Fiona Oakes

A top marathon runner with a PB of 2:38 hrs. Fiona is running the North Pole Marathon for a number of reasons. Amongst them is the opportunity to raise funds for an animal sanctuary she owns and has almost single-handedly operated in Essex for the past 16 years. Fiona's sanctuary cares for over 400 previously neglected and /or abused animals, many having been rescued from the food chain. She is also competing in order to globally promote the lifestyle an ethical vegan, and in so doing dispel any myths that a meat and by-product free diet is prohibitive to sporting achievement at the highest and most extreme levels. She hopes to be the first vegan woman to complete the North Pole Marathon; repeating her efforts of 2012 when she became the first vegan woman to complete the Marathon des Sables. Fiona has had top 25 places in both the London and Berlin Marathons as well as top 10 finishes in Amsterdam, Moscow, Florence and Nottingham. She also has four marathon victories, all in course records, to her name. In 2010, she was the first female home in the Main Start of the Great North Run where she headed a team for the Vegan Society. In addition to operating her own animal sanctuary, Fiona is a Patron of two other Charities: the Vegan Society and the Captive Animals Protection Society. On the athletic side, she hopes to complete the North Pole Marathon as part of a goal of joining the Grand Slam Club.