Indian-born runner Fauja Singh, who became the oldest person to complete a marathon when he crossed the finish line at the Toronto Waterfront Marathon last year, plans to compete in the London Marathon on April 22. If he finishes, it will be his 11th, 42-kilometer race.
Singh started running when he was 81 as a way to fight depression after his son and daughter-in-law were killed in a car crash.
“His mental attitude is what inspires me to this day,” said Harmander Singh, who coaches the runner and is not related to the centenarian. “He was so mentally focused. If I said, ‘We’re going to do 10 kilometers today,’ he said, ‘Why not 20?’”
Fauja Singh was inspired after seeing the New York City Marathon on television and decided he wanted to be a part of it. He finished his first marathon at the age of 89. Since then, he has broken eight world records for his age group.
In India, Singh was a farmer for most of his life. He is illiterate and speaks only Punjabi. But that hasn’t limited his international exposure, or prevented him from being an inspiration to others.
On a recent trip back to India, Singh told the Times of India he wants to inspire young people and motivate them to “leap big in life.” But he said time is running out. “I am ready to go to any length to help youths before I die,” he told the newspaper.
Singh’s coach said as long as his trainee, a vegetarian, is moving, he’ll stay healthy.
“You can’t stop the guy running. Because the day he stops running will be the day his body will start deteriorating,” said Harmander Singh. “He said he would like to die running.”
Fauja Singh, with his long white beard, has become, in a sense, a man of steel. His trainer said recent blood tests showed the runner is as fit as a 40-year-old. And when London University tested his bone density, they found his left leg had the density of a 35-year-old, while his right leg had the bone density of a 25-year-old.
Singh’s trainer said youth and health are a state of mind.
“All people who reach a certain age, you will find what they have in common is they have a positive attitude in life,” he said. “They do not believe they are old. We do, but they don’t.”
- Interesting facts about his life
Fauja Singh was born in India on April 1, 1911.
Not much is known about his early life.
He cannot read or write.
He lived with his wife in his village in Jalandhar, and after her death he moved to London in 1992 to live with his son.
In London, he started running by challenging other old-agers to race him. Gradually he moved on to longer distances.
At 89 years, he took up running seriously and ended up in international marathon events.
Singh ran his first race, the London Marathon, in 2000.
According to his coach, he used to run up to 20 kilometres easily and wanted to run a marathon, thinking it to be just 26 kilometres and not 26 miles (42 kilometres). It was after he realised this that he began training seriously.
Singh shot to fame when, at the age of 89, he completed the gruelling 26.2 mile distance in 6 hours and 54 minutes. This knocked 58 minutes off the previous world best for anyone in the 90-plus age bracket.
Singh is 172 cm tall and weighs 52 kg. He attributes his physical fitness and longevity to abstaining from smoking and alcohol and to following a simple vegetarian diet.
