The Centenarian Vegan Athlete

Mike Fremont, a vegan athlete, celebrated his 100th birthday in February by going for a run in his Florida neighborhood of Vero Beach.

Since turning 69, the centenarian has maintained a vegan diet. Doctors suggested life-saving surgery to Fremont after a cancer diagnosis. But in order to recover his health, he chose a diet centered on entire, plant-based foods.

“I said no, I was going on a diet!” Fremont told Great Vegan Athletes.

“In two and a quarter years the tumor began to bleed, and I was operated upon. The surgeon looked for metastasis in 35 places and found zero. In other words, my macrobiotic diet, becoming a vegan diet, becoming a whole-foods plant-based diet, killed the metastases!” he added.

According to research, eating a plant-based diet may help lower the chance of getting some malignancies. The European Parliament endorsed meat-free meals as a strategy to reduce the risk of catching the illness in February.

There is no solid scientific evidence that a whole-foods plant-based diet may effectively cure cancer that has already developed.

A Record-Breaking Vegan Diet

Fremont has always maintained his fitness levels despite being an avid runner since the 1950s. The athlete, who lists canoeing as another one of his hobbies, achieved several single-year age-group world records for marathon distance events in his senior years. His age-group records of 88 and 90 are still standing.

In his eighties, Fremont kept up his three-day, five-mile runs. Other frequent training additions include bodyweight resistance exercises and solo kayaking.

Rich Roll, a fellow vegan athlete and extreme endurance athlete, questioned Fremont about his secret to staying strong.

“What is it like to be 100?” Roll asks in a video posted to his TikTok.

“These, believe it or not, are the very best years of my life,” Fremont replied.

“How are you able to not just run marathons and half marathons in your late eighties and over the course of your nineties, but also set world records?”

What is the secret to longevity here?” Roll asks.

“No question in my mind, absolutely, it is diet that has determined my existence. My continued existence and my beautiful health,” Fremont said with a grin. 

A Vegan Hero

According to Fremont’s longtime friend and frequent running companion Harvey Lewis, communities that run together remain together. Lewis is a vegan ultramarathon running champion who has twice won the Badwater Ultramarathon, dubbed the “hardest footrace in the world.”

Lewis proposed that as a birthday celebration, Fremont and him do a leisurely 5k.

“I asked him about the Flying Pig Marathon and if he was interested in doing the 5k, as we have done it the past couple of years… He said, ‘I don’t feel it’s really a race unless we do 10k with a big grin.’ No arguing with Mike. 10k it is!” Harvey told Great Vegan Athletes.

Source: “The 100-Year-Old Vegan Athlete: ‘Diet Has Determined My Existence’ by Plant Based News

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