A hundred vegan runners took part in the Brighton 10k yesterday (Sunday 19 November) as part of a weekend of activities in the town.
Their club – Vegan Runners – even held an official “race within a race” during the popular seafront run which attracted almost 2,000 participants.
A day earlier 95 members of the club – one of Britain’s biggest – took part in the park run in Preston Park while other members volunteered as marshals.
The turnout is one of the biggest from one club at a single park run.
At the Brighton 10k Brendan Guy O’Boyle was the fastest finisher among the Vegan Runners in 34 minutes and 15 seconds. The Brighton-based member came 28th overall.
Two members the the host club, Brighton and Hove Athletics Club, finished in the top 10.
Howard Bristow came fourth in 31:51 and five seconds behind him Kevin Rojas came sixth.
Among the women Ali Guihen was the fastest Vegan Runners member from Brighton, finishing 17th overall in 39:39.
On Saturday the 1,700-strong club held its annual general meeting (AGM) at the Greater Brighton Met, formerly City College, in Pelham Street.
The Vegan Runners also held a number of social events for their Big Brighton Weekend, with restaurant meals, a vegan beer festival and even a vegan singles event.
On Saturday more than 90 hungry Vegan Runners booked a cooked breakfast, filling several local cafés after the park run.
Whole venues were booked out on Friday and Saturday evening to cater for the club’s food lovers.
And the Concorde 2 played host to the club before and after the 10k, where several members tried the vegan beer.
The running club said: “The sheer volume of Vegan Runners in town for the weekend is expected to make a substantial contribution to the city’s vegan economy.”
The Brighton Vegan Runners co-ordinator Dave Arnold, who spent months organising the weekend, said: “When it was agreed that the AGM would take place in Brighton and Hove this year, we knew we really wanted to showcase everything our brilliant city has to offer.
“Many of our clubmates around the country don’t have anywhere near the range of vegan eateries and shops that we enjoy here.
Q. How do you find out if someone is a Vegan?
A. Don’t worry – wait 2 minutes after you meet them and they’ll tell you.
I suppose it gives these people something to feel superior and brag about.
I wonder how the organic-only, gluten-free and GM-free teams did?
How did you get on then Gerald? I don’t see your name in the results of either of those two events. I’m sure you’re not the sort of person who would just sit behind your keyboard knocking the achievements of others, right?
It looks to me like they had a good time and I don’t begrudge them wishing to celebrate it.
I don’t see how being a Vegan is an “achievement” – unless you think it is an achievement to be able to run 10k when you avoid eating animal products?
I’m glad if they had a “good time” boasting about the value of a Vegan diet. I just wonder why these people have to make such a big fuss about it – do they expect special dispensation for began Vegan?
Where is this weird bitterness coming from? It’s a running club that exists so people who have a particular thing in common – in this case, that they’re vegan – can meet up and have a fun weekend running together. No one is feeling superior or asking for special dispensation. (Those two sort of contradict, don’t they? Why would you need special dispensation if you were superior?) Do you think the guy who finished in 34:15 demanded a head start or something?
So why make such a big think of being Vegan in the first place?
The word “Vegan” is repeated 16 times in the article and bangs on about how the runners ate vegan breakfasts and vegan beer.
Perhaps Brighton & Hove News would like to provide similar reports on all the other similarly interested groups that took place. What is so special about Vegans that they have to publicise their activities so much?
Don’t see anyone making a big fuss about it apart from you. But I’m sure that’s just a coincidence!
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Q. How do you find out someone eats meat?
A. They’ll seek out articles about vegans, and post furious comments about how they don’t like vegans.
Shut up Gerald
Why – don’t Vegans have a sense of humour? Or it is just vital for them to tell everyone about their dietary choices?
Not a dietary choice, it’s a way of life to avoiding unnecessary suffering to other sentient beings. BTW There’s zero humour in any of your comments.
You obviously don’t understand the meaning of humour…
Who says being a omnivorous or carnivorous causes suffering to other sentient beings? Perhaps you should climb down off your self-righteously evangelical high-horse.
If you want to be follow a Vegan philosophy due to your own beliefs then all well and good, but don’t start preaching to others about how wonderful you are.
I similarly care for the well being and treatment of “sentient” beings but as long as the animals that we eat (or their produce) are well treated and don’t suffer then I have no concerns.
Just because you have is your own problem. You live your life the way you want to – and leave the rest of us to do the same.
No one was preaching or being self-righteously evangelical until you turned up Gerald….
@Lucy – that’s the problem with Vegans – they don’t mind being self-righteously evangelical themselves and bragging about how wonderful they are, but hate it when others point it out to them.
Reminds me of the jokes:
Q. How many vegans does it take to eat a bacon cheeseburger?
A. One – if nobody’s looking.
And:
If someone eats only vegetables, but doesn’t tell anybody about it, are they really a vegan?
Actually, after reading all your bull and on reflection I do feel a lot superior to you! Thanks for that Gerald, on top of a great weekend, with the race commentary repeatedly mentioning Vegan Runners, articles in the press and from Park Run I thought it couldn’t be topped, but listening to a no life like you really makes me appreciate what I have! Cheers, you’ve made my millennium 🙂
Aaaaah shut up Gerald. You humongous moaning turd.