Three vegan ultra runners take wins in Italy

Antonio di Manno has been busy since we reported on his win at the 285 km Ultra Milano-Sanremo.

The 39 year old vegan took on a backyard ultra in Germany in May. The format is brutal: runners face a 4.16 mile course which they have to complete every hour. Eventually they fail to complete a loop and drop out, and when only one remains they have a winner.

Antonio completed 42 laps to finish as seventh male in a tough field. He also took second in his age category.

There was little time to rest. Just two weeks later he competed in the Italian national version of the same format. This time he was the clear overall winner, finishing on a total of 246.5 kilometres. Antonio (pictured, white shirt) is part of the Vegan Power team who had another three members competing too.

This was Antonio’s third race in five weeks. The shortest was 240 km and he won two of them.

Antonio has been vegan since 2015. “It was completely ethical motivation…Ethics for animals.” He takes the opportunity to raise awareness of a veganism and other animal issues.

Vegan takeover

Antonio was also excited to tell us about a race he did not compete in. The 100 km del Passatore runs from Florence to Faenza and has been held since 1973. After a two-year Covid break, it returned – and vegans stole the limelight.

The men’s race was run by GB athlete Lee Grantham, the first non-Italian winner since 2001. Lee is believed to be vegan, we’re waiting for confirmation. The women’s winner was Eleonora Corradini, a friend of Antonio’s and vegan of three years.

Antonio’s profile

See more awesome vegan runners

Last Survivor results

100 km del Passatore results

More on his recent races