Fauja Singh British Marathon Runner

A New Beginning

‘Why do you keep crying all day? Involve yourself with something fruitful,’ said Lembhar Singh, a friend Fauja made in London. His words stayed with Fauja as he had been struggling to find a new purpose in life. His other challenge was illiteracy as it was proving to be a hindrance in the new world, but at the core of it Fauja was an intelligent and a resilient man. He soon started finding his way about by involving himself with the community and visiting the gurdwaras in the vicinity.

Around that time he recalled watching a marathon on television. An inquisitive man by nature he asked some friends and family what this aimless running was all about. He learnt that participants ran twenty-six miles at one go, and he decided there and then to give it a go. What he didn’t realize was the difference between twenty-six miles and twenty-six kilometers. Confident that he could easily run it, he gave his nod when the opportunity came. This was 1999. Fauja was eighty-eight years old. Yes. That’s correct. A ripe eighty-eight. He was eighty-eight when he enrolled himself for a twenty-kilometer run near Ilford for the benefit of cancer patients. With no history of athleticism or running in his childhood or youth, barring the long hauls of tilling his land, Fauja turned up for the race and completed it without much difficulty.

This was Fauja’s rebirth. Someone who would redefine, or rather, rewrite, the definition of old age and inspire millions of people, especially, septuagenarians and octogenarians the world over.

Realizing that running marathons could be the panacea to his continuous sadness, he desired to participate in such marathons. Fauja, by character, is a very determined and tenacious man and he more often than not achieves what he sets his mind on.

Next he eyed the upcoming Flora London Marathon in April 2000. After all, he only had to run a six extra kilometers than his previous run. At least that’s what he thought. However, he hit a temporary roadblock when he realized that the date for registration had passed. Convinced that there was a way to beat the system − after all he was from Punjab − he reached the door of one Harmander Singh. Singh was a physical trainer and a veteran marathoner.

This meeting was that second step, without which the world wouldn’t have had a Fauja to get inspiration from. Harmander, who later went on to become Fauja’s trainer and mentor realized that the only way to achieve Fauja’s dream was a ‘Golden Bond’, whereby charities pre-bought a fixed number of slots. Charities, to raise money, would then sell these spots to individuals that were willing to pay the amount for their cause. Fauja decided to run for BLISS, a charity, for babies that were born premature. BLISS promptly agreed to offer him a slot, as it also gave them a great tag line − ‘Oldest running for the youngest. May they live as long as him’. Fauja’s son, Sukhjinder paid fourteen hundred pounds to buy the slot, and God’s next plan for Fauja was about to unfold.

Since this was a full marathon, a 42.195-kilometer long race, there was no way Fauja could end up at the start line without some training. Harmander agreed to train Fauja and the story, beginning from the first day of his training in 2000, till Fauja capped his running career in Hong-Kong in 2013, is a volume of determination, passion and breaking barriers.

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