Have you ever considered fasted running? Chances are,
if you've ever gone out for an early morning run before you've had breakfast,
then you may have already tried it.
Or maybe you're one of the tens of thousands of Muslim runners around the world
who every year run fasted for the whole month of Ramadan,
not eating anything or drinking anything from the moment the sun rises until it sets.
I'll be taking a look at some of the benefits and drawbacks of running whilst
fasted, as well as speaking to multi-marathoner
Haroon Mota who shares some of his experiences of running during Ramadan
and his top tips.
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Fasted running literally means running after a period of fast.
Now it takes between 10 and 14 hours for your body to enter a
fasted state. When you are in a fasted state,
your glycogen levels are depleted,
meaning your body often has to turn to an alternative source of energy -
usually fat stores. Converts to fasted running claim a number of different
benefits from a change in body composition,
to an improvement in performance. Now, with these benefits,
there is a lot of ambiguity because a lot of it is anecdotal,
and so isn't proven that it was directly related to fasted
running. However,
there are a number of physiological benefits to fasted running. Fasted
running encourages mitochondrial biogenesis,
which in simple terms
means the amount of mitochondria in our body increases and therefore
improves our overall energy processes.
Fasted running can enhance our body's ability to burn fat as
fuel. It can also improve the regulation of insulin,
the hormone that is used to mobilise carbohydrates for fuel. This
in turn can lead to lower blood sugar levels at rest,
which in the longer term can help to prevent things like diabetes
and cardiovascular disease. Fasted running can also lead to autophagy,
which is where your body gets rid of damaged or dysfunctional cells and
recycles parts of them that are usable to create new, healthy ones.
We know that fasted running isn't for everyone though.
While some people may experience the benefits that we've described,
others report feeling low-mood and low-energy.
There are also other health conditions to take into consideration when it
comes to fasted running such as diabetes. And if you're unsure,
we would suggest that you do check with a doctor before trying anything new.
If you do too much fasted running, it can mess with your carbohydrate metabolism,
which can inhibit higher intensity performance leading to a slower race pace.
Fasted running can also increase the time it takes to recover after a run,
meaning you may have to take longer breaks in between each run in order for your
body to fully recover.
And it isn't guaranteed that your body will turn from using your glycogen
stores to using your fat stores whilst running fasted.
So you may experience a breakdown of protein,
which in turn can lead to a breakdown in strength.
Other things that could be affected by fasted running include your
immune system,
or you may experience changes or disruptions to your menstrual cycle.
So it's not a one size fits all for everyone. We'd recommend experimenting
if you're keen to give it a try and you have no other underlying health
conditions that it might affect, and keep a log of how you feel after and
during and before every single run that you do fasted so that you can
keep a note of any particular patterns.
For some people, a period of fasting isn't a choice -
it's a way of life that happens every year. Of course,
I'm talking about the Muslim running community when they're observing Ramadan.
So eating and drinking nothing from the moment the sunrises until it sets.
So to get the experiences from one of the Muslim community,
I come to meet Haroon Mota, award-winning fundraiser,
and multi-marathoner to pick his brains and get some tips for fasted running.
Today's day eight of Ramadan, I believe.
And Ramadan is going really well. It's actually flying by,
in terms of the training I've been doing so far,
I've been running 10 kilometers every day, just nice and easy plodding along.
Uh, however, yesterday, day seven, was my first rest day. I didn't need it,
but I think it's just sensible just to give yourself a bit of rest.
It is difficult to push yourself extremely hard to the level where it can be
sickening, trying to force yourself to run very, very fast.
I don't even do any tempo or interval sessions. Uh,
and I definitely wouldn't consider racing. I mean, last year,
the London Marathon clashed with Ramadan for the first time,
of course it was canceled because of lockdown. However,
I decided not to run the London Marathon simply because it clashed with the month
of Ramadan.
Firstly, it's so important just to be sensible and to listen to your body.
