'Age should not be a barrier’ - Boston-area man completes gruelling endurance event, aged 63
“Age should not be a barrier in setting or achieving personal goals, whether they be sporting or otherwise.”
The words of Ian Johnson, of Swineshead, Boston, after completing a gruelling, 10-mile endurance challenge, aged 63.
The former Boston Grammar School pupil was among those to take on the PARA’S10 Roman Rampage, in Colchester, Essex, last month.
The event acts as a fundraiser for SUPPORT OUR PARAS, a charity dedicated to supporting The Parachute Regiment and Airborne Forces. It takes place in Friday Woods, the home of the regiment.
Entrants cover a loop of about three miles across mixed terrain, while carrying a 35lb bergen, completing either one, two or three laps.
Sections include such evocative names as ‘The Swamps of Sierra Leone’, ‘The Pain Train’, and ‘The Sheep Dip’.
Ian described the conditions as ‘hilly, muddy and wet’.
This was the second time Ian had taken on the course. In 2025, he finished in a time of 2hrs, 12mins and 24 secs, but sustained injuries that took eight months from which to recover.
He said he wanted to take on the course again in 2026 in the hope of completing the challenge in under two hours.
With knees and ankles heavily strapped for extra support, he achieved his goal, finishing in a time of 1hr, 52mins and 13 secs.
“I was as relieved as I was elated upon reaching the finish line,” he said.
He said: “I chose the pain of discipline over the pain of regret of not giving it another go and finding out what we are all capable of.”
Ian has a background in the military, having joined the army after leaving school.
He passed military training in Chichester in 1980 and qualified as a member of the Royal Military Police.
This led to a brief spell at Royal Military Police barracks, in Westminster, London, mainly performing ceremonial duties.
The bulk of his career was spent in retail, however; he spent 27 years working for Oldrids, before going self-employed in the furniture trade, opening his own shop in Sleaford in 2017. He retired in 2020.
He has been married to Heather for 40 years this year and is father to three adult children – Tom, Jessica and Joshua.
He said he endeavours to keep active throughout his 60s.
He said: “Age should not be a barrier in setting or achieving personal goals, whether they be sporting or otherwise.
“I have friends in their 80s and 90s, who set targets and challenges at work and play.
“Not only do they achieve them, they continue to inspire others whilst enjoying the adventures of life.”
“Youth may be fleeting but getting old is a state of mind,” he summed up. “As Robert Browning once wrote … ‘Grow old along with me. The best is yet to be’.”