Overcoming the Limits Placed on You By Others
Their limits don’t have to be your limits — defying expectations
I’m not in this world to live up to your expectations, and you’re not in this world to live up to mine — Bruce Lee
Fauja Singh is something of a miracle and one of the most notable runners in history. Singh is the world’s oldest marathoner. He wasn’t born with a traditional athletic build. Fauja’s legs were so skinny and weak that he couldn’t walk until age five.
Fauja grew up in a farming village in India and was often teased by other kids. They called him “danda,” the Punjabi name for a stick. In time, Fauja grew fit and healthy. He married, fathered six children, and had a farm of his own. It was a good life, whole and fulfilling, but not without its challenges.
When in his mid-eighties, Fauja witnessed the loss of his fifth son, Kuldip, in a construction accident. His wife had passed away a few years earlier. His other children had left India long before these losses. Fauja felt lonely and lost. He moved to England to live with some of his remaining family.
He began running with some fellow Punjabi ex-pats. He found it helped him cope with his grief. Running gave him purpose, and he was very good at it for his age. His lifelong farmwork had helped to keep…
