# Fauja Singh (ਫੌਜਾ ਸਿੰਘ)
**Fauja Singh** (ਫੌਜਾ ਸਿੰਘ; 1 April 1911 – 14 July 2025) was a British Sikh marathon runner, nicknamed the "Turbaned Tornado", who took up competitive running at the age of 89 and became the first person recorded to complete a full marathon after the age of 100, finishing the 2011 Toronto Waterfront Marathon at age 100[1](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/sep/02/fauja-singh-obituary) • [2](https://apnews.com/article/17216ee3f466dea8c5f74324ec67ca95). [Guinness World Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/guinness-world-records) did not certify the feat because he had no birth certificate, a document not issued in the Indian villages of his birth era[2](https://apnews.com/article/17216ee3f466dea8c5f74324ec67ca95).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1 April 1911, Beas Pind, Jalandhar district, British India (date per his passport; no birth certificate exists)[1](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/sep/02/fauja-singh-obituary) • [3](https://www.telegraphindia.com/7-days/i-run-for-living-and-i-live-for-running/cid/457936) |
| Marathon debut | London Marathon, 2000, at age 89, in 6 hours 54 minutes 42 seconds[3](https://www.telegraphindia.com/7-days/i-run-for-living-and-i-live-for-running/cid/457936) |
| Over-90 record | 5 hours 40 minutes at the 2003 Toronto Marathon, a world record for the men's over-90 category[4](https://www.sportsingapore.gov.sg/media-centre/worlds-oldest-marathoner-fauja-singh-runs-the-sc-marathon-singapore-2012/) |
| Centenarian marathon | Toronto Waterfront Marathon, October 2011, at age 100; not recognized by Guinness World Records for lack of a birth certificate[2](https://apnews.com/article/17216ee3f466dea8c5f74324ec67ca95) |
| Marathons run | Nine full marathons between 2000 and 2013[5](https://www.the-independent.com/sport/general/athletics/age-catches-up-with-fauja-singh-8508316.html) |
| Retirement | Final competitive race at 101: the 10 km event at the 2013 Hong Kong Marathon, finished in 1:32:28[2](https://apnews.com/article/17216ee3f466dea8c5f74324ec67ca95) |
| Death | 14 July 2025, killed in a hit-and-run while crossing a road in his native village, aged 114[2](https://apnews.com/article/17216ee3f466dea8c5f74324ec67ca95) |
## Early life
Singh was born in the farming village of Beas Pind, near [Jalandhar](https://www.edgepedia.org/jalandhar) in Punjab, to a farmer father, Mehr Singh, and his mother Bhago Kaur. He was a frail child who could not walk until about the age of five; other children called him *danda*, Punjabi for "stick"[1](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/sep/02/fauja-singh-obituary) • [6](https://run4papa.com/the-runner/). He did not attend school and worked on the family farm[1](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/sep/02/fauja-singh-obituary).
His passport gave his date of birth as 1 April 1911, but no birth certificate existed, because such records were not kept in Indian villages at the time[2](https://apnews.com/article/17216ee3f466dea8c5f74324ec67ca95) • [1](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/sep/02/fauja-singh-obituary). With his wife Gian Kaur he had six children[1](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/sep/02/fauja-singh-obituary).
## Loss and move to Britain
Two deaths reshaped his late life. His wife died in 1992, and in 1994 his son Kuldip was killed when a sheet of corrugated metal blown off a roof during a storm struck him in the head while father and son checked their fields. Singh fell into depression; his coach later said that "he didn't think his life was worth living without his son"[2](https://apnews.com/article/17216ee3f466dea8c5f74324ec67ca95). After his wife's death he moved to Britain to live with his son Sukhjinder in Ilford, east London, where running became his passion[1](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/sep/02/fauja-singh-obituary).
He began running with fellow Punjabi expatriates at Sikh community gatherings and found he could hold his own in sprints against much younger men, a fitness he attributed to decades of farm labor[6](https://run4papa.com/the-runner/). Seeing a marathon on television, he decided to run one himself[2](https://apnews.com/article/17216ee3f466dea8c5f74324ec67ca95).
