LONDON – Tributes are pouring in from across the United Kingdom for Fauja Singh, the world’s oldest marathon runner, who died Monday after being struck by a car in his Punjab village at the age of 114.
Singh, a naturalized British citizen, had been living in Beas Pind, his birth village near Jalandhar, for the past five years, returning during the pandemic before the accident occurred.
An Inspiring Life on and off the Track
Writer and filmmaker Captain Jay Singh-Sohal remembered Singh as a deeply inspiring figure. “He took great pride in doing what he was doing and in maintaining his Sikh identity with a turban and uncut beard,” Sohal said. “He inspired many others, not only to be physically active but also promoted the Sikh identity, showing young Sikhs that their religious adherence was not a barrier to achieving great things.”
Fauja Singh discovered running in his 80s as a way to stay active and combat boredom in his later years. His journey quickly turned him into a celebrity.
Member of Parliament Preet Kaur Gill described him as “very down-to-earth and humble regardless of his fame.” She added, “He ate very simply — just daal and rice. His discipline, simple living, and deep humility left a lasting mark on me.”
MP Tanmanjeet Singh stated that Singh would be “sorely missed.”
Hardeep Singh, deputy director of the Network of Sikh Organisations, recalled, “Despite his extraordinary and record-breaking achievements, he was completely down to earth and incredibly generous with his time.”
Nick Bitel, London Marathon Group CEO, called Singh an “incredible, inspirational human being who epitomised the Spirit of the London Marathon.”
A Journey to the Marathon Scene
Born in 1911, Singh’s life was marked by personal tragedy. He had six children, but lost a daughter during childbirth in the 1980s, followed by his wife, Gian Kaur, and then his son, Kuldeep, in an accident. This led to depression, prompting him to move to the UK to live with his son, Sukhjinder, in Ilford.
“He was a bit bored in an alien country where, at that time, there was not much Punjabi media,” explained his British coach, Harmander Singh, whom he met in November 1999. “He went back to India to his family and then they sent him back to the UK. Then he started doing things for charity, like a 20km walk, and then he saw people running on TV and decided to do a marathon.”
Harmander Singh trained him in just 11 weeks for his first marathon, the London Marathon, in 2000, at the age of 89. Singh participated in nine marathons in total, with his last being the London Marathon in 2012 at age 101, completing it in seven hours and 49 minutes.
Singh’s running was motivated by more than just personal achievement; he believed the blessings of charity beneficiaries kept him going.
His coach noted that Singh enjoyed the attention his celebrity status brought, which helped combat the neglect many elderly people feel. “He enjoyed the free socialising that came with his status,” Harmander Singh said. “He couldn’t believe that a poor illiterate farmer who had never gone to school was rubbing shoulders with a head of state” when invited by former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to run the Lahore Marathon.
Singh maintained a disciplined lifestyle, walking or jogging 10 miles daily and eating minimally, which contributed to his light weight. Medical tests revealed remarkable bone density, with his left leg showing density comparable to a 30-year-old and his right to a 20-year-old. His humorous response to this finding was, “I always knew my left leg was weak.”
Remembering a Legend
Singh’s running group, “Sikhs In The City,” is fundraising for a clubhouse along his favorite running route, which will be named in his honor. The group is also collecting messages for a memorial book from anyone whose lives he touched.
