It’s that time of year again! London VegFest is just around the corner, and this year it’s set to be bigger than ever!

I absolutely love the excitement around VegFest. I wrote about my top finds from last year’s event here, obviously this had to include a glorious vegan cupcake from my favourite London bakery – Ms Cupcake!

VegFest London Countdown!

This year I’m going to be blogging about some of the guest speakers at VegFest so you can plan out exactly who you want to see. You can view the list of appearances on the VegFest website.

For my first instalment, I have written about Fiona Oakes – vegan athlete who completely defies the common misconception of vegans as weak.

Check out my top five reasons why you should definitely go and see Fiona on Saturday 22nd October!

VegFest London Countdown – Vegan Athletes Summit – Fiona Oakes

One of the speakers at the Vegan Athlete Summit on the Saturday of London VegFest (22nd October) is dedicated vegan athlete, extreme marathon runner, sanctuary owner, and all-round wonder woman – Fiona Oakes!

Here are five reasons why you should definitely go and watch Fiona’s talk at VegFest London:

1. Thinking of starting running? Fiona is the fastest woman in the world to run a marathon on all seven continents, she has even completed marathons at the North Pole! Who could be better to talk to?

2. Vegan since the age of six, Fiona has broken five marathon course records; the North Pole Marathon, the Antarctic Ice Marathon, the Ruska Marathon, the Dartmoor Vale Marathon and the Essex Championship Marathon. All together, she has completed over fifty marathons!

3. Need some motivation? As a teenager, Fiona was the victim of an illness resulting in her losing a knee cap, which just makes her incredible achievements even more inspiring!

4. Fiona set up The Fiona Oakes Foundation, which enables people to support her marathons, so she can continue working hard to destroy the false image of vegans as ‘weak’. Why not learn more about how you can support her important mission?

5. At the heart of everything Fiona does, is the animals. Along with her partner Martin, Fiona cares for over 400 rescued animals at Tower Hill Sanctuary in Essex. I visited the sanctuary and had the amazing opportunity to meet Fiona earlier this year, you can read my blog about it here. And just to confirm, she does all this as well as running every single day…something to make you feel incredibly lazy!

So after you’ve had your fill of all kinds of delicious vegan food, why not go and see Fiona Oakes – the lady who will show you exactly what hard work and sheer determination can achieve. If you need extra convincing, watch this short documentary, ‘Fiona Oakes – For The Animals’:

For more information about Fiona, check out the following sites, and make sure you keep an eye on the VegFest programme to find out what time you can catch her at London Olympia!

http://www.towerhillstables.com/

https://www.facebook.com/towerhillstables

http://www.fionaoakesfoundation.co.uk/