What I personally do during Ramzan (the holy month of fasting for Muslims, also pronounced as Ramadan, or Ramazan) is to do my runs either just before breaking fast (say running 30 mins and then break the fast), or otherwise a couple of hours after breaking the fast. Advantage of running before the fast break is that it saves time, you get to have food immediately after the run, and then you don’t need to be worried about going for a run later in the evening. Many muslims go for prayers after breaking the fast and it would be difficult to run after the fast when doing that.
The key things when I run during fasting is to make sure I am not pushing myself. The run has to be really easy. On occasions, I have even run 2 hours before the fast break, quickly had food in the running place (park) itself, and then went ahead for another couple of hours or so. So, for me, its not a big challenge, maybe my body is used to the stress, and can run longer distances without feeling the exertion. But, everything changes when you increase speed, in which case your body temperature, and the rate of water loss will both go up, and which should be avoided. So, any speed runs are best left to post fasting.
In short, for most runners:
- Run slow
- Try to keep your runs to max 30 mins
- If running before fast break, plan your run so that you can break your fast immediately after the run
- Fast running should only be attempted later in the evening after breaking the fast
Btw, last Sat was a unique experience. Did 8*400 repeats at really fast pace for me in the morning 6am kinds. Did not feel too bad through the day, even after the intense experience during a fast.
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