Advertisement - Continue Reading Below Best Garmin deals, was catching his breath after a 13-mile run when he saw a shoplifter being chased through Coventry City centre. Rather than sit back and spectate, Haroon jumped up and joined in the pursuit of the shoplifter.
Haroon and his friend managed to catch the shoplifter and wrestle him to the ground, where they waited for security to take over.
Speaking to local press after the event, Haroon said, ‘I had just finished a long run and was sitting on the benches in the square between Primark and Greggs catching my breath.
‘We saw this man running frantically and he didn't look like he was running for the bus. We didn't know he was a thief at that point, but then we saw a lady from Primark wearing a visor running full speed after him and we realised he had stolen something.
‘My first instinct was "shall I jump up and help and chase?", but I was shattered and because of tiredness I thought twice.
'By this time he had passed Cafe Italia and he was sprinting, so then we started sprinting after him and he dropped the bag. We carried on chasing him and he went in to the alleyway behind the Nisa shop.
'He was tired and he stopped and tried to threaten us. We weren't having any of it and grappled him to the ground.
'He was quite a big chap, so I had to be careful, but I have a background in martial arts and was a kickboxer once upon a time. I was hoping the police were going to get there quickly.'
The suspect was arrested and later charged for shoplifting.
Speaking to Haroon after the event, he told Runner’s World, ‘It was quite instinctive to think about following, chasing and helping. I think that's just the person I am, as I'll stop to intervene if I ever see something wrong or someone needing help. In this case I had to think twice simply because I was tired but my deeper conscience told me to get up and go.
‘I had just completed this 13 mile run which was supposed to be slow and easy but I've been training pretty hard lately and my legs just felt so tired. I had just sat down to catch my breath and then seconds later we saw this man running past.
‘I feel good knowing I've done a good deed though a minority question why I was "interfering", but I can't help myself - it's in my DNA to act.'
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