Vegan ultra-runner takes to the bike for a win

Serrano is first to cross the finish line at Quixote Bikepacking ultra-distance event

Alberto Pelaez Serrano is well-known as an incredible ultramarathon runner but he’s just as comfortable on two wheels as he is on two feet.

The Spanish vegan recently attempted the Quixote Bikepacking event. According to the event organiser, “Quixote Bikepacking is an ultra-distance Toledo-Toledo loop cycling challenge in one of the most iconic areas of Spain (Castilla La Mancha). 500km, 4 checkpoints and +3000m positive of beautiful dirt roads and some lonely paved roads following the epic route of Don Quixote de la Mancha.”

Alberto covered the distance at a blistering pace, coming in first in 26 hours 34 minutes and 16 seconds. It was a large margin; second place was over 88 minutes behind and the first three had to wait until nearly 34 hours for the next riders.

Alberto described his fueling strategy to Great Vegan Athletes: “During the race I ate mainly energy bars, guava cakes, and rice pudding that my mother had made for me.”

Alberto has been vegan for thirteen years after witnessing the horrific dog meat trade and realising he was also eating animals. Since then he’s made a big impact on endurance sports, normally wearing his ‘No Como Animales’ (‘I don’t eat animals’) t-shirt when he steps onto the podium.

“My motivation for going vegan was always the animals. When I became conscious of the suffering and exploitation that they go through, I realised that changing my lifestyle and becoming a vegan was the least I could do for them […] I witnessed the dog meat trade and how the animals were treated. From that moment I realised that what I was doing in consuming other animals was exactly the same as what was occurring to the dogs in that place.”

Content sourced and adapted, with permission, from Great Vegan Athletes.