To answer the question about when to stop running, I had to seek out a Sikh. And look…I found one! Amazingly, Fauja Singh and I have something in common. We run to save ourselves. We run because it’s our therapy. We run because that’s how we deal with pain. I lost my parents back to back. He lost his wife and son back to back. Both of us turned to training to continue living life. At one point, we both faced a fork in the road. The path to the left led to depression, saddness, hopelessness. The path on the right lead to peace, therapy, hope. Fauja and I CHOSE the right path. We CHOOSE to stay on that path. Every day, we all make decisions. Fauja and I make a conscious decision to live a life where endorfins flow freely through our bodies lifting our spirits, our hearts, our minds and our sights. I do believe the path of depression would be easier. But it’s not the right path. The right path is hard and takes determination and grit. But if an 89 year old man can choose to stay on that path for more than 10 years, I have a lifetime ahead of me on the right path. And in the end, running saved Fauja’s life… just like it’s saving mine. So I guess the answer to the question of when you should stop running is simple. When you’re 101.
101-year-old vegetarian runner completes his final marathon
Rick Chandler, NBC Sports
Feb 25, 2013, 11:00 AM EST
Getty Images
Fauja Singh, the oldest runner ever to complete a full marathon, finished his final race on Sunday, and now will hang up his competitive running shoes for good. From now on, Singh, who will soon be 102 years old, will run just for fun, “to inspire the masses.”
Singh ran in the 10k division of the Hong Kong Marathon, and completed the 6.25-mile race in 1 hour, 32 minutes, 28 seconds.
The Indian-born runner, nicknamed the Turbaned Torpedo, took up running at the age of 89 to help with his grief when both his wife and son died. A great-grandfather, he unofficially became the oldest man to run a full marathon when he ran in Toronto in 2011, at the age of 100. But he is not recognized by the Guinness Book of the World Records because he doesn’t have a birth certificate. Danged birthers. “I will remember this day. I will miss it,” Singh said minutes after crossing the finish line.
Singh completed nine full marathons after the age of 89.
According to the Associated Press, the world’s oldest woman passed away peacefully at the age of 116 yesterday afternoon. After reading this article, it reminded me of a photo album I made my mom during her final bout with chemotherapy. This is what I wrote on the first page of the album:
