A restaurant owner from Drighlington has raised £2,000 for Yorkshire Cancer Research after taking part in the Run for All Leeds 10K.
Bobby Patel, owner of the Indian restaurant Prashad, decided to take part in the event after his dad, Mohan, was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Earlier this year, Mohan received the all-clear after undergoing treatment at Bradford Royal Infirmary and his family have been supporting the cancer charity ever since, helping to raise awareness of the disease among Asian communities in the Bradford area.
Talking about last month’s 10k challenge, Bobby said: “It was amazing to take part in the Leeds 10K with thousands of other runners raising money for lots of different charities. The atmosphere was so warm and the cheers from the crowd gave me that extra push.
“I haven’t found that nirvana of running. It’s still hard every time I go out, but crossing the finish line felt incredible.”
He continued: “We’re really grateful to our friends, family and customers for all the support they gave us in the run up to the day.
“Taking part in the event gave us something really positive to talk about in the restaurant and we hope that it will inspire other members of the Asian community to take up healthy past times such as walking and running.”
Following a host of recent fundraisers and awareness events, Bobby’s wife, Minal, Head Chef at Prashad, has now been inspired to take up running herself and the couple will take part in the Bradford 5K together on 30th October.
Minal, who works 80 hours a week, said: “The whole family went to watch Bobby and it was so emotional to see him running for the first time.
“I’m not a sporty person but I’ve found that running gives me so much more energy. I’m always so busy and tired but you have to make the time to exercise. I’m so excited to have a challenge to aim for.”
Next month, Bobby will take on his latest challenge as he heads to Newcastle for the Great North Run’s half marathon event.
Bobby added: “Minal is always on her feet cooking or developing menus. The way she’s taken up running just shows that there’s always time for these things and I hope her example will encourage other Asian women to think about setting some time aside for exercise.
“It’s amazing for us to be able to do something together outside work and we’re really looking forward to taking part in the 5K for Yorkshire Cancer Research. Statistics around cancer, particularly in Asian communities, are really worrying, so we’re trying to raise awareness as much as possible.”
For more information about fundraising for Yorkshire Cancer Research, please visit www.ycr.org.uk/teamyorkshire.
