Fauja Singh, the oldest person ever to attain world fame as a long-distance runner, died on July 14 after being hit by a car while on a walk. Singh’s claimed date of birth was April 1, 1911, which would make him 114 years old at the time of his death, but he did not have a birth certificate.
Singh was credited with having transformed or created world records at age 90-plus and 100-plus, and with being the first to complete a marathon at age 100, and at 101. With his flowing white beard and bright orange Sikh turban, he was a favorite of marathon spectator crowds, celebrated in the media, honored by the Queen of England, subject of a biography launched in the House of Lords, a torch bearer in the 2012 Olympic flame relay, a sponsored elite athlete at major marathons internationally, a high-profile activist for philanthropic causes, and co-star of an advertising campaign along with David Beckham.
This celebrity came very late in Singh’s long life. When he moved from his native India to London, England, in the early 1990s (exact date unknown), he was an obscure Punjabi Sikh trying to alleviate private bereavement, as his wife and two of their adult children had recently died. He lived in Ilford, a suburb in east London, with another of his sons. By his own account, as a young farmer he was an avid athlete, until the violence broke out that preceded the India/Pakistan partition in 1947. Because he would have been aged 36 at that date, this already suggests unusual athletic longevity, in an era when few athletes anywhere competed beyond their early twenties.
Singh said that he took up running again when he was in his 80s. (Details vary as to the exact year.) He made his marathon debut at the 2000 London Marathon, registering then as age 89, and ran that event six times, with a best of 6:02:43, registered as 92, in 2003. That was his peak year athletically, when he also ran the New York City Marathon in 7:34:37, and achieved his most notable performance, 5:40:04, recognized as a 90-plus world record, at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. His average per-mile pace in that run was 12:58.
Scotiabank Waterfront also hosted his centenarian marathon on October 16, 2011, when he finished in 8:25:17 (chip time 8:11:06), and a 90-plus half-marathon of 2:29:59 in 2004. Toronto also put on track meets to enable him to rewrite the record books, notably the Ontario Masters Association Fauja Singh Invitational at Scarborough, Toronto, on October 13, 2011. In one day, he was reported as setting eight world age-100-plus records, from 100 meters to 5,000 meters.
He returned to the London Marathon in 2012, registered as age 101, recording 7:49:21. Despite that improvement over his age-100 time, that was his last marathon, and he retired from competitive events after running the 10K at the Hong Kong Marathon in February 2013. He said he would continue to run for health and for charity. He remained a popular figure, such as when he was invited to act as honorary starter for the inaugural Birmingham International Marathon in 2017, when his declared age was 106.
Singh has usually been described as a vegetarian, though one interview emphasized that he ate very small portions of a “normal Punjabi farmer’s diet.” Singh’s inability to speak English, having to communicate through a variety of interpreters, and often being interviewed on camera during a marathon, with the interpreter running alongside, may be the cause of some factual uncertainties. Surprisingly, he was never able to be specific about the exact year in the 1990s in which he immigrated to the United Kingdom. The laudatory biography, Turbaned Tornado, by Krushwant Singh, does not resolve that issue.
Singh’s actual performances in marathons, road races and on the track are beyond doubt, because all had qualified officials, timing equipment, and certified course measurement. Considerable questions remain, however, over the legitimacy of his date of birth, for which his UK passport, first issued in the 1990s, was the only evidence. His world records are therefore not acknowledged by the Guinness Book of Records, which requires an authentic birth certificate. There has been dispute as to whether births were registered in the Punjab in 1911, and if so, in which language.
There can be no dispute that Singh was an outstanding runner for a man evidently very old. His track records at reputedly age 100 included 52:23 for 200 meters, 5:32:18 for 800 meters, and 11:53:45 for one mile, a pace many younger runners would be happy with. He completed 10 marathons at a steady shuffling jog, often under close camera scrutiny, never showing any distress. He used his fame to raise a great deal of money for charities, helped by a London-Indian association wittily named Sikhs in the City. His contribution was remarkable as a role model for immigrant communities, as a man of committed faith and healthy lifestyle, as a ground-breaking senior sportsman, and as an inspiration for all older people.
Roger Robinson is a highly-regarded writer and historian and author of seven books on running. His recent Running Throughout Time: the Greatest Running Stories Ever Told has been acclaimed as one of the best ever published. Roger was a senior writer for Running Times and is a frequent Runner’s World contributor, admired for his insightful obituaries. A lifetime elite runner, he represented England and New Zealand at the world level, set age-group marathon records in Boston and New York, and now runs top 80-plus times on two knee replacements. He is Emeritus Professor of English at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, and is married to women’s running pioneer Kathrine Switzer.
