Fauja Singh (easy), p2

When Fauja is running in other countries, he asks people to give money to give money to help Sikh groups in the area. He knows that people often have angry feelings toward Sikhs because they don’t understand them. He wants Sikhs to change this and he believes that by running to get money for them he can help them to do this.

Soon after running in Toronto, Fauja ran in the New York City Marathon. His doctors told him this was a mistake. They said he needed a long rest. But he ran anyway because he wanted to help the Sikhs living in New York. Because he was tired, this was a difficult race for Fauja. His ankle hurt badly and he had to stop several times to get help from doctors. It took him more than seven hours to finish the race.

Fauja came back to Toronto for the 2004 marathon, but this time instead of running the full distance, he ran only a “half-marathon.” His finished in two hours and thirty minutes.

At that time, Fauja said that for the next few years, until 2009, he was going to run only half marathons. His plan was to run another marathon in 2009. Then he would be ninety-seven years old and the oldest person ever to finish a marathon.

While he was waiting for 2009, Fauja planned to keep himself in good condition. He was going to run or walk ten kilometers or more every day. He would not eat any meat. He would eat a lot of bread and beans and he would drink a lot of green tea.

Fauja says that running has made him happy in his old age. He says he believes that God has given him his good health and that running is a way of “giving back.”

- information from: National Post, 04.09.27 (Joseph Brean); Toronto Star, 04.09.27; National Post, 04.09.25 (Joseph Brean); Toronto Star, 04.09.10 (Diane Scarponi); Toronto Star, 04.05.07 (Chris Young); News India, 04.10.08; Times of India, 04.12.23; India Abroad, 03.12.05 (Arthur Pais); India Abroad, 03.11.14 (Thayil Jeet); UP International, 04.03.24; Birmingham Post, 02.04.15; Toronto Star, 03.09.29 (Randy Starkman)

broke away:
separated from

serious runner:
a runner who works very hard to improve

for fun:
just for pleasure (because it is enjoyable)

had no meaning:
had no purpose

got together:
met with each other

his age group:
people of approximately the same age

finish line:
the place where a race ends

got his time down:
ran more quickly than he had in other races

it took him more than six hours:
he required more than six hours

a serious, formal promise to do something