A super-fit pensioner says too many elderly people “don’t look after themselves” after completing his latest running race aged 87 – and just months after having a stroke.
Ray Johnson, from Faversham, has urged those approaching their later years to take more pride in their bodies, saying there is “no excuse” not to be active.
The former shopkeeper was speaking following a 5km run at Howletts Wild Animal Park in Canterbury, which he completed with friend Graham Bedford, 63.
Finishing the race was all the more impressive given just five months ago he collapsed in his garden after having a stroke.
Mr Johnson, who was forced crawl to reach the phone and call for help, believes his years of keeping fit helped save his life
“After my stroke my physiotherapist said if I wasn’t so fit I’d be dead or in a wheelchair by now. He said I was a miracle for my age,” he said.
Speaking of the moment he collapsed, he recalled: “I suddenly found I couldn’t move and was eventually only able to crawl around.
“Nobody was around to help at the time; I was alone in the house and my neighbours were out.”
Mr Johnson was eventually able to dial for help and is now recovering with physiotherapy three times a week.
He added: “I am not back to my full self completely. For instance, I can’t carry a vacuum cleaner up the stairs.”
Mr Johnson only started running at the age of 69 but has four marathons under his belt – including one completed 12 days before his 80th birthday.
Two years ago, at the age of 85, he was over the moon to reach his target of gaining 100 medals as a runner, finishing the 5km Mo Run in Whitstable in 46 minutes and 55 seconds, his best time yet.
The veteran action man has also done three parachute jumps at Headcorn and in 1990 abseiled down the building of his employers, accountants Ernst & Young, on London’s South Bank.
Mr Johnson, who has regular pedicures, continues to keep fit by running on the spot, weightlifting and doing obstacle walks, step-ups and laps at Faversham Recreation Ground.
He said: “I think as you get old there is no excuse to not get up and at least walk around.
“I think too many people don’t look after themselves or take pride in or look after their body. I’m keen on taking care of myself.
“I have now lived long enough to see three coronations: George VI when I was seven days old, Elizabeth II when I was 16 and Charles III the day after I turned 86.”
Mr Johnson once smoked 40 cigarettes a day but gave that up 20 years ago and stopped drinking alcohol completely after his stroke.
His diet is porridge with honey and blueberries for breakfast, a simple but healthy lunch such as chicken, boiled potatoes and green beans, and a tuna sandwich for dinner.
He is originally from Battersea in London, starting as a librarian there at the age of 15.
He ran a tobacconist shop in the capital’s Liverpool Street between the age of 24 to 50.
After this he was a receptionist for the merchant bankers Kleinwort Benson in Fenchurch Street and then for Ernst and Young.
He is a single man with no children and quipped: “Can you imagine having a 65-year-old moaning about his aches and pains?”
