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An islander whose sight rapidly deteriorated within just two weeks is taking on a half-marathon in London to raise money for a guide dog charity while he waits to get his own.
Visually-impaired runner, Sha Khan will be tackling the London Landmarks Half Marathon in April alongside guide runner, Terri O'Donoghue.
Over a period of two weeks in August 2021, Sha's sight deteriorated to a point where he became unable to do many of the things he previously could.
Describing how his mental health "took a huge hit", Sha said that he was encouraged by another visually-impaired runner to take up the sport in August 2022.
He began running with guide runners at the weekly Parkrun event and his confidence grew.
Pictured: Sha began running a 5k each Saturday with guide-runner Terri at Jersey's Parkrun event.
Sha explained: "Losing my sight made me have to rely on people around me and once I opened up to the reality, I felt the presence of the most amazing people I could ever meet: volunteers who give their time selflessly and encourage and challenge me.
"While the eye may not see, the heart feels."
Although Sha initially began running as a way to improve his mental health, he is now keen to take on a bigger challenge.
He explained: "When I first heard about the London Landmarks Half Marathon I thought: 'I wonder if I could do that?'
"I knew it would be a huge challenge but my self-worth, self-esteem and confidence have been so low that I wanted to prove to myself that I can still do something."
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The London Landmarks Half Marathon takes place on 2 April, so Sha is already training hard alongside different volunteer guide runners.
He explained: "Without Terri and all those amazing volunteers at Parkrun, this would be impossible! My wish is that people with a disability can be supported to be more active, as being active has been the best remedy for my mental health."
Terri, who will be running the half marathon alongside Sha, guides him on a long run every Sunday morning.
Pictured: The pair meet every Sunday morning to run together.
Terri began running in 2006, but it wasn't until 2016 that she started guide running as a way to make Parkrun more inclusive to visually-impaired runners.
"It makes you realise how much we take our eyes for granted," she explained.
"When you're running and you see a bump in the road, it's not a big deal is you can just run around it. However, for a visually-impaired runner, that can be really dangerous.
"You have to be that person's eyes."
Sha added that he feels completely safe with all of his guide runners, whether they are beginners or have been guide running for years.
"I rely on them completely and trust them implicitly," he said. "Running is so liberating for me. When I am attached to the tether with my guide runner, I feel like I am free from the cage of my cane.
"Terri often reminds me to smile but I am smiling the whole time!"
Pictured: "Without Terri and all those amazing volunteers at Parkrun, this would be impossible!"
However, Sha admitted that he would "really appreciate more guide runners", explaining that is is easy to find guides at the weekend but more difficult during the week.
"Sometimes I am motivated to run, but I can't find a guide runner who is free to run with me which can make me really sad." he said.
"When that happens, it can really impact my mental health. However, if I think about looking forward to Parkrun on Saturday and my run with Terri on Sunday then that dark cloud goes away."
For anyone looking to volunteer as a guide runner, Terri suggests coming along to Parkrun on a Saturday morning to run alongside one of the current guide runners and see what it entails.
Pictured: The running duo have now completed distances of over 15k together.
Sha will be using his half marathon challenge to raise funds for Guide Dogs charity, who breed and train guide dogs to give blind people freedom and mobility.
He is "personally passionate" about the about Guide Dogs as he is currently in the assessment process for his own dog, which he knows will cost the charity thousands of pounds.
"I want to raise as much as I can for this beautiful charity," he said.
And if you spot Sha out running, he asks that you shout or beep so that he knows you are there.
"I really appreciate the love from people who shout out or beep at us," he added. "I can't see people around us, so it's nice to know that they are there and supporting us."
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