Runners across the world were disappointed this summer when the 50th running of the TCS New York City Marathon was cancelled due to COVID-19 and right about this time, people who have trained all year for this milestone would have been descending on New York City with the goal of finishing the race and doing their best.
While I am not much of a runner, I learned that it is never too late to start after reading the debut picture book by author Simran Jeet Singh and illustrated by Baljinder Kaur, FAUJA SINGH KEEPS GOING. This inspiring book is the true story of a man who, at the age of 81, decided that he was going to overcome a lifetime of obstacles and run his first marathon. His grit and determination eventually led him to become the first person over the age of 100 to complete the long-distance race (yes, that says complete not compete!)
While we don’t have the excitement of the marathon this year, it is still a good time to encourage kids to get out and run or take a walk, (while social distancing of course) after a long day of virtual learning. And when they tell you that they can’t run or would rather play video games (like my kids do) remind them of Fauja Singh’s story and the personal satisfaction that comes with hard work and accomplishment (and if that doesn’t work, then just push them out the door—ha!).
The marathon will come back and when it does I hope we have a whole new crop of runners that were inspired by the book FAUJA SINGH KEEPS GOING. Who knows, maybe one of those runners will be me!