Fauja Singh, the British Sikh runner who gained global acclaim as the world’s oldest marathoner, has died at the reported age of 114.
Singh was struck by a car on July 14 while out for his daily walk in Beas Pind, his home village in India’s Punjab region, and succumbed to his injuries in a nearby hospital, his longtime coach Harmander Singh confirmed.
His death ends one of the most remarkable late-life athletic careers on record, a journey that began in obscurity, blossomed into international recognition, and endured even as questions about his exact age lingered.
Singh was said to have been born on April 1, 1911, a time when birth certificates were not routinely issued in rural British India.
That missing documentation meant his many age-related achievements, while widely celebrated, were never officially ratified by Guinness World Records. But the lack of paperwork did little to dim the legend of a man who became the face of possibility for aging athletes.
For most of his life, Singh was a farmer. He didn’t walk until age five due to weak legs and never attended school. His path to the marathon only began in earnest after a series of personal tragedies in the early 1990s, including the deaths of his wife and two of his six children.
Seeking a change, he moved to East London in 1992 to live with his son. It was there, in his 80s, that he began to run.
Singh’s first marathon was the 2000 London Marathon, which he finished in 6 hours and 54 minutes, a staggering achievement for someone reportedly in his late 80s.
Over the next decade, he completed races in New York, Toronto, and London, often cheered on by crowds for his distinctive orange turban and flowing white beard.
In Toronto in 2003, at age 92, he set a personal best of 5:40:04, a pace of under 13 minutes per mile, which stood as a world best for the 90+ age group, even if unofficial.
Perhaps his most iconic moment came in October 2011.
Over the span of four days, Singh first ran a track meet in Toronto where he reportedly set eight world records for athletes over 95, from the 100 meters to the 5000 meters.
“He was actually running, both feet off the ground,” said Doug Smith of Ontario Masters Athletics, calling it one of the most “astonishing achievements” he’d ever seen.
Three days later, he completed the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in 8:25:17, becoming the first person said to be 100 years old to finish a marathon. Race officials confirmed he was running the full course, although they noted he received a small amount of help crossing the finish line.
Even after he officially retired from marathons in 2013, Singh remained a fixture in the running world. He participated in charity races, walked up to 10 miles a day, and used his platform to raise money for causes through the London-based running club Sikhs in the City.
In 2012, he was a torchbearer for the London Olympics. A children’s book based on his life, Fauja Singh Keeps Going, was published in 2020 by Simran Jeet Singh, marking the first children’s picture book by a major publisher to center a Sikh story.
Singh credited his endurance to his vegetarian diet, abstinence from alcohol and tobacco, deep Sikh faith, and unwavering routine. “The first 20 miles are not difficult,” he once told reporters. “As for the last six miles, I run while talking to God.”
Though some doubted his age, Singh never seemed bothered by the skepticism.
“I’ve done everything openly, nothing in secret,” he told The New York Times in 2016. “If it makes some people happy to question it, it has made a lot of other people happier who believe it.”
To his supporters, he embodied more than just longevity. He became a symbol of resilience, faith, and immigrant strength.
His contributions will continue to be honored by Sikhs in the City, which announced it would dedicate all upcoming events through March 2026, including the Fauja Singh Birthday Challenge, to his memory. The group is also fundraising to build a Fauja Singh Clubhouse along the East London training route he loved.
“Once I started to overcome the tragedies in my life, I started getting recognition,” Singh told the Times in 2016. “It made me more disciplined to stick to a routine. I could forget my problems and remain happy and avoid negativity.”
Fauja Singh may never have had a birth certificate, but he left behind something far more enduring, a life that redefined what was possible, and what it means, to grow old.
Sad Sad day. What a legend. As a fellow Indian I’m so proud of what he has achieved.