After bodybuilding on a fruit only diet, vegan Owen is tackling an 89 mile race

He began competing in full contact martial arts competitions at the age of just five, but things have moved on a lot since then.

He's a former taekwondo champion with more than 40 fights under his belt a former Mixed Martial Arts fighter, and has numerous races, including two marathons and one longer distance race under his belt.

The co-owner of Move Training Centre in Southampton, Owen has also pushed himself with his diet, adopting the palaeolithic or caveman diet for five years, and sitting down to six meat meals a day, before turning vegan and even experimenting with trying to build muscle while only eating fruit!

He's currently in training for his latest challenge, an 89 mile overnight 'ultra' race in Snowdonia on February 22.

"I like to take on difficult physical challenges," says the 33-year-old from Regents Park, Southampton.

"I find it really motivating. I like to do things that people say are impossible, that no one could do."

This led him to follow a fruitarian diet, eating only fruit and nuts, from January to August last year, while attempting to gain muscle mass.

"I was already following a plant-based diet, and you hear about the variations on this, like raw and fruitarian," he says.

"When you look at pictures of fruitarians, they often look very thin, almost malnourished. I wanted to see if I could use my background in fitness and training to put on muscle while following that diet."

While Owen did succeed in putting on 3 kilos of muscle while reducing his body fat by almost 3 percent, his health suffered.

"After two to four weeks I became really tired, and had to take really long sleeps of at least two hours in the afternoons," he says.

"I had my blood tested regularly and by August my B12 levels had become really low. They wanted to put me on an immediate course of injections, but as it was a result of my diet, I just changed that."

Owen after his fruitarian challenge

Owen returned to his regular vegan diet, which he has been following since 2013, and his health returned to normal.

He's now set to embark on his next challenge, an ultra race, covering 89 miles, in Snowdonia on February 22.

Competitors are given up to 48 hours to complete the race, but Owen is hoping to cross the finishing line in half that time.

In preparation for the race, Owen has been going on regular 30 to 40 mile runs, and ran up and down Mount Snowdon twice in four hours, with time to take a few photos while he was at it.

"I found the training difficult at the beginning because I'm not a runner, and I was going out almost every day, but now I feel ready for the competition," he says.

In training on Mount Snowdon

Owen is fundraising for ARC Goa, an animal rescue centre in India, and has already reached his modest fundraising target of £300.

He was attracted to the charity in part due to an increased awareness of and interest in animal welfare issues, since he became vegan.

So what is next for Owen?

"Maybe some more ultras, maybe mountain climbing," he muses.

Whatever it is, Owen is sure to find something to push him physically and mentally. There's just the small matter of a race of almost 90 miles, with half of it run in the dark, to get through first.

* For more information and to make a donation, visit www.gofundme.com/OGARC

Owen working out