Ramadan & Running

After a run, replenishing your body with food and water is a big part of recovery. Imagine not being able to eat or drink for hours after exercise. For countless Muslims, including my teammate, junior Ali Jamil, this is a reality during Ramadan.

Since Islam runs on a lunar calendar, the dates of Ramadan change every year, but this year, they happen to coincide with the first half of cross-country season. Ali, who has been observing Ramadan since age 10, makes major adjustments to his schedule so he can continue to train while practicing his religion.

He wakes up at 4:30 AM to eat a large meal, and has to stop eating by sunrise. The meal has to last until sundown, which is around 14 hours later, and Ali likes to fill up on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and fruit salad, and tries to drink enough water in the half-hour before sunrise to last him for the day. During practice, when we’re squirting water in our mouths in the middle of a workout, he can only watch. On race day, if it’s excessively humid or hot, Ali wisely chooses to sit out or race at less than 100% effort. If he does race, it saps his strength for the entire day; after our invitational, Ali went home and slept until sundown while the rest of the team probably went to ACDC and then got some work done.

While the month of Ramadan requires Ali to make changes, he says that he loves both his religion and running, and he’s glad he doesn’t have to choose one or the other. I’m glad that Ali’s able to keep his commitment both to the team and to his faith, and I think he sets a great example for the team in that he doesn’t allow running and other major commitments to sabotage each other; rather, he maintains a flexible, positive attitude. That said, Ramadan ends a couple days before the Liberty League Championships, and I bet he’s looking forward to the first gulp of water at the finish line.