Oldest Half Marathoner!!

Fauja Singh in Addidas 'Nothing is impossible' advertising campaign

His name crops up often in discussions on how runners can push themselves and accomplish anything at any age and why not. Most recently  he was in the news for achieving the distinction of being the 'oldest half marathon runner'  when he completed the Inter Faith Luxemourg Half marathon in 3:29 on 16th May. While there are many many   amazing older long distance runners Fauja Singh certainly stands out. I hope he is able to meet his goal of running London marathon at the age of 100 in 2011.

Fauja Singh moved to London in 1992 from a small village  near Jallandhar to live with his son after his wife's death. He took up jogging to beat the boredom of just sitting at home.  He shot to fame, when aged 89, he completed his first  marathon in 6 hours and 54 minutes in 2000. He holds the marathon record for the 90 plus age group at 5 hrs 40 minutes.

His profile as found in  Facebook :

Born: 1st April 1911 in India

Former Occupation: Farmer

Running Career: Rediscovered at age of 81

Diet: Ginger Curry

Marathons: London (5), Toronto (1), New York (1)

Marathon Debut: London, 2000 aged 89

London Marathon Personal Best: 6h 2m

London Flora Marathon 2000 6 Hours 54 m

London Flora Marathon 2001 6 Hours 54 m

London Flora Marathon 2002 6 Hours 45 m

Bupa Great North Run (Half Marathon) 2002 2h 39m

London Flora Marathon 2003 6h 2m

Toronto Waterfront Marathon 2003 5h 40m

New York City Marathon 2003 7h 35m

London Flora Marathon 2004 6h 7m

Glasgow City Half Marathon 2004 2h 33m

Capital Radio Help a London Child 10,000m 2004 68m

Toronto Waterfront Half Marathon 2004 2h 29m 59s