Ramadan, The British 10K 2014 & The Whitechapel Mission

Emdad Rahman: On 13th July 2014 I will be taking part in The British 10K London Run.

I'm running for the Whitechapel Mission which is a landmark charity based in London's east end. During the course of my volunteering I have made many friends and learnt countless life lessons. The Mission is an institution that does not judge - it caters for all and sundry and is never closed. It's a community hub and operates very much in the background, in a quite street off the busy and bustling Whitechapel Road. In fact it's quite easy to walk past without even realising what magical things go on inside.

During the week I usually drop off beigals and foodstuffs donated by kind hearted friends - These are really appreciated by those who get served breakfast every morning.

During the latest visit I spoke to John outside the Mission this morning. He had his breakfast and was cheekily snooping around. "Oi no snooping Cassanova," I hollered. It was ladies day and men were not allowed in after the main breakfast shift was done. John's a Glaswegian and a staunch Celtic fan. He has a drink problem but is sharp as a tack. We exchanged tales about Celtic based on our live experiences of watching the Bhoys. His favourite player is the wizard and lord of the wing Jimmy Johnstone. I'm a lot younger than John so I told him my favourite player was the great maestro Paul McStay.

John's favourite memory was the Lisbon Lions beating Internazionale to become the first British team to win the European Cup.

Mine was Frank McAvennie scoring twice at the death to win the Scottish Cup for Celtic at Hampden Park against Dundee United in their centenary year. The only dark cloud was that Liverpool lost the FA Cup to Wimbledon that same afternoon. Aldo missed a famous penalty and Beasant's save helped create one of the FA Cups greatest giant slays.

The British 10 k is staged on the worlds greatest route through the heart of the City of Westminster & City of London. It's going to be Ramadan and just like list year I'll be running it whilst fasting. I haven't run since an Achilles' tendon injury in January but I walk a lot, cycle, have climbed Snowdon and completed the BUPA 10000 so I'm not worried in the slightest. Fasting will not put me off and I'm determined to savour the day at all costs.

Do pop along and support the volunteers and runners if you can as your support means a great deal. Thank you all for your support, including my sponsors A Class Events - The ladies take care of all my kit. 

www.justgiving.com/no7