Ranmoor Friery owner Rani Sandhu after a charity run.
Ranmoor Friery on Facebook
If you take a walk along Fulwood Road, past the nineteenth-century St John’s Church and the classically fronted Ranmoor Inn, you arrive at a small parade of shops. Sitting amongst a hairdresser, wine merchant and deli is the Ranmoor Friery.
The fish and chip shop is hugely popular with students and chippy tea connoisseurs alike, and it would be surprising if you weren’t welcomed in, served by and engaged in warm conversation with ever-smiling owner and front-of-house matriarch Rani Sandhu.
Taking pride of place on the walls are various family photos and certificates of Rani’s achievements in both running and generating sizable charitable donations, all of which is eclipsed by the impressive collection of medals on show behind the counter.
As I discover, the motivation to partake in 10k and marathon running didn’t manifest itself as a response to the need for a fitness pastime. Indeed, it could be said that running itself provided the medicinal and mental health balm for the soul that was every bit as critical as fundraising for good causes.
As we sit down in the front of the shop to talk, Rani starts by explaining her journey from banking to batter.
“We’ve had the chippy for nine years now. Before that I had lived in Leicester for pretty much my whole life. I was 39 then and worked for Royal Bank Of Scotland.
“Redundancies came round, and as my husband was working different shifts and the kids were at school and college, we all agreed we just didn’t spend enough time together as a family. I felt that was a huge part of my life that I was missing. Plus I didn’t have the hunger for banking that I used to have. So I left.
“This place came up for sale and we decided to run a fish and chip shop in Sheffield – with zero experience! It was very much a family decision, made between us, to have our own business.”
As with any fledgling business, especially one in which experience is in short supply, it turned out to be a tough start.
“We were hopeless when we started. We’d forget customers orders, we’d forget putting fish in the fryer, everything. So many mistakes. But because we’re passionate about food, I used to ask customers for honest feedback. Being Yorkshire folk, they didn’t hold back. ‘Rani, your batter’s too thick, your chips aren’t right,’ they’d say. We learned from that, put things right and have and always will put customers first. It’s all about them.”
Cooking diversity, especially for vegetarian customers, was also a key development, and one based on family tradition.
“My mum was 100% vegetarian, so we knew segregation of cookware was
really important and we prepared food separately, to ensure we had
authentic vegetarian food, cooked to customers’ requirements. People
came in and loved it. Vegetarian boxes are now on our menu and are
hugely successful, and we got a new client base just for that offering.
I’m proud to be following my mum’s tradition.”
With the business on a solid footing, how did Rani turn to athletic pursuits and charity-based running?
“It was May 2016 that I began running. My son and I had just signed
up for the Sheffield 10k. I’d climbed Snowdon with a group and done some
collective charity stuff at RBS, but never anything on my own. This was
new territory for me.”
Next on the agenda was the need to find a charity to run for. It turned out to be a sadly prophetic choice.
“When we signed up for the run, we met some people from Cavendish
Cancer Care, and they asked who we were running for. We said nobody and
they said, ‘Well, how about running for us?’ They told us about their
work, what they were doing, and how their targeted support was for
people in the Sheffield community who’d suffered from cancer.
“A month later, in June, my own mum was diagnosed with lung cancer.
She passed away within two weeks. She was the biggest loss of my life.
It broke me, and I didn’t know how to cope.
“That’s why I turned to running and doing the charity work I do. It
all started by losing my mum, but I needed something aside from work to
keep me going, mentally and physically.”
The hardest lesson is that there’s only one person who can support you – and that’s you
That outlet provided some calming respite from Rani’s loss, albeit
the lingering pain of her mother’s passing pervaded over an extended
period.
“It took me a good 3-4 years of grieving. I’d cry and cry. But the
community here gave me so much love and support, so I wanted to repay
them and do charity running in memory of my mum.”
Unfortunately, further bad news was to follow.
“In May 2022, I then lost my dad to cancer. He used to love my
running achievements. I’d tell him about a 10k run, and show him my
medal, and he’d say, ‘I’m so proud of you.’
“Sadly we had to witness both our parents dying from end-of-life
cancer, and that’s one of the worst things ever. Awful for the person,
the people around them, everyone.
“The hardest lesson is that there’s only one person who can support
you – and that’s you. My dad was my best friend and we were so close. We
were looking at the London Marathon and I said. ‘Dad, I’m going to do
that next year, I promise.'”
That promise was kept, and the run acted as the emotional springboard
from which Rani elevated her already incredible charitable and running
commitments to new heights.
“After he passed, I applied for over 20 charity spaces and got one
for last year’s London Marathon. When doing the marathon, at mile
[number] 21 my husband and kids were waiting for me and gave me my dad’s
cap. I put it on and said to myself, ‘C’mon dad, let’s finish this
together.’ And we did, plus we have a photo of the event to remember it
by. Oh, and we raised over £5k too.”
Fish and chips from the Friery.
Ranmoor Friery on Facebook
It needs to be mentioned that Rani’s training and support mechanism
extends to a vital group of “lovely ladies” who provide her training
regime foundation, a group who can often be seen at Endcliffe Park.
“I’m lucky to have a lovely lady called Hannah, a proper athlete who
runs all over the world. She started up a group for Sheffield mums who
have no running capability and it went from there. They take me running
with them.”
Rani’s activity agenda is ramping up as her diary fills out with her ever-expanding plans for where to run next.
“In August I had Children With Cancer to run for, but that wasn’t
until April. I missed not having a focus. So I did the Manchester 10k
and a couple of others. But what next? Well, I’ve got a Sheffield Half
Marathon in March followed by Berlin in September and Kilimanjaro in
October.”
From local to national to international, Rani’s sights are set on
extending her exploits to the other side of the world after a recent
trip to Australia inspired her to put the Sydney Marathon in her sights.
“I should say, my husband, son and daughter have been incredibly
supportive of all I’ve done. They’ve made these the best years of my
life. The journey has been hard, but it’s been worth it.”
The Sheffield Community Champions article series has tried to
showcase the incredible efforts and achievements of people from all
walks of life, people who have genuine love and commitment towards
making people’s lives better, in Sheffield and beyond.
The writer Paul Coelho said, “When we least expect it, life sets us a
challenge to test our courage and willingness to change; at such a
moment, there is no point in pretending that nothing has happened or in
saying that we are not yet ready. The challenge will not wait. Life does
not look back.”
Rani Sandhu has taken on life’s challenges, faced them and won. And for that, Rani, Sheffield salutes you.