conditions on farms and in factories used to raise animals for food.  Not only did he conquer this difficult challenge as a personal accomplishment while attaining an altruistic goal, he demonstrated the feasibility of doing it on a vegan diet!

An endurance athlete, who coaches track and teaches exercise physiology at Santa Monica College, Garrett credits his vegan diet for providing the nourishment for strength, endurance and recovery during his journey. He told the LA Times in an interview  that he gets his “protein the same way a gorilla does, or a wild mustang or an elephant. A plants-based diet gives us everything we need…we don’t need to meat to be strong and healthy.”  He said that he burned about 8,000 calories per day and lost about 15 pounds but subsisted on mostly Pro Bar vegan energy bars (a sponsor), peanut butter and vegan jerky.

When asked why he became vegan, he told Forks Over Knives, that he met Karen Dawn, an animal rights activist and author, in November of 2011. She rescues turkeys during Thanksgiving and he got to know 2 turkeys that “were so sweet and smart and affectionate…[he] just loved them.” After seeing a video which depicted the cruel treatment turkeys received in a slaughterhouse, his “consciousness shifted” and he knew that he couldn’t eat them anymore. Even though he had become uncomfortable eating animals, he “still had this idea that as an athlete, [he] might need to “until he watched the film, Forks Over Knives. He realized that he “couldn’t justify continuing to eat them while calling himself an animal lover.” 

Read more about Josh Garrett and his world-record breaking feat at: http://veganamericanprincess.com/vegan-endurance-athlete-josh-garrett-conquers-the-pacific-crest-tra...

Ellen Francis

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