In this photo provided by Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, Fauja Singh, 100, center, celebrates at the finish line after completing the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in Toronto on Sunday, Oct. 16, 2011. (AP Photo/Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon)
Fauja Singh, a 100-year-old man from London, secured place in Guinness World Records as the oldest person — and the first centenarian — ever to complete a full marathon.
Singh ran the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in eight hours, 25 minutes and 16 seconds.
At the age of 100, Singh also attempted and accomplished eight world age group records in one day at the special Ontario Masters Association Fauja Singh Invitational Meet, held at Birchmount Stadium in Toronto, Ontario Canada.
Timed by officials in Canada, Singh ran the 100 metres in 23.14, 200 metres in 52.23, the 400 metres in 2:13.48, the 800 metres in 5:32.18, the 1500 metres in 11:27.81, the Mile in 11:53.45, the 3000 metres in 24:52.47 and the 5000 metres in 49:57.39.
Each time Singh bested the previous record in that age division (some events had no previous record holder as nobody over age 100 had ever attempted to run the distance).
It took Singh more than eight hours to cross the finish line — more than six hours after Kenya's Kenneth Mungara won the event for the fourth straight year — and he was the last competitor to complete the course.But his time wasn't nearly as remarkable as the accomplishment.
workers dismantled the barricades along the finish line and took down sponsor banners even as Singh made his way up the final few hundred yards of the race.
Family, friends and supporters greeted Singh when he finished the race.
"Beating his original prediction, he's overjoyed," his coach and translator Harmander Singh said. "Earlier, just before we came around the (final) corner, he said, 'Achieving this will be like getting married again.'
"He's absolutely overjoyed, he's achieved his lifelong wish."
Sunday's run was Singh's eighth marathon — he ran his first at age 89 — and wasn't the first time he set a record.
In the 2003 Toronto event, he set the mark in the 90-plus category, finishing the race in 5 hours, 40 minutes and 1 second.
And on Thursday in Toronto, Singh broke world records for runners older than 100 in eight different distances ranging from 100 meters to 5,000 meters.
Singh said he's hopeful his next project will be participating in the torch relay for the 2012 London Games. He carried the torch during the relay for the 2004 Athens Games.
He says that his stamina comes from ginger curry, tea and positive thinking. His motto is: Be grateful for everything you have, stay away from negative people, stay smiling and keep running.