Modern figure
Fauja Singh
ਫ਼ੌਜਾ ਸਿੰਘفوجا سنگھ
Farmer from Beas Pind near Jalandhar who began running marathons at 89 in London and ran one at 100.
Fauja Singh was born in 1911 at Beas Pind in the Jalandhar district and farmed there for most of his life. After losing his wife and a son he moved to his family in Ilford, east London, and took up running.
He ran his first marathon in London in 2000, at 89, and in 2011 finished the Toronto Waterfront Marathon at the age of 100. He died in 2025 after being struck by a vehicle near his village.