Trafford Park optical manager Hamid to run two marathons in a week

Good luck to optical manager Hamid Mehmood from our Trafford Park store who's running two marathons in a week – one while fasting for Ramadan – to raise money for the victims of the Turkey and Syria earthquake.

Hamid, who's 30 and lives in Blackburn, will be tackling the Manchester Marathon this Sunday and then a week later he will be in the capital for the 26-mile London Marathon.

He said: "I've not run a marathon before but I've always been into running and trekking and I usually run between 5km and 10km a day.

"During my training I've been running while fasting as I know come Sunday I'm going to have to run the full thing without even drinking any water or liquids.

"It will be tough and and difficult but I'm really looking forward to it and excited. I'm just going to have to pace myself and be mentally strong and believe in myself that I can do it. Your body is an amazing mechanism and it can do impossible things.

"I'll be running this Sunday from 11am and I aim to do it within five hours. It will be difficult but I will be upping my game. It's a personal journey for myself.

"My colleagues here think I'm a bit crazy but I want to inspire people and encourage people to go out and explore.

"I always say that your purpose in life is always to become the best version of yourself, the infinite version of yourself and that's why I do it really. That's what inspires me.

Hamid, who's worked at our store for less than a month, will be raising money for the Penny Appeal. He's so far raised £1,500 towards a target of £2,500.

He said: "When stuff like the earthquake happened it makes you realise how lucky we are to be in the UK. There's a bit thing in our faith just to give to the most needy so I've always been a charitable person and done a lot of volunteering in the past."

Click here to sponsor Hamid.