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World’s Oldest Marathoner, 94, Leads Team of Seniors
in Scotland
 Fauja
Singh anchored five-man team with combined age of 397
June 13, 2005 – Fauja Singh, a 94-year-young
grandfather of 13, led a marathon relay team yesterday in the Edinburgh
Marathon in Scotland, which was billed as the “oldest ever marathon
relay team.” The five-man team named itself “Sikhs in the City” and had
a combined age of 397 years.
Singh, the world’s oldest marathoner, drew most of
the attention in the field of more than 11,000 runners and was the
official starter. There were 5,000 runners in the relay event.
The youngest member of the Sikhs was Amrik Singh,
70, from Glasgow. The other members were Karnail Singh, 76, from
Glasgow, Ajit Singh, a 74-year-old retired Larkhall maths teacher, and
Gurbaksh Singh, 73, from Gravesend, in Kent.
But it was Fauja Singh who grabbed the limelight as
he crossed the finish line, although the Sikhs finished 730th of the 912
teams. They completed the course in 4hr 16min 24sec.
Singh is originally from the Punjab in India, but
now lives in Ilford, Essex. Last year he was signed by Adidas for the
“Impossible is Nothing” advertising campaign and was featured in
billboards across Europe.
Five years ago he took part in the Flora London
Marathon at the age of 89 for the first time and has since completed it
five times. In 2003 he set the marathon world record for over
90-year-olds, completing the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in 5 hours, 40
minutes. As well as completing the London and New York Marathons in 2004
he also returned to Toronto Waterfront to break the half marathon record
for over 90-year olds.
“I am extremely honored to have been invited to
start this year’s Edinburgh Marathon,” he said.
“By running as the oldest ever marathon relay team
I hope we will inspire young people to keep going and older people never
to give up.”
Fauja, the world's oldest marathoner, took up
running at the age of 81, when he arrived in Britain from the family
farm in the Punjab. "Before that, I jogged regularly, to get from place
to place," he said.
He said he talks with God when he runs.
A vegetarian, Singh, joined forces in 2004 with
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) to caution Asians and
others about the perils they face if they “clog their arteries with
meat.”
Geoff Sims, Chief Executive, Edinburgh Marathon
said: "I hope Fauja and his team will inspire people of all ages and
running abilities to get out and give it a go.”
Information for this story from the following:
The Scotsman
Photograph above by Ian Rutherford of The Scotsman
The Panthic Weely
The Herald
Runners Web
For more information visit
www.edinburgh-marathon.co.uk.
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