LEGENDARY marathon runner Fauja Singh on Monday died in a road accident in Jalandhar district on Monday, according to Indian media reports. The wildly popular and highly admired ‘Turbaned Tornado was 114.

The Tribune newspaper said he was hit by an unidentified vehicle around 3:30 p.m. while he was crossing the road at his native Beas village near Adampur.

His family told the media that the vehicle sped off after the collision. Fauja Singh was rushed to hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

There is a deep sense of sadness among South Asians as well as other who admired him in Canada and, indeed, around the world.

In 2012, Surrey had the honour of Fauja Singh’s participation in an event in which then-Surrey mayor Dianne Watts joined in.

The Tribune noted: “He eventually ran in 18 marathons starting in London in 2000. After his last three marathons — Toronto in 2011, London in 2012 and Hong Kong in 2013 — he retired.”

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a post on social media: “Fauja Singh Ji was extraordinary because of his unique persona and the manner in which he inspired the youth of India on a very important topic of fitness. He was an exceptional athlete with incredible determination. Pained by his passing away. My thoughts are with his family and countless admirers around the world.”

BACK in October 2003, this is what I wrote about Fauja Singh in my column “Rattan’s Mirror”:

A TRULY INSPIRATIONAL MAN

He is 92 years old.
That means this great-grandfather was born before World War I.
Yet Fauja Singh, originally from Jalandhar, Punjab, in India, wowed Toronto when he shattered the world record for runners in their 90’s by running 42.2 kilometres in five hours, 40 minutes and three seconds at Sunday’s Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon.
And the record he broke was his own – that of six hours, 11 minutes and nine seconds when he ran in London, U.K., last April.

What is more, he wasn’t even breathless as he spoke to the media and his fans, even signing autographs.
He is getting better as he ages.
No wonder the Toronto media and the audience went gaga over him.
And now New York City can’t wait to play host to Fauja Singh at the November 2 marathon.
So who is this inimitable man that has captured everyone’s imagination?
According to interviews he gave to Toronto media (his family members translated for him as he speaks only Punjabi), Fauja Singh was born in 1911 and worked as a farmer in Punjab. But he was also an amateur runner who participated in long-distance races.
But all that came to an end when India was partitioned in 1947 and the survival of his family through the horrendous communal riots that ripped through that region became his paramount concern.
But the decades flew by and his youngest son, Sukhjinder, who had settled in England told Fauja Singh, who had lost his wife, to move to London about 10 years ago. There he confronted the challenges of a new life made more complicated by the fact that he didn’t speak English.
That’s when Fauja Singh drew strength by taking up long distance running once again. At Sikh religious festivities he started competing in 100-metre dashes. When he won these easily, he graduated to 200-metre runs – something nobody his age could complete. He went on to participate in 5-kilometre, then 10-kilometre competitions.
Then in 2001, as a member of the over-90 group, he won the London Marathon in 6 hours, 54 minutes and 55 seconds – almost an hour faster than the previous record for his class. And last April he bettered that record by clocking 6 hours, 11 minutes and 9 seconds.
What could be the secret of his remarkable energy?
He told the media it was warm baths, ginger curries and daily meditation. He runs about 15 kilometres a day, dropping in at various Gurdwaras to worship.
But all this is not about himself – it is also for charity. Everytime he participated in the London Marathon (four times), he raised about $3,200 for a British charity that provides support for premature babies.
In Toronto, he was raising money for the Guru Gobind Singh Children’s Foundation.
He is also hoping to improve the image of Sikhs in North America.
For me, this great man is truly inspirational and I want to say a personal ‘thank you’ to him. His story has made me feel even more positive about life.