Old and enduring
The marathon is a a symbol not merely of endurance and dogged persistence but also single-mindedness. The lot of the long distance runner is a lonely one — they are not about glamorous quick dashes like sprinters. Instead, they have a long-term goal and have to know how to pace themselves and preserve their energy. To that extent, Fauja Singh measures up to the spirit of the 26-mile run, since he kept on running and reached the finish line of the Toronto marathon after eight hours, long after everyone else had done so and the organisers were packing up to go home.
But most of all, it is the fact that he is 100 years old that makes his achievement even more remarkable.
Singh’s feat tells us that the world does not solely belong to the young. Youth culture excites everyone — from marketers to social scientists — but in the process old age is often ignored, even dismissed. They are considered a burden on the next generation. Ageism shows up in different ways, from neglect of the old to ridicule. Even in traditional societies, where age is respected, older people are now increasingly left to cope with life by themselves.
Yet there are people like Fauja Singh who demonstrated that old people are not to be pitied. They have the drive and the energy, and they can be active and productive. More than them fitting in with society, it is society that has to change its own attitudes.
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