BY GEORGE NAVA TRUE II
HE HAS beaten many world records in running. Because of his speed, he is called the Turbaned Tornado and Sikh Superman among others. Meet Fauja Singh, a British centenarian marathon runner who began competing at the age of 89.
Singh is the youngest of four children born in British India in 1911. As a child, there was nothing special about him. Nor was there any indication that he would be a good runner someday.
He learned to walk only at the age of five and was often teased for his thin and weak legs. Although Singh loved running as a young man, he abandoned his dream to engage in the sport in 1947.
In 1995, following the deaths of his wife, daughter, and son in separate incidents, Singh ran again to overcome his grief. By this time, he was already living in England with one of his sons.
Breaking records
In 2000, he ran his first race, the London Marathon, at the age of 89. Since then, Singh has joined several international marathon events. He became famous when broke the world record for the 26.2-mile distance in 6 hours and 54 minutes. This was 58 minutes earlier than the previous record holder. Singh was 93 at that time.
When he was 100 years old, Singh broke eight world age-group records in a day in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He was also the first 100-year-old to finish the Toronto Waterfront Marathon.
Despite his accomplishments, Singh is not included in the Guinness World Records. This is because he has no birth certificate to prove his age. Experts say birth records were not kept in India in 1911. However, Singh has a passport that shows he was born in 1911 and a letter from Queen Elizabeth who congratulated him on his 100th birthday.
What keeps Singh going? His secret is simple: He doesn’t smoke or drink alcohol and is a vegetarian. He says he drinks a lot of water, tea with ginger, and removes negative thoughts from his mind.
***
National Press Club and Philippine Dental Association awardee George N. True II has written two bestsellers based on his popular column which has been running for almost 40 years. For questions about health, email georgenavatrue@yahoo.com./PN
