Fauja Singh

Fauja Singh ( born April 1, 1911 in Bias Pind in Jalandhar, Punjab ) is a British- Indian runners. He is the oldest long-distance runners in the world and completed the first centenarian a marathon. In February 2013 he ended his running career.

Life

Fauja Singh was born into a peasant family in India. As a student he pursued the sport of running. By the age of 81 years he farmed in his home a small farm under difficult conditions. After his wife's death he moved with his children to the UK. There he began after about 70 years again with the running training; He trained twelve to 16 kilometers a day. In 2000, at the age of 89 years, he earned his first marathon in London. He is a member of the running group Sikhs in the City.

In 2003, Singh at the Toronto Waterfront Marathon with 5:40:04 hours a world record for his age group M 90. This was also a personal best marathon of his career. When Night Run 2010 in Luxembourg, he ran the half marathon in 3:32:30 hours and was in goal with 99 years of previously oldest half marathon finisher. Overall Singh graduated now around 15 marathons and half marathons and holds the British records over five short distances in his age group, which he set up within 94 minutes. On October 16, 2011, he presented in Toronto on another record when he completed the first hundred years old and therefore the oldest person to run a marathon. He needed for the route 8:25:16 hours, six hours more than the winner, but was not last, but five runners were slower than he. His record, however, are not admitted to the Guinness Book of Records because Singh can not provide a valid birth certificate. In an inter-religious Season Two weeks later, he ran the Frankfurt Marathon six kilometers. On February 24, 2013 Singh ran his last race and announced his retirement.

2004 Fauja Singh was with David Beckham and Zinedine Zidane protagonist of an advertising campaign of the company Adidas. Moreover, He gained his running for charity, especially for the British Heart Foundation and Bliss, an organization that cares for premature births, as well as for the animal rights organization PETA.

Fauja Singh is a Sikh and lives vegetarian. He is the father of six children and has 13 grandchildren. In June 2011, his biography Turbaned tornado appeared. For marathon running, he said: "The first 20 miles are not difficult As for the load- six miles, I run while talking to God. . " ( German: " The first 20 miles are not difficult, but the last six miles I 'm running while I'm talking to God. ").