Fauja Singh, the Sikh marathon runner who inspired millions across the globe has officially turned 105!
Born 1 April 1911, Fauja who is originally from India, has lived in UK since 1992.
One would think – after a glance at the number of world records shattered by the runner as well as the number of races he has run – that Fauja has been running for decades. In reality though the tenacious old man only took up running at the age of 89 – as a way to overcome the depression brought on by the demise of his wife and fifth son.
Fauja Singh’s achievements have been the stuff of legend. In October 2011, the grand old marathon man travelled to Canada to run in the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, and as preparation for the marathon, on October 13, 2011, he ran eight world record times for his age group in less than five hours at Scarborough’s Birchmount Stadium track in Toronto (Ontario, Canada)! He covered distances as short as 100 metres to as long as 5,000 metres.
In 2004, he was featured in an advertising campaign for sportswear manufacturer Adidas.
Fauja announced his retirement from competitive running after taking part in the Hong Kong marathon – he ran a 26-mile race! – in 2013, but declared that he would continue to run for personal fitness.
The British government honoured the Essex resident for both his athletic achievements and his charity in 2016.
The Quint both congratulates and wishes this jolly old man a happy 105th!
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