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Running during Ramadan: how Muslim runners train while fasting

Here's how Muslim runners make their training work while observing the month-long tradition of Ramadan

Photo by: Instagram/marwa.abdelhaleem

For Muslims around the world, it is currently Ramadan, an annual month-long religious observance during which fasting is a key pillar. During this period, Muslims fast between sunrise and sunset every day. It can be difficult not to eat or even drink anything for 14 hours each day, but it’s especially trying for runners observing Ramadan, as they have to figure out how and when to train on minimal energy reserves. To help understand this process better, Canadian Running spoke with two Muslim runners who seem to have figured out the best way to balance everything — from sleep, to fasting, to training and work — during this holy month.

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What is Ramadan?

Ramadan is observed during the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which follows a lunar schedule and is therefore constantly changing. Because of this, Ramadan moves back by about two weeks each year, meaning that, while this year it lasts from April 12 to May 12, it will start on April 2 next year. 

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“We believe this month is when the Quran, the holy book, was revealed,” says Marwa Abdelhaleem. “It’s an obligation for every Muslim if you’re mature, meaning you’ve hit puberty, and healthy.” Abdelhaleem grew up in Canada and was raised by Egyptian parents. She now lives in Singapore, where she works as a teacher at a Canadian international school. She explains that Muslims only eat after sunset (which is called iftar) and before sunrise (suhoor). 

“It’s an act of worship,” Abdelhaleem says. “It’s amazing how long it takes to prepare and eat food every day, so when you’re fasting, you can spend more time on good deeds, like being extra kind to people, paying extra time to charity. The things we should be doing all year round but sometimes forget to do.” 

As Abdelhaleem mentioned, there are some Muslims excepted from fasting during Ramadan, like children and people dealing with certain health issues. Travel also exempts individuals from fasting, which was the reason 100m and 200m sprinter Mo Yassin missed a few days back in 2015. Like Abdelhaleem, Yassin’s family is from Egypt and he grew up in Canada. In 2015, he travelled to Edmonton to compete at the Canadian Track and Field Championships in early July, which happened to be right in the middle of Ramadan.

Since Yassin — who now lives in Guelph and works as an engineer — was travelling, he was permitted to not fast at the prescribed time, and he tacked on a few extra days of non-fasting ahead of the event as well. “I knew that I would miss these days going into Ramadan, and I made up for them after.” The act of making up for missed days is called “fidya,” which involves an act of charity. 

“You basically pay to feed someone else who can’t afford to feed themselves,” Yassin says. Ultimately, Ramadan is a month of prayer and community, and while it can be difficult, both Abdelhaleem and Yassin say it’s a rewarding and special time of year. 

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Ramadan and running 

Abdelhaleem and Yassin both have to find a way to fit their training into already busy schedules that are packed with work, home life and the daily observances of Ramadan. Abdelhaleem started running 11 years ago, and she has been in love with it ever since. She spent eight months injured this past year, and she says it was terrible not being able to run. She certainly could stop running for the month of Ramadan, but it matters too much to her to take an unnecessary break from the sport. 

In her 11 years as a runner, Abdelhaleem has fine-tuned her approach to training during Ramadan. “On a couple of occasions, I tried running before iftar, just before breaking my fast, but I had no energy.” On one of these occasions, she was in Dubai, and the blistering heat paired with the lack of nutrition or water zapped her of all energy, and she couldn’t even make it 2K. Since then, Abdelhaleem has transitioned to early-morning workouts. 

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“School starts at 8:30, but I’m the type of person who gets there early to prepare, so I usually arrive at 7 a.m.” she says. This means that on the three mornings when Abdelhaleem runs each week, she is awake at 4:15 a.m. and out the door by 4:25. “I can usually fit in a 7K run before I get home. Then I cook the suhoor meal very quickly.” She and her son, Haazim, eat together and conduct their morning prayer before she heads off to work. Abdelhaleem admits that the mornings when she squeezes in a run can be pretty hectic, but she says it’s always worth it.

“The days that I don’t run, I feel so sluggish,” she says. “I get so tired so quickly. But when I do run, I’m full of energy. It’s crazy, but it works for me.” 

Yassin, who has raced on Egyptian national relay teams, takes a much different approach than Abdelhaleem, opting to train at night, starting just before sunset. Like Abdelhaleem, he gets up early and eats before sunrise, then heads right off to work. “My work schedule is pretty flexible, so I can show up whenever I want,” he says. Going into the office early means he can leave early, too, and when he gets home in the afternoon, he usually takes a nap. When he wakes up, he goes to train, timing it so he can have a snack after his warmup. 

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“The biggest thing is the volume,” Yassin says. “During Ramadan, I’m not able to recover and do the same volume of training that I’d typically do the rest of the year. Your sleep is hindered, your nutrition isn’t optimal — it can be tough.” While he normally might work out six or seven days a week, during Ramadan, Yassin says he tends to drop that to three or four sessions. 

What it all comes down to in the end, though, is “mind over matter,” says Abdelhaleem. “When you’re doing something for a good purpose, you just do it. It’s like running. You know it’s good for the body, so you do it regardless of how hard it is. Plus, Ramadan comes from the heart, which makes it so much easier to do.” 

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