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Nine years ago, when I trained for my first marathon, I did everything by the book. I built my mileage over the course of 18 weeks; I stretched, I rested on the days I was supposed to rest, and I ate everything the running books told me to eat: yogurt smoothies in the mornings, lunches of fruit, cheese and crackers; dinners of whole grains and vegetables, along with turkey, skinless chicken and fish.

On marathon day, things went pretty well at first. The morning dawned bright and sunny, I was excited to be running the New York City marathon. I felt great — at least until Mile 22. That’s when my legs turned to iron, my mind was clouded and I barely noticed the cheering crowd. I finished the race doing what I called a “survival shuffle,” coming in a good 30 minutes later than I’d hoped, with a time of 5:06:03, Though I certainly felt proud of my achievement, it didn’t inspire me. It was six months before I ran again at all, and I didn’t run consistently again until two years ago.

Part of my dismay about my first marathon experience owed to the fact that I hadn’t lost a single pound during my training. I thought that 16 weeks of marathon training would have made a dent in my lifelong battle with the scale, but it didn’t. Exasperated, I figured I’d probably never lose weight, but I could at least focus on eating better. If I was never going to be lighter, at least I could be healthier.

I started cooking more, mainly vegetables from the farmers’ market, using less and less meat without really trying. To my surprise, I no longer felt as stuffed and bloated after meals. I started running again, just a dozen or so miles a week.

I’d always been so jealous of people who said they just cut soda from their diet and dropped 20 pounds. I wished for a similar quick fix in my own diet. (I didn’t drink soda, so that wasn’t an option.) But it dawned on me one day as I sprinkled Cheddar over my veggie tacos that hardly a meal passed that didn’t include some type of cheese. I would sprinkle Cheddar on a salad, melt mozzarella on pizza, spread cream cheese on a bagel. Turns out I’d been using cheese as a condiment. I gave myself a three-week trial: no cheese, no milk, no butter, no yogurt.

It didn’t even take three weeks for my nagging heartburn to disappear, and the needle on the scale began to creep lower. I was also having a running “honeymoon.” To my disbelief, I started running faster, down to a personal best of 7:40 a mile from 10-minute miles nine years ago. I began to daydream about another marathon.

But could I train for a marathon without the fuel of animal protein? I knew I wasn’t having a problem running 15 or 20 miles a week, but would I have the stamina for 50 miles a week on a vegan diet?

Turns out there are plenty of athletes who don’t eat meat, dairy or eggs, and after a screening of the film “Forks Over Knives,” I knew that a marathon for me was possible. I learned that Ruth Heidrich has completed 60 marathons as a vegan; Mac Danzig, a mixed martial arts fighter, is vegan. (Both are featured in the film.) Gene Baur, a vegan advocate who is a founder and the president of Farm Sanctuary, completed his first marathon this year in 3:28:03. I also met Ellen Jaffe Jones, a vegan running coach who at age 59 still runs eight-minute miles. When I asked her about meatless marathon training, she said, “Just keep doing what you’re doing — lots of beans and whole grains.”

I’m not perfect; I slip up with an occasional smear of butter or a scrambled egg once a year. I’d be lying if I said I still didn’t salivate at the smell of bacon. Cheesecake in a shop window still calls my name. Two nights ago, I dreamed I was eating fried chicken.

My Midwestern family doesn’t really get it, though they are trying. I screen restaurants before accepting invitations. But these are all minor issues — they’re nothing compared with how good I feel.

In May, I ran my second marathon, this time in Long Branch, N.J. To my amazement, the finish-line clock read 3:58:46, a full 74 seconds under my goal and an improvement of more than an hour from my time nearly a decade ago.

I can’t be sure how much of a role my diet has played in my improved running performance. It may just be that I’m 30 pounds lighter. Or perhaps I was more determined and trained harder this time around. But whatever the reason, I felt great running a marathon fueled by a vegan diet.

Christine Frietchen is editor in chief of ConsumerSearch.com (a part of The New York Times Company). She is now training for the Aquaphor New York City Triathlon on July 8.