Masters medal haul for vegan runner

Anabelle Broadbent ran away with a haul of medals at an international Masters event

The veteran runner was competing in the 2023 North, Central American and Caribbean Masters Athletics (NCCMA) Outdoor Athletics Championships in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.

She spectacularly competed in seven events ranging from the 4 x 100 metres relay to a 10-kilometre road race.

Not only did she face runners from 31 countries in the World Masters Athletics sanctioned event, but she also had to face running at 3740 feet of elevation, compared to her usual 300 feet at home.

Anabelle started day one as she meant to go on, winning the 10-kilometre race. She then had to transition to the 800 metres event, in which she also crossed the line in first place. Not satisfied with these gold medals, on the second day she also took gold in the 5000 metres race. Day three saw Anabelle take second place in the 400 metres event.

The final day of the meet was a busy one for Anabelle. First, she ran the 1500 metres to take another gold medal before joining her team for the relays. Her team took silver in both the 4 x 100 metres  and 4 x 400 metres.

How did Anabelle cope with so many races one after the other?

“I took one race at a time” Anabelle says. “I raced tactically, not for time but for place. I positioned myself to win, started at a very conservative pace, gradually increasing my pace and pushing at the end.”

Vegan for the win

Anabelle has been vegan since 2010. She works in food technology and has numerous national and international achievements in running. Anabelle is adamant that her nutrition is one of the inputs to give her success on the road and track.

“Nutrition (100% plant-based) – What, how much, and when were all carefully planned and executed based on what I had done during training. Hydration. Sleep. Reducing stress. Mindset (positive). Meditation. Visualization. Surrounding myself with amazing people. Letting go of what no longer serves me. I had been training for these events for months! Building up and racing lots of different distances prior to the NCCMA.”

Travelling presented a few challenges, but nothing Anabelle couldn’t manage.

“I packed a lot of my own food from home. I shopped at a local supermarket for fresh fruits and vegetables – a great selection in Mexico and found a few local restaurants that were really good plant-based options!”

Content sourced and adapted with permission from Great Vegan Athletes.