Running for a Cause: Rebecca Lewis takes on Mallorca's toughest race to support Viva!

Now, she is using her racing to advocate for animals and raise funds for Viva!, a charity close to her heart. She will be running the toughest race in Mallorca on October 21, 2023: the Mallorca 5000 — a 68km, 5000-m ascent — it’s called a“sky race” because of the extreme ascent. The long-distance mountain race is organised by the Matinam x Somiar club and Pollença Mountain Section and covers some of the most emblematic peaks of Mallorca. The route passes through the Serra de Tramuntana Natural Park, the largest protected area in the Balearic Islands and in line with Rebecca’s chosen charity the race organisers call for respect for nature, they say “The cultural landscape of the Serra de Tramuntana is an example of sustainable agricultural use and witness to the harmonious coexistence between man and the environment for centuries. The exchange between Muslim and Christian cultures, common in the Mediterranean area, forged a unique landscape, recognized as World Heritage by UNESCO in 2011.

The Sierra preserves an immense set of cultivated marshes built with dry stone walls (a technique recently declared Intangible World Heritage), a complex hydraulic technology, a large network of cobbled paths and other ethnological elements of interest. The possessions, villages and towns spread throughout its territory demonstrate the adaptation of the inhabitants to difficult terrain and environmental conditions, providing techniques, buildings and construction groups of great heritage significance.” As anyone who has seen the Tramuntana will understand the effort and extreme fitness and agility that it will take to run over the peaks. But five years ago, this would have been impossible for Rebecca to even consider taking part in the race.

Rebecca's story

Having struggled since childhood with chronic asthma and allergies, I had a belief that I was weak, limited, and definitely not strong enough to race. My physical condition got so severe that five or six years ago, I could barely walk five paces without having to use medication. I was really struggling to breathe, barely sleeping, and running was out of the question. I was not doing well, and I got quite desperate and scared.

Not understanding why I was so ill, I reached out to professionals for help. They immediately blamed my plant-based diet, and unfortunately I believed them. I followed their advice, went against my morals and ethics, and one after the other, began adopting their recommended animal-based diets — including high animal-protein diets such as Paleo and Keto. But none of it worked, and I decided to take back my health.

Her transformation

Ignoring my doctor’s opinion, I immediately stopped consuming animal products. Not only did it feel so wrong, I also knew that allergies were closely related to gut health, so consuming more plants and fermented foods would potentially be beneficial rather than harmful. I started practicing quantum meditation, and my body and mind started to heal. I went deep into my meditation practice, under the teachings of Dr.Joe Dispenza, to try and heal asthma and allergies. And I immediately started to feel a big shift, not only emotionally and psychologically, but energetically as well. I got totally obsessed, meditating up to three hours a day because it felt so good. The effects were fast and profound. My nervous system started to regulate and the symptoms were disappearing.

A couple of years ago, I decided to get over my fear of not being strong enough or well enough and decided to sign up for a race. I really didn’t believe much would come of it, but I surprised myself and I came first in my category! I had underestimated what I had been capable of, and my body kept getting stronger. So I signed up for more races and kept winning my category. Within a year, I was placing in the top five women, so I had completely underestimated myself.

Meditation is all about high vibrational energy, and the consuming of animal products was like - this doesn’t feel nice - putting this heavy, dark energy into my body. Maybe that sounds a little “woowoo” to some, but this time my intuition had more wisdom than my analytical mind. And not only did a plant-based diet feel great, but my blood work and my physical condition was more than enough proof. And it continues to be so, almost three years down the line. My life was transformed, and at 53 years old, I am now thriving as a plant-based athlete.

Her realisation

But things changed again in a way I could never have anticipated. One year ago, my husband Scott — who has joined me on this journey, and I rescued two abandoned lambs, who not only opened our hearts but also opened our eyes a lot wider. Already plant-based, we thought we knew enough about the suffering in factory farms, but knowing nothing about how to rear lambs and desperate for them to survive, we had to do a lot of intense research, which became our wake-up call. Confronted by the cruel standard practices in all types of animal agriculture, we were heartbroken, to say the least, and are now determined to be their voice. Getting to know these gentle beings on a deep level, it became apparent to us that they are no different than our pets or companion animals. They are innocent individuals with sweet personalities and simply want to live and enjoy life, just as we do.

Her mission

Now as a lamb mum, my mission is to raise awareness about the needless violence and suffering of billions of non-human mothers and their babies who are exploited and used for their reproductive systems and bodies. That is why I’ve teamed up with Viva!. Viva! is the UK’s leading vegan campaigning charity, specialising in undercover investigations and high-profile animal campaigns. Founded in 1994 by Juliet Gellatley, they have spent almost 30 years creating a kinder, more sustainable world for humans and animals alike. Viva! Animals launches dynamic campaigns to expose factory farming – an atrocious industry which has taken over meat, dairy and egg production. Most animals spend their short lives in misery, imprisoned in squalor and exploited for human use. Their endless suffering is kept out of sight behind closed doors and so it falls to Viva! to expose the truth. They film and photograph the conditions on factory farms to show the public how animals really live and urge them to choose vegan.

I thought, if Viva! can do this really difficult work on behalf of animals, then I can run this race. I have entered this challenging race twice before but I have only completed it once. This year I am determined to not only finish, but to beat my previous time of 14 hours.

How can you support Rebecca?

You can donate to my Just Giving page and/or please share my message with others. Thank you! I know that not many people are lamb mums, but I don’t doubt that everyone reading this cares about animals so I really hope that this touches people, anything they can give will be much appreciated and make a huge difference in the lives of the animals.

You can find Rebecca here www.instagram.com/rebeccaevelewis/ and you can follow Rebecca’s race on her Strava account here www.strava.com/athletes/11868287