65,000 miles under his belt and still running into retirement, with Ken West

In this episode I welcome back Ken West MBE. Ken appeared on episode 2 discussing the world of natural burials.

This time Ken chats about what makes for a successful retirement. Whilst not overly keen to retire, Ken’s wife Ann suggested it was time, so at age 60 after 45 years in bereavement services, for which he was awarded an MBE, Ken made the transition.

As a keen horticulturist, Ken planned to spend much of his time creating an organic garden. Shortly after retiring, Ken was approached by a publisher to write the guidebook for natural burial, so he decided to turn his hand to writing. 

Running is Ken’s first love. Having completed over 250 races by his early 40s, winning around 40 of them, Ken and Ann have run throughout their lives. He stills manages 20-25 miles per week. Ken stresses how running helps him feel well each day and makes him feel as fit as he did in his 20s. Amazingly, he still holds an 18-mile fell running record thirty years after he set it.

So, what’s Ken’s current focus? His book, My Pagan Ancestor Zuri - A Parallel Journey: Christchurch to Stonehenge will be published in July 2019. It compares two lives and communities past and present – that of the people here in Christchurch in 2200BC, with the people living here today.

And Ken will, of course, continue to run.