Paul Youd
on Being An Older Vegan

My name’s Paul, I’ll be 87 in September, I’m not on any meds, and I’m living my best life. I’m also the happiest I’ve ever been.

I’ve been vegan for over 20 years, giving up animal flesh to avoid BSE (Mad Cow Disease) in the early 2000s. I then started looking into the dairy industry - and the egg industry. And what I saw horrified me! The cruelty - how we treat animals that are in our care - I found appalling! So I went vegan. Took me two years for all the blinkers to come off.

And you know what? my osteoarthritis just disappeared, and I became pain free.

I’d tried to run in my 40s, but gave up after 6 weeks, my knees were too painful. But when I went vegan in the early 2000s, my arthritis, which was most evident in my fingers which were becoming twisted and gnarled - and very painful - cleared up and I became pain free. Which was a real bonus.

The Importance of Activism:

In my late 70s, I started following vegan activists online, and began to realise I needed to do something on behalf of the animals. However, I didn’t know any vegans -except for one in the local HFS. Where to start?

But, in June, 2018, Steve Clout started AV Taunton - and, almost overnight, my circle of vegan friends grew exponentially! Along with Gail Ahimsa, and later Simone Roper, as well as supporting AV Taunton, we began travelling to nearby cities - Bristol, Exeter and Bath, mainly. And before I knew it, I had vegan friends from all over the SW - who became what I call my second family. I became an AV organiser, and started AV Yeovil along with others.

Now I have two main avenues of outreach - with WTF, and with Viva! and I attend as often as I can.

But I also do what I call casual outreach: Whilst I’m out training for my next actual ultra, or getting the miles in for another virtual ultra, if I come across a likely target, I’ll engage them in conversation.

It truly does come down to a purpose in life - without that, it's so easy to just drift! Since animal suffering is all-pervasive and endemic, our purpose should be fighting to end that. So that's my main purpose - but I also want to live healthily into old age, so I prioritise self-care - after all, the longer I’m around, and the fitter I am, the better I’m able to FTA. And I’m very lucky that I can combine my two loves,FTA (by outreaching and fundraising for Viva!) by doing my ultras - training for which keeps me in good health.

As an animal rights activist I’m never ‘off-duty’, as it were. I’m forever on the lookout for opportunities to spread the word - to outreach.

Several things help me in my interactions with people:

First of all, I never go out without wearing a vegan message - so I have both a cap and a beanie emblazoned with VEGAN AF. I often get smiled at, given a thumbs up - or even get my pic taken, wearing this message. It states both my being - and my purpose; And when I’m on my training walks, I always wear my Vegan Runners vest - plus my rucksack is carries a Vegan Runners patch.

Secondly, I always carry some info around with me. In the beginning I used to hand out Anonymous for the Voiceless cards, now I have a printed leaflet which I ask people to take a pic of. I’m now thinking of cards, printed with a link to my blog with all the info in one place;

Thirdly, you do need a little bit of self-confidence to initiate a conversation. This is what I gained from outreaching with AV and latterly with WTF. Initially like everyone, I suppose, I was quite nervous, but as a beginner, the advice is always given to just shadow a more experienced outreachers and listen in to their conversations. Before long, you’ll find yourself saying to yourself, “:I could have said that!” And before you know it, you’re off and running. Another important benefit of these outreaching events is that, when you join a group, your circle of vegan friends expands exponentially! I have friends all over the SW - and beyond, through joining AV and WTF.

Bearing in mind, it’s a lot easier nowadays, to talk about veganism than it used to be, there’s one thing everyone can do. When going through a supermarket checkout

With a friendly smile, I simply ask the operator, “You’re a young woman (or guy), do you have any vegan friends?” With an older person I’ll ask something like, “Do you have any vegans in your family?” Almost everyone will answer in the affirmative. “What about yourself, you ever thought about going vegan?” The answers vary, of course, but most of the time there is something in them you can latch on to. Somewhere in your response you can ask them, “You know what happens to cows in dairy farms, don’t you? I went vegan when I found out about the horrific abuse that cows suffer every single day of their lives.” All you’re hoping to do is to sow seeds.”

Anne Evers Fraser - 100

“I didn’t wake up to the horrors of factory farming until my 96th year. I never even questioned consuming animal products, I just did it. But guess what? IT’S NEVER TO LATE TO MAKE A CHANGE. And let me tell you something else, you will feel so much better, I promise!”

Babette Davis - 73

“Embrace a plant-based lifestyle for vitality and healing. Live in the present moment and maintain a positive mindset.”

But I never thought about running again, until chasing round the dining room table, after my 6yr-old grandson, I found my knees didn’t hurt. And when lockdown came, 4 years ago, wanting to come out of it with a new skill, I began running. I measured out a 20 yard track in my back garden and started running round it. 3 months later, I felt strong enough to challenge myself to do 10k a day, over 10 days. In the event, instead of getting more tired as the week went on, I became stronger and finished up doing 110k - raising over £4000 for a Dean Farm animal sanctuary. Then I discovered ultra marathons, and I haven’t looked back.

I’ve now done 16 ultras, with 2 more planned for later this summer. I intend to do a 50k Summer Walk round London, then either 50 or 100k for the Thames Path Challenge.

After completing that 110k, I went on to the Facebook Athlegan page, for suggestions as to how I could maintain the level of fitness I’d attained. Someone suggested I look at ultras, so I went online and found the SWC2C, 100k across the isthmus, from Minehead to Dawlish. And 12 months later, I set off with 2000 others - firstly, climbing Dunkery Beacon, the highest point in Somerset. My over-riding memory of that day was the weather - it was appalling. It was a the height of summer, but there was a freak weather event and the temperature dropped dramatically. The rain was torrential, the wind was whipping across, and there were thunderstorms around. Conditions were brutal - and I heard later that several people had gone down with hyperthermia. Whilst climbing that muddy, stony trail, attempting vainly to control my poncho, I remember saying to my companion, “ You know what, mate? There’s nowhere else I’d rather be!” All my senses were on full alert - I felt so alive! And from that moment, I was addicted!

I’ve now done 18 ultras, and I intend to do 100 before my 100th birthday. If I do 6 a year - 3 actual ultras, and 3 virtual ones, I’ll get there.

Some ultras that stand out: I managed 61k out of 100 along the Thames Path - before I fell over and gashed my head, causing me to withdraw; 58k along the Jurassic Coast - the most challenging one, by far; a 50k virtual trip to Kilimanjaro, over the Chilterns with my son and 16yr-old grandson, on the wettest day in September 2021. My biggest achievement has been the 106k round the isle of wight over two days last April. I’d love to do that one again, but the logistics - the ferry, the hotel, etc, are a bit off-putting. But everything that you hear about the island is true - it is beautiful, and the people are so very friendly.

Mike Fremont - 102

“I contracted a cancer which the Cleveland Clinic said would kill me in 3 months unless operated upon. I said no, I was going on a diet! The tumor had metastasized into my lymphatic system and would have required efforts to treat the metastases with radiation and/or chemotherapy (with questionable results in those earlier days). In 2 and a quarter years the tumor began to bleed, I was operated upon.”

“The surgeon looked for metastasis in 35 places and found zero. In other words my Macrobiotic Diet, becoming a Vegan Diet, becoming a whole-Foods Plant-Based Diet, killed the metastases!”