Fauja Singh is a British centenarian marathon runner of Punjabi Sikh descent. He is a world record holder in his age bracket. Singh who was an avid runner as a young man took back to running in 1995 after the death of his wife, one of his son and his eldest daughter. He started competing and running for charity aged 89. In January, Singh ran to raise awareness for the rights and security of women in India. Singh has stated that he will retire from competitive running after he takes part in the Hong Kong marathon on 24 February 2013 (just 5 weeks shy of his 102nd birthday). But he fully intends to continue running for pleasure.