In an average week, vegetarian athlete Dom Repta runs 100 to 200 kilometres, swims 2,000 to 5,000 metres and cycles 40 to 150 kilometres.
He's an ultra-marathon racer, running 100 miles in 19 hours and 50 minutes in his last race. In 2003, he plans to run across the Sahara Desert in six days. This in addition to studying for a master's degree in environmental science and working at Forerunners running store in Kitsilano.
Oh, and did we mention he's not just a vegetarian? He's been vegan for the past seven years and bans all animal products from his diet.
Repta, 28, is one of the growing number of vegetarians who are proving a meatless diet doesn't sap strength and energy.
"I talk to a lot of men who don't think they can be strong athletically if they don't eat animal protein," he says. "They think they'll lose muscle, weight, endurance."
To counter misperceptions about vegetarianism and athletic performance, Repta, along with three of North America's elite vegetarian athletes, (tennis pro Peter Burwash, endurance runner Scott Jurel and triathlete Brendan Brazier) will be speaking Dec. 1 at a seminar called Eating for Performance. Also speaking is Dr. Emily Cooper, a medical director at Prevention Solutions Clinic in Seattle.
"How can you argue with the great results I'm getting?" Repta asks. "Here are four successful athletes, getting stronger and stronger as they get older."
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