Fauja Singh is a British centenarian marathon runner of the Sikh background. He is a world record holder in his age section. His present personal best time for the London Marathon (2003) is 6 hours 2 minutes, and his record marathon, for age 90 or more, is 5 hours 40 minutes, at 92 years old, at the 2003 Toronto Waterfront Marathon.
Early Life
Born on 1st April 1911, in Beas Pind, Jalandhar, Punjab, British India to Mehr Singh and Bhago Kaur after three daughters, Fauja Singh could not walk until he was five years of age. His legs were weak and feeble, and he could scarcely walk significant distances. He was frequently teased and made fun of and was nicknamed "Danda".
When Fauja's dad passed away young, it was up to him to take care of the family, a duty he took very seriously. Fauja, from a very young age, was known for being clever, mischievous, and chatty.
Fauja was at a young age when he was married to Gian Kaur. She hailed from the town Kalkat, in the Hoshiarpur district of present Punjab. They were married in a simple way as per the Sikh customs, traditions, and beliefs. Fauja Singh and Gian Kaur had six kids: three girls and three boys.
He was struck by a tragic phase in the late nineteen eighties and nineties. His wife Gian Kaur passed away, leaving a big vacuum in his life. Another enormous sorrow befell Fauja when in August 1994, a terrible event claimed the life of his beloved son Kuldip Singh. He was left devastated and lost interest in life. This caused panic in his children and an arrangement was made for him to relocate to England and live with the family's oldest son. Fauja fiercely opposed the proposal, but after much convincing, he gave in and moved to England in 1995.
It was through his resilience and determination that he bounced back to life. He wanted to take part in marathons after realizing that they might be the solution to his misery. At 89 years, he started to view running as a serious event and started running international marathon events. During his first training at Redbridge, Essex, he was wearing a tuxedo. His mentor told him he needed a wardrobe change. After adamant protests, Fauja relented, ditched the suit, and bought running gear. Singh ran his most memorable race, the London Marathon, in 2000. According to his mentor, he used to approach 20 kilometers effectively and wanted to run a long-distance marathon, believing it to be only 26 kilometers and not 26 miles (42 kilometers). It was after he understood this that he started preparing seriously.
When Fauja Singh was 93 years old, Singh finished a marathon in 6 hours and 54 minutes. This thumped 58 minutes lesser than the previous world record in the 90-plus age bracket.
All of a sudden, Fauja Singh was being seen, and tales were being published about his accomplishments. He was frequently seen in the newspapers and was heard on radios. The year 2002 further merged his situation, as he turned into this new pioneer on the running track breaking a large number of records in his age class. At the 2002 London Marathon, he beat his record to finish the race in six hours and 45 minutes. In 2004, he was highlighted in an advertising campaign for athletic apparel producer Adidas. All of these accomplishments pulled the media towards him, and soon he got nicknames like 'The Sikh Superman'; 'The Turbaned Tornado'; and 'The Running Baba'. There were a couple of other people who called him the ‘Gritty Great-Grandfather’ and some even connected him with the film character, Forrest Gump. In 2004, he was highlighted in an advertising campaign for athletic apparel producer Adidas. He appeared in the ad close by David Beckham (an English footballer) and Muhammad Ali (an American Boxer).
100 years old, Singh endeavored and achieved eight world age bunch records in a single day, at the special Ontario Masters Association Fauja Singh Invitational Meet, held at Birchmount Stadium in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He established five worldwide records for his age bunch in one day. Some occasions had no record holder, as no one over age 100 had at any point endeavored the distance. After three days, on 16 October 2011, Singh turned into the initial 100-year-old to complete a marathon, finishing the Toronto Waterfront Marathon at 8:11:06.
Guinness World Records refused to record Fauja Singh’s amazing feat. This was because Fauja Singh did not have a birth certificate and the only proof of his age was his passport, which did not serve as proof enough for Guinness. However, this controversy did not deter Fauja and to overcome this hiccup he decided to run one more complete marathon. He doesn't care what Guinness says, barely knows who Guinness is!
In October 2011, Singh, was the oldest man to be highlighted in a PETA campaign. In July 2012, Fauja Singh was the torch bearer for the Olympics.
Singh had expressed that he would resign from the running competitions after pursuing the Hong Kong marathon on 24th February 2013, five weeks short of his 102nd birthday. He finished the 10-kilometer run at the Hong Kong marathon in 1 hour 32 minutes and 28 seconds and said that he means to keep running for joy, well-being, and a good cause.
Singh was granted the British Empire Medal (BEM) in the 2015 New Year Honors for administration in the field of sports and charity.
Accomplishments
Running Career
Marathon runs: London (6), Toronto (2), New York (1)
Marathon debut: London, 2000, at the age of 89
London Flora Marathon 2000: 6:54
London Flora Marathon 2001: 6:54
London Flora Marathon 2002: 6:45
Bupa Great North Run (Half Marathon) 2002: 2:39
London Flora Marathon 2003: 6:02
Toronto Waterfront Marathon 2003: 5:40
New York City Marathon 2003: 7:35
London Flora Marathon 2004: 6:07
Glasgow City Half Marathon 2004: 2:33
Capital Radio Help a London Child 10,000 m 2004: 1:08
Toronto Waterfront Half Marathon 2004: 2:29:59
Toronto Waterfront Marathon 2011: 8:11:0
London Marathon 2012: 7:49:21
Hong Kong Marathon (10 km) 2012: 1:34 (raised $25,800 for charity)29
park run UK 2012 - Age evaluated record holder: 179.04% with a period of 38:3430
Hong Kong Marathon (10 km) 2013: 1:32:28
Sikhs in the City
He is the oldest member of the association of a gathering of Sikhs who refer to themselves as "Sikhs in the City". There were three old Sikhs, 79, 79, and 80, in the "Golden Oldies" group which ran the Edinburgh Marathon in 2009. The SITC running group is now a deeply established team based in East London, running marathons across the world with interfaith gatherings and fund-raising for Fauja Singh's charitable foundation.
Retiring from competitive running at the age of 102, Fauja Singh continues to inspire. He says that remaining physically and mentally active through daily exercise and raising money for charity are productive. He revealed some of the secrets of his good health including eating little, exercising by walking to visit places of worship daily, spending time in good company – and starting the day with tea every morning.
The story of Fauja Singh, the first hundred-year-old to complete a marathon teaches important lessons about his resilience, his will to succeed in the face of adversity, and his dedication to positively representing the Sikh community. Fauja lives up to his name which means "soldier" who marches on….Every stride forward is a milestone that serves as a reminder that our journeys are memorable both because of where we begin and how they end.