Onchan’s Post Office chief is halfway through a gruelling challenge to complete a 5k run every day during Ramadan.
Hassan Patel, who runs Onchan’s Post Office, is raising funds for the Craig’s Heartstrong Foundation, which provides heart screening for young people.
After raising £1,000 for Mannin Cancer last year, Hassan decided to take up his 5K challenge for Craig’s Heartstrong after happy coincidence of bumping into Paul Lunt.
Hassan said: “We used to know Craig’s mum. She’s a teacher and taught our eldest son, so we knew her from there and I told her I’d do it for Craig’s Heartstrong this year.
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, observed by Muslims as a month of fasting, prayer, reflection and community.
Throughout the month, which this year runs from February 17 to March 28, healthy adult Muslims refrain from food and drink from dawn until sunset.
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The challenging weather has made this year’s runs particularly difficult, with Ramadan starting 10 days earlier than last year.
“The first week was tough because the weather wasn’t the best,” he said. “I was thinking, why am I doing this? I was shivering. I had no food, no drink, no water on me and I had to wear extra layers to sort of get me by.”
Hassan runs mainly along the promenade, “largely because it’s flat”, but he also does some laps around King Edward Road.
He said the support he gets from his friend, family, customers and wider community make it much easier, especially his wife Hafswa.
You can donate to Hassan’s efforts either by popping into the Post Office or on the link here.