Fiona Oakes

Record-breaking long distance runner, Fiona Oakes is an athlete with a difference. Embarking on her high profile sporting career with the aim to promote a vegan lifestyle, Oakes is an evidence of the power of fighting for a cause you believe in. An inspirational woman who is the epitome of hard work and dedication, Fiona Oakes is a fascinating speaker for all manner of audiences, from corporate clients requiring an interesting after dinner speaker, to animal rights groups needing an influential keynote speaker.

With over fifty marathons under her belt, Fiona Oakes is a formidable name on the running scene. Throughout her impressive career she has amassed four world records, including the fastest female to complete a marathon in aggregate time on each continent and the fastest female to complete the same feat including the North Pole. Talent and commitment have ensured Oakes every success in her career, and due to her unrelenting dedication she is set to represent England Masters in 2021.

Overcoming adversity is something Oakes is very familiar with and is part of the reason her running career acts as an inspiration to many. At the age of fourteen an illness led to the loss of a knee cap for Fiona, and she was told she’d never walk again. Seventeen surgeries later, and through sheer determination, she was setting records for a sport she was told she’d never be able to do.

In addition to her passion for sport and fitness, Fiona Oakes’ has credited her driving force as the need to promote veganism to a wider audience. As a vegan since she was six years old, Oakes believes she is evidence enough that an animal friendly diet is healthy and nutritionally as is not a hindrance on development or ability. Using her platform as a world class runner she has called out the myths of a cruelty free diet having limitations, and she has recently become the subject of a documentary film titled ‘Running for a Cause’ about her career and activism.

Not content with raising awareness for veganism, Fiona Oakes founded the Towerhill Stables Animal Sanctuary in 1996, which cares for over five hundred animals across six sites. At the forefront of its running, Oakes dedicates her life to the shelter and practises what she preaches, often working twelve hour days to ensure the animals all receive the highest quality of care. A truly inspirational woman, athlete and advocate, Fiona Oakes is a fantastic speaker who enriches the lives of every audience she encounters.