New Delhi: It’s never too late to start over, goes the old adage and if ever there was proof needed that it actually isn’t, one could always marvel at the life of Fauja Singh.
The widely-admired 114-year-old, whose career as a marathon runner began when he was 89 and propelled him to the status of a global icon, died on Monday night.
It was a heartbreakingly abrupt end despite his age. He was hit by a Fortuner car while out for a walk at Beas Pind, his native village in Jalandhar.
The frail man, who weathered many a personal storms with his resilience and “nonchalance”, had spent a
better part of his running career in Britain and returned to
his roots just about three years ago after retiring. “We would always tell him that someone his age running in India
would always run the risk of being hit given how reckless the driving here is. This is what ultimately happened unfortunately,” said his biographer Khushwant Singh, whose book ‘The Turbaned Tornado’ documents the celebrated runner’s life.
Fauja’s story of strength began long after time slows down for most, especially those who have been mauled by the life’s many tragedies. He too was battling demons of his own.
Overwhelmed by the loss of his youngest son in the mid ‘90s, Fauja found solace in running with a local club in Essex after moving out of India following the death of his wife and daughter. “The villagers would tell one of his sons to take him to the UK because he would keep visiting the cremation ground and sit there for hours. So, eventually he moved to Ilford,” said Khushwant.
Once there, Fauja endured another loss before he chanced upon a running club. And what started as a hobby to take his mind off the circumstances that threatened to consume him, became the driving force of his life. He went on to run marathons, including the famed ones in London, New York and and Hong Kong, and inspire awe for brilliant timings for a 90-plus man born.