## Running career
**Training and debut.** Through a mutual acquaintance Singh met Harmander Singh (no relation), a physical trainer and veteran marathon runner, who became his coach, mentor, and interpreter[6](https://run4papa.com/the-runner/) • [7](https://elpais.com/deportes/2025-07-15/muere-atropellado-a-los-114-anos-fauja-singh-el-maratoniano-mas-longevo.html). In February 2000, ten weeks before the race, he began training; on 89-year-old legs he completed the 2000 [London Marathon](https://www.edgepedia.org/london-marathon) in 6 hours, 54 minutes and 42 seconds[3](https://www.telegraphindia.com/7-days/i-run-for-living-and-i-live-for-running/cid/457936). He ran that event six times, with a best of 6:02:43 at age 92 in 2003[8](https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a65404972/fauja-singh-dies/).
In 2003 he set a world record for the men's over-90 marathon category at the Toronto Marathon, running 5 hours 40 minutes[4](https://www.sportsingapore.gov.sg/media-centre/worlds-oldest-marathoner-fauja-singh-runs-the-sc-marathon-singapore-2012/). Across his career he completed nine full marathons[5](https://www.the-independent.com/sport/general/athletics/age-catches-up-with-fauja-singh-8508316.html).
**The centenarian marathon.** On 16 October 2011 Singh finished the Toronto Waterfront Marathon at age 100, becoming the first person over 100 recorded to complete a full marathon[2](https://apnews.com/article/17216ee3f466dea8c5f74324ec67ca95) • [9](https://as.com/masdeporte/atletismo/muere-fauja-singh-el-maratoniano-mas-longevo-del-mundo-a-los-114-anos-atropellado-por-un-coche-n/). Sources differ on his finishing time: an early interview-based report gave 8 hours, 11 minutes and 5.9 seconds[3](https://www.telegraphindia.com/7-days/i-run-for-living-and-i-live-for-running/cid/457936), while a later account gave 8:25:16, noting that about 14 minutes were spent reaching the start line amid the crowd of runners[9](https://as.com/masdeporte/atletismo/muere-fauja-singh-el-maratoniano-mas-longevo-del-mundo-a-los-114-anos-atropellado-por-un-coche-n/). Guinness World Records, which had been expected to certify the mark, declined because he could not produce a birth certificate from 1911[2](https://apnews.com/article/17216ee3f466dea8c5f74324ec67ca95) • [10](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/7/15/fauja-singh-worlds-oldest-marathoner-dies-in-india-road-accident).
The same month, at a track meet named for him, the Ontario Masters Association Fauja Singh Invitational at [Scarborough](https://www.edgepedia.org/scarborough), Toronto, he set age-group world records in the centenarian category over 100, 200, 400, 800, 1500, 3000, and 5000 meters[11](https://www.dailypioneer.com/uploads/2025/epaper/july/delhi-english-edition-2025-07-17.pdf).
**Retirement.** Singh's last competitive race came two months short of his 102nd birthday: the 10 km race held with the 2013 Hong Kong Marathon, which he finished in 1 hour, 32 minutes and 28 seconds[2](https://apnews.com/article/17216ee3f466dea8c5f74324ec67ca95) • [5](https://www.the-independent.com/sport/general/athletics/age-catches-up-with-fauja-singh-8508316.html).
## Public profile
With his white beard and bright orange Sikh turban, Singh was a favorite of crowds and media. In 2004 Adidas featured him in its "Impossible is Nothing" advertising campaign alongside footballer [David Beckham](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-beckham) and boxer [Muhammad Ali](https://www.edgepedia.org/muhammad-ali); he donated his endorsement money to charity, including Bliss, which supports premature and sick babies[3](https://www.telegraphindia.com/7-days/i-run-for-living-and-i-live-for-running/cid/457936) • [1](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/sep/02/fauja-singh-obituary). He carried the [Olympic flame](https://www.edgepedia.org/olympic-flame) as a torchbearer ahead of the 2012 London Games, was honored by the Queen, and was the subject of a biography, *Turbaned Tornado*, written by the Chandigarh-based writer Khushwant Singh and launched in England in July 2011[8](https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a65404972/fauja-singh-dies/) • [11](https://www.dailypioneer.com/uploads/2025/epaper/july/delhi-english-edition-2025-07-17.pdf).
