Peter and I have a running joke at this point, whenever I mention I was interviewing an ultrarunner for an article / for our podcast / just because I want to get some tips: I say I chatted with a super rad ultrarunner, and Peter responds, “Is she/he a vegan?” and 90 percent of the time, the answer has been yes. So, naturally, I investigated why this kept happening. I was hiking with my friend Emmaline in LA a couple weeks ago chatting about it, and found myself nodding along with her explanation of why she went plant-based. I was, for a long time, a total junk food vegan, and trashed my health as a result. I’m no longer a vegan, but I admire the lifestyle a ton and it’s something I think about frequently. (Lori Nedescu, RDN, and I talk about it on a recent podcast—we agree it’s absolutely possible to be an athlete and be plant-based, but it is a lot more challenging to make sure you’re eating enough of the right things.) But as for the ultrarunning vegan phenomenon, well, check out my findings over at MapMyRun and, if you’re an ultrarunning vegan or considering becoming one, let me know what your reasoning is!

PS: If you’re looking for plant-based recipes that are super athlete-friendly, check out this article!