UPI NewsTrack Quirks in the News

Runner, 100, preps for marathon

TORONTO, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- A 100-year-old runner ran several short races in Toronto Thursday in preparation for a 26-mile marathon on Sunday, his trainer said.

Fauja Singh has been running competitively since he was 89 and has set three records for men over 90 in international marathons, the Toronto Star reported.

Thursday's short races were to limber up for Sunday's Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, the Indian-born Sikh runner told the Star through an interpreter. He said he hasn't run a full marathon since he was 92.

He said he runs seven to 10 miles a day to stay fit and eats simply.

Spectators do double-takes when they see the 115-pound man with his long white beard and turban amid the runners, his trainer Harmander Singh (no relation) said.

Last year, the 99-year-old runner underwent a bone density test in Britain where he now lives. Doctors said his left leg was found to have a density of a 35-year-old, while his right leg had that of a 25-year-old, the Star said.

Singh said he knows he'll set a new record Sunday, as there are no other 100-year-old runners entered, but hopes to set some others as well.

"I just keep going knowing that every step I take I am getting closer to the finish line -- standing around is not going to get me there," he said.

Lenin statue painted to look like cheese

NAKHODKA, Russia, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- Police in Russia said three people were arrested for allegedly painting a statue of Lenin to make it appear the Soviet Leader was sitting on a block of cheese.

Investigators in Nakhodka, in the far east of the country, said three people in their 20s were caught in the act of painting the pedestal under the statue of Vladimir Lenin, The Moscow Times reported Thursday.

"Such pranks involving statues are unacceptable," a police spokesman told the Interfax news agency.

Police said the vandals will face prosecution.

Rhino escapes at Zoo Miami

MIAMI, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- Officials at a Florida zoo said an Indian rhinoceros escaped its enclosure and was on the loose for about 25 minutes, but never entered any public areas.

Zoo Miami officials said Juanpur, a 21-year-old rhino on loan from Louisiana's Baton Rouge Zoo, set off a "Code Green" about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday when he walked through a gate mistakenly left unsecured by a zookeeper, The Miami Herald reported Thursday.

Ron Magill, communications director for the zoo, said Juanpur, nicknamed "Johnny" by zoo staff, never left the adjacent service area and did not go near any public areas. He said zoo patrons were never in danger from the animal, which has poor eyesight.

"We always had a sighting of him," Magill said.

Magill said zoo staff used pickup trucks to herd the 4,640-pound rhinoceros back into its enclosure about 25 minutes after the escape. There were no injuries resulting from the rhino's brief freedom, the spokesman said.

Troy Polamalu poses as wax sculpture

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- Pittsburgh Steelers strong safety Troy Polamalu frightened visitors to Madame Tussauds Wax Museum in Los Angeles by posing as a wax sculpture.

Polamalu, whose hijinks were filmed as a viral advertisement for Head & Shoulders, posed as a wax sculpture at the famous museum, which is filled with wax statues of celebrities and historical figures, and would occasionally move to terrify museum visitors, NFL.com reported Thursday.

The video depicts several patrons being frightened by Polamalu, including one woman who shoved the player, Syracuse.com reported.

The Steelers All-Pro's hair, which he said he hasn't cut since 2000 as a tribute to his Samoan heritage, is currently insured for $1 million by Head & Shoulders.