He and his coach founded the running group and charity Sikhs In The City, through which he raised money for charitable causes and encouraged older people to run; he described his running as a spiritual act of sewa, selfless service[2](https://apnews.com/article/17216ee3f466dea8c5f74324ec67ca95) • [1](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/sep/02/fauja-singh-obituary). His routine was austere: a vegetarian Punjabi diet, no tobacco or alcohol, and daily training, at one period nine or ten miles a day along pavement circuits near his home[12](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2004/apr/06/athletics.health) • [9](https://as.com/masdeporte/atletismo/muere-fauja-singh-el-maratoniano-mas-longevo-del-mundo-a-los-114-anos-atropellado-por-un-coche-n/).
## Death
Having returned to India in 2019, Singh settled again in Beas Pind, living with his son Harvinder[1](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/sep/02/fauja-singh-obituary). On 14 July 2025 he was struck by an unidentified vehicle while crossing a road near his home village; he sustained severe head injuries and died in hospital, aged 114[2](https://apnews.com/article/17216ee3f466dea8c5f74324ec67ca95) • [13](https://indianexpress.com/article/long-reads/run-fauja-run-the-man-who-never-stopped-running-10128974/). India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute, calling him "an exceptional athlete with incredible determination" whose story inspired young Indians on fitness[2](https://apnews.com/article/17216ee3f466dea8c5f74324ec67ca95). He was survived by two sons and two daughters, 14 grandchildren, and 14 great-grandchildren[1](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/sep/02/fauja-singh-obituary).
Because his age could not be verified with a birth certificate, Guinness World Records never listed him as the oldest marathon runner, and he was described in reports as "believed to be" or "widely recognised as" the oldest[2](https://apnews.com/article/17216ee3f466dea8c5f74324ec67ca95) • [10](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/7/15/fauja-singh-worlds-oldest-marathoner-dies-in-india-road-accident). His marathon feat, achieved 11 years after his first race at 89, remained the reference point for runners who begin late in life[6](https://run4papa.com/the-runner/).
## References
1. [Fauja Singh obituary, The Guardian (2025)](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/sep/02/fauja-singh-obituary)
2. [World's oldest marathon runner, Fauja Singh, dies at 114 after being hit by a car, Associated Press (2025)](https://apnews.com/article/17216ee3f466dea8c5f74324ec67ca95)
3. ['I run for living and I live for running', The Telegraph (India) (2012)](https://www.telegraphindia.com/7-days/i-run-for-living-and-i-live-for-running/cid/457936)
4. [World's Oldest Marathoner Fauja Singh Runs The Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore 2012, Sport Singapore](https://www.sportsingapore.gov.sg/media-centre/worlds-oldest-marathoner-fauja-singh-runs-the-sc-marathon-singapore-2012/)
5. [Age catches up with Fauja Singh, The Independent (2013)](https://www.the-independent.com/sport/general/athletics/age-catches-up-with-fauja-singh-8508316.html)
6. [The Runner, ESPN The Magazine via Run4papa (2013)](https://run4papa.com/the-runner/)
7. [Fauja Singh, el primer maratoniano centenario de la historia, El País (2025)](https://elpais.com/deportes/2025-07-15/muere-atropellado-a-los-114-anos-fauja-singh-el-maratoniano-mas-longevo.html)
8. [Fauja Singh, Said to Have Run Marathons at 100 and Older, Has Died, Runner's World (2025)](https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a65404972/fauja-singh-dies/)
9. [Muere Fauja Singh, el maratoniano más longevo del mundo, AS (2025)](https://as.com/masdeporte/atletismo/muere-fauja-singh-el-maratoniano-mas-longevo-del-mundo-a-los-114-anos-atropellado-por-un-coche-n/)
10. [Fauja Singh, 'world's oldest marathoner', dies in India road accident, Al Jazeera (2025)](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/7/15/fauja-singh-worlds-oldest-marathoner-dies-in-india-road-accident)
11. [The Daily Pioneer, Delhi English edition, 17 July 2025](https://www.dailypioneer.com/uploads/2025/epaper/july/delhi-english-edition-2025-07-17.pdf)
12. [Going the distance, The Guardian (2004)](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2004/apr/06/athletics.health)
13. [Run, Fauja, Run: The man who never stopped running, The Indian Express (2025)](https://indianexpress.com/article/long-reads/run-fauja-run-the-man-who-never-stopped-running-10128974/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Individual sports and outdoor recreation › Athletics, gymnastics, and strength sports › Athletes of track and field and road running › Road, marathon, and ultramarathon runners*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license