'I'm living my best life' - Elderly vegan aims to complete 100 ultramarathons before 100

An 85-year-old whose life changed when he adopted a vegan diet in his 60s and then started to exercise in his 80s is now challenging himself to complete one million press-ups before his 90th birthday and 100 ultramarathons before his 100th birthday entirely “fuelled by plants”.

The grandfather-of-five then bought a bicycle to reduce the strain on his joints, but it was not until he decided to eliminate meat in his 60s to “avoid mad cow disease” and later try a completely vegan diet that he said he noticed incredible health benefits, including reduced inflammation.

Paul, a keen animal rights activist who formerly worked in the RAF and Royal Australian Air Force and later became a bread maker, teaching at local schools and launching his own blog called No Bread Is An Island, said he initially eliminated meat and cheese from his diet, before giving up all animal products.

Now, aged 85, he is on a mission to take part in 100 ultramarathons before his 100th birthday and is raising money for the vegan campaigning charity Viva!.

“You don’t know what you’re capable of until you actually try it,” Paul said.

“I’m living my best life – who’d have thought it?

“I’m now 85 and I’m living my best life, I really am.”

He then decided to train as a teacher, specifically to fulfil his passion for bread making, which he said is “a tool for family learning”, and ended up teaching until the Covid pandemic.

It was at this point, aged 80, that Paul’s fitness journey began.

“I looked at home exercises and started doing lots of those, but mainly press-ups, and I’ve been doing press-ups ever since really,” Paul explained.

Prior to the first lockdown, Paul could not perform one press-up – but he now does 1,000 every three days while listening to the news or a podcast, and has done more than 650,000 so far.

After previously failing to take up running in his 40s owing to the pain caused by his arthritis – the common condition that causes pain and inflammation in a joint – he decided to try again in his 80s as he said his vegan diet, which he adopted in his 60s, had “changed (his) life”.

Vegans do not eat foods that come from animals, including dairy products and eggs, and Paul said his mantra at the time was: “I don’t want another animal to die so that I can live.”

Soon enough, Paul improved his stamina and after three months he said he felt “confident to do a 10k every day, for 10 days, to raise money”.

“I thought that I was going to get more tired as the week went on, but I didn’t,” Paul explained.

“I got stronger and in the end I did 110k rather than the 100k I’d set myself.”

Paul then completed his first ultramarathon in July 2021 – the Devon Coast to Coast, which is approximately 100km long – and said he has been “hooked” ever since.

He said he loves “the euphoria” and “freedom” he experiences while running.

“I realise I should have been a runner all along because I just fell into it, I love it.

“It’s a feeling of freedom and it’s a feeling of accomplishment – I’ve gone out and done this.

Paul has completed nine ultramarathons so far and has a collection of medals on display in his home, but wants to do 91 more before turning 100 – all supported by his family and wife Teresa, who says he is “determined”.

Being a vegan and animal rights activist, he said his motivation to keep going is “the desire to see animals not hurt or tortured”.

He added: “If I can do anything to mitigate or alleviate that, then I will.”

He completed a 250km simulated trip from Russia to Lapland before Christmas last year using the exercise tracking app Strava to measure his distance.

He said he takes no medication and wants to maintain his health for as long as possible, as he does not want to “bother the NHS or the care system”.

He follows a strictly vegan diet and will usually have a fruit smoothie every day – comprising kale, spinach, dates, blueberries and bananas – along with flax seeds, nuts and “lots of leafy green vegetables, beans, lentils and legumes”.

Paul, who still bakes bread in his spare time, said he has realised “ultramarathons are within his comfort zone” – something he never thought he would say – and he would encourage anyone else to take up running or try a vegan diet as the results for him have been “remarkable”.

“If I’d have recognised the fact that we can all do more than we think we can many years ago, if I’d have done that, who knows what would have happened?

“But I got there in the end.”

You can visit Paul’s fundraising page here at wonderful.org/fundraisers/7BV07

Paul will also be supporting the ‘Running on Plants’ campaign this June, which aims to encourage more people to adopt a wholefood plant-based diet for improved health and athletic performance. For more information, visit runningonplants.org or follow @runningonplants1