International medal haul for vegan runner!

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

She made the decision to compete in seven events ranging from a place in the 4x100m relay to a 10k road race.

At the previous NCCMA meet in 2019 Anabelle represented Puerto Rico. She raced the 10 k road race and 8 k cross country, taking bronze in the latter.

Following the long travel the meet was at 3740 feet of elevation, compared with 300 feet at Anabelle’s home. She faced runners from some of the 31 countries in the NCCMA region in this World Masters Athletics sanctioned event.

“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.”

Day one started with the 10 km road race, which Anabelle won. She then had to transition to the 800 m event, in which she also took Gold. On day two she took Gold in the 5000 metres.

On the next day she ran the 400 metres to take Silver, before a busy last day. First Anabelle ran the 1500 metres to take another Gold, then it was relays on the track. Her team took Silver in the 4 x 100 m then Silver again in the 4 x 400 metres.

Vegan runner

Anabelle has been vegan since 2010. She works in food technology as Founder and Chief Science Officer at Verde Ops, supporting plant-based food companies.

She 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!”