“Anything worth doing is going to be difficult,” said Fauja Singh in an interview 14 years ago when when he became the world’s oldest person to complete a full-length marathon. He crossed the finish line at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon in eight hours, 25 minutes and 16 seconds. (And no, he didn’t finish last — five runners came in after him.)
Standing five foot eight, Singh cut a spindly figure beneath his heavy turban and wispy beard. “Girl, you tell me — has anything you wanted ever been easy?” he asked the female interviewer with a smile.
Fauja Singh, the legendary runner believed to be the oldest person ever to complete a marathon, has died in a road accident in Punjab at the age of 114. Singh, who lived for many years in Ilford, east London, was reportedly struck by a car while crossing a road in his birth village of Beas Pind, near Jalandhar.
Sikhs in the City, the London-based running club and charity Singh helped inspire, said upcoming events in Ilford would now serve as a celebration of his life and extraordinary achievements.
“Our icon of humanity and powerhouse of positivity, Fauja Singh, has passed away in India at the age of 114,” his longtime coach Harmander Singh wrote on Facebook.
Fauja Singh rose to global fame in the early 2000s after breaking a string of marathon records in veteran age categories. Taking up serious running at the age of 89, he quickly became a symbol of endurance, simplicity, and optimism — completing races well past his 100th birthday.
Born on 1 April 1911 in Punjab, then under British rule, Singh was the youngest of four children in a farming family. He moved to England later in life, settling in east London after the death of his wife, Gian Kaur.
Singh ran his first marathon in London in 2000, finishing in six hours and 54 minutes — a time that shattered the previous record for runners over 90 by nearly an hour. In 2003, he posted a personal best of five hours and 40 minutes at the Toronto Waterfront Marathon. On 16 October 2011, also in Toronto, he became the first known centenarian to complete a marathon.
Tributes poured in following news of his death. Preet Kaur Gill MP wrote on X: “Saddened to hear about the passing of Fauja Singh. I had the honour of meeting him — a truly inspiring man. His discipline, simple living and deep humility left a lasting mark on me. A reminder that age is just a number, but attitude is everything. Rest in power, legend.”
Speaking in Punjabi, Singh reflected on what running had given him: purpose, peace, and perspective. “Why worry about small, small things? I don’t stress. You never hear of anyone dying of happiness.” And by his own account, he’s a happy man.
After losing his wife and son, Singh moved from India to England in 1995. He lived with family in East London and led what he called “a very simple life.”
He only took up serious running at the age of 89, a decision he credits to “good kismet” — destiny — which also brought him into contact with Harmander Singh, a former professional runner who became his trainer and close friend. They were introduced by a neighbour after Fauja started asking how to enter the London Marathon.
“I trained him for free,” said Harmander. “It was an honour.”
Together, they completed more than a dozen full and half-marathons. Remarkably, at age 100, medical tests showed that Singh had “the bones of a 35-year-old”, said Harmander.
As for Fauja Singh's diet? "Punjabi people know food is important, but I eat only what I need: a little daal and roti, some gobi, some chai. If I were full all the time, I’d probably be dead.”
Singh used to run 10 to 15 km every day — “you have to keep your engine going” — and at 94, he became a poster boy for Adidas, appearing alongside David Beckham and Jonny Wilkinson.
In that media interview conducted 14 year ago, Fauja Singh shrugged off his sponsorship earnings. “I’m not really interested in all the rupees. I give it to charity. Money comes and goes. At my age, it’s enough just to be doing this. Come on, who wants to talk to this old man? Everyone now! And it’s because of the running. All this love people show me — look how blessed I am. What’s not to be happy about?”
And, that inspiring life ended tragically on an Indian village road, at age 114.