100-year-old Fauja Singh smashes world record for the oldest marathon runner as he completes Toronto race in a sprightly 8 hours and 25 minutes

 

• Fauja Singh finished 3,850th ahead of five other runners
• He started running aged 89 and runs 10 miles a day

By Emily Allen

Last updated at 10:37 AM on 17th October 2011

A British man has quick-footed it into the record books becoming the first 100-year-old to finish a full distance marathon.

The world's oldest marathon runner Fauja Singh, from Ilford, east London, finished the Scotiabank Toronto Marathon in Canada in eight hours, 25 minutes and 55 seconds yesterday.

Sikh Mr Singh raised his arms in triumph as he crossed the finish line to clinch the remarkable Guinness World Record record.

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Quick footed: Fauja Singh, 100, raises his arms in celebration after completing the Toronto Waterfront Marathon yesterday earning him a spot in the Guinness World Book of Records

Twenty-six miles is a hugely draining test for anyone and after almost 22 miles it looked like the centenarian might have to stop.

But he battled on for another two hours to reach the finishing line in 3,850th place - ahead of five other runners.

Triumph: Mr Singh waves at the crowds as he receives his marathon medal yesterday

Earlier this week he set eight world records for running distances between 100 metres and 5,000 metres.

Mr Singh, who only started running 11 years ago after the deaths of his wife and son, trains every day, running 10 miles.

He attributes his success to ginger curry, cups of tea and 'being happy'.

He holds the world record for the men's over-90 category after completing the 2003 Toronto marathon in five hours and 40 minutes.

He said last month: 'I am not a learned person in any shape or form. To me, the secret is being happy, doing charity work, staying healthy and being positive.

'If someone says I must stop running I ignore them - invariably they're younger than me. The secret to a long and healthy life is to be stress-free.

'If there's something you can't change then why worry about it? Be grateful for everything you have, stay away from people who are negative, stay smiling and keep running.'

Born in India on April 1 1911, Mr Singh was a farmer in the Punjab when he first developed a love for running, but he only took the sport seriously when he moved to the UK 50 years later.

He has completed seven marathons since turning 89 and has become the first person to sign up to the Edinburgh Marathon Festival 2012, 26.2-mile race, as part of four-man relay team with an average age of 86.

Nimble: Fauja Singh has become the first person to sign up to the 2012 Edinburgh Marathon Festival race

Training: Fauja Singh has revealed the key to conquering his daily 10 mile run is eating plenty of ginger curry and drinking copious amounts of tea

Running man: Fauja Singh will compete in Edinburgh's marathon next year

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2049994/Centenarian-smashes-world-record-oldest-marathon-runner-completes-Toronto-race-8-hours-25-minutes.html#ixzz1b3u51K2R

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Ban on morning-after pills' ads lifted

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Oct 15, 2011, 03.19AM IST TNN[ Kounteya Sinha ]

NEW DELHI: Advertisements, promoting morning-after pills, can be aired since the Drug Technical Advisory Board (DTAB) lifted the ban on October 10.
The embargo on advertising all emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs) was imposed in January, 2010.
Then, concerns had been raised that the ads were promoting the drugs as regular contraceptives and misrepresenting abortion.
The DTAB's latest guidelines say a committee, which would include the principal of a reputed girl's college, representatives from NGOs and the advertising council, can screen the ads and the scripts before they go on air.
No ways the ads can stigmatize abortion as an option, besides making it clear that the pills' side-effects include disruption of menstrual cycles.
The DTAB has suggested that both private firms and the Union health ministry to advertise and "promote EC pills so that the rural population are made aware of its availability".
The ads can promote the ECPs' use for emergency only. "The drug is safe for use in young as well as older women. It has no serious side-effects even after multiple uses. However, it should be promoted as emergency contraceptive only and not as regular means of contraception," the DTAB says.
"The DTAB's decision has been sent to the Union health ministry for notification," said a member of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO). Seven companies market ECPs in India that have been available as over the counter (OTC) drugs since September, 2005.
India records 7 million abortions annually, and 20,000 women die because of abortion-related complications. Only two in five abortions are safe.
ECPs should be popped at the earliest, and not later than 72 hours after unprotected sex. Doctors advocate strongly against its indiscriminate use.
Around 8.2 million pills were sold in India last year. One of the most common misconceptions about the drug is that it is equivalent to an abortion pill. ECPs act as an interceptive agent and not an abortive one. Lack of proper knowledge about its functioning has led women popping them as regular oral contraceptives that are taken on a daily basis.
"It stops unwanted pregnancies in almost 855 of the cases. Unwanted pregnancies lead to unnecessary sufferings. There is a lack of adequate and safe abortion facilities, with at least 10 illegal unsafe abortions per legal ones," the DTAB says.
Experts said ECPs are comparatively heavier in dosage than regular oral contraceptives or birth control pills, and cannot be taken regularly as a family planning method.
The exact mode of action of ECPs is not known, but probable mechanisms include prevention of ovulation, fertilization and, or, implantation, depending on the phase of menstrual cycle when it is used.
The mechanisms for prevention of pregnancy are thought to happen before the implantation occurs. When used correctly - time and dose as prescribed - after a single act of unprotected sexual intercourse, the ECPs fail to prevent pregnancy in about 2% of cases.

http://m.timesofindia.com/PDATOI/articleshow/10360543.cms

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