You don't want to be pushing yourself too hard when you don't have enough energy
in your body. If you're used to training four or five times a week,
you might just miss one of them sessions.
Perhaps you might want to substitute it with a bit of core strength
training or flexibility. Uh,
these are fundamentals for runners that are often neglected.
So perhaps the month of Ramadan is a perfect time to work on your weaknesses
and focus on some of the aspects of training that we tend to
ignore. Hydration is paramount, whether you're fasting or not,
but if you're fasting and not having food or drink for 16 hours,
it's even more important to make sure that you're drinking at least three to
four liters of water. You're not just replacing water loss during the day,
but the fluid loss that you lose whilst running is very important to replace.
You should be tailoring your runs, uh, based on your ability of course,
and based on what your goals are. Um,
so you just want to slow it down and slowing down can mean reducing the
distance you're going to run, uh, reducing your intensity. Um,
when I'm reducing my intensity, I'm looking at, uh,
very much a plod. It's about running at a level of exertion -
well, minimal exertion -
where you feel like you're actually not working out and you might think,
why am I actually doing this? I'm actually walking,
but I think it's important to work at that level where your heart rate is really
low. So as with all diets, it's important just to maintain balance,
however, whilst fasting, give a greater priority to your carbohydrate intake.
So stock up on your, your pasta, your rice, your potatoes.
These will not just give you the ability to last the fast,
but also the energy to fuel your runs.
There's no best time to exercise in the month of Ramadan.
We all have our preferences. For me,
My preference is to train about an hour before sunset.
This allows me to complete my run and then be prepared to eat and drink
immediately, so that I'm replacing my energy and my hydration instantly.
However, you should try,
try and do what works for you rather than copying others. Uh,
whether that's training in the night after your night prayers or training as
early as pre-dawn breakfast or squeezing it in your
afternoon, uh,
in between your lunch hour or early in the morning before work.
Sleep and rest are absolutely important while fasting.
When you're fasting for the month of Ramadan,
your sleep is very much turned upside down and you're, you're waking up at
different hours, sleeping at different hours. And sometimes it becomes very,
very challenging to get rest.
So even if that means getting short afternoon naps,
try and prioritize that, schedule that in your day,
whether it's fitting that during work, working time or however else you
can, it will really make a difference and make you feel a bit more energized.
Before I head out for my run, I already have prepared on my table,
the food and the items that I need to consume post-fast.
So these are my dates, my electrolytes,
my one litre bottle of water and some of the energy bars that I like to
consume. It's the same for breakfast as well. Uh, I'll have done
my pre-Ramadan shopping. So, uh, my, my oats, my Weetabix, my bananas.
It's uh, important to prepare.
The last thing you want to do is get to the table and you're missing a banana
for breakfast
when you know that you're going to need that slow-release energy through the day.
There are a number of ways that the running community can show
support to Muslim runners who are fasting. Firstly, by wishing Ramadan Mubarak.
It's a great way just to show appreciation to Ramadan.
If you have Muslim runners as friends,
perhaps you could offer to go and join them for a fasted run,
or maybe you even want to try what a day in Ramadan feels like.
So you might want to try a fast or even half a fast just to experience
Ramadan. And of course, charity's a massive pillar in the month of Ramadan.
Many Muslims are required to give to charity and also volunteer their
time to support good causes.
You might like to support some of the causes that are being supported by fellow
Muslim runners. Additionally,
if you're interested in knowing more and getting involved further,
I have recently launched the Ramadan Challenge 3.0 through the charity
Penny Appeal, where I work.
It's a fantastic opportunity to get active whilst fasting in the month of Ramadan.
Similar to the 2.6 challenge,
just using numbers three and zero and run three kilometers, run 30 minutes,
hop on one leg for 30 minutes or do something fun,
wacky, tacky, and raise money for a good cause as well.
Check it out.
Some really great tips from Haroon there. We really hope that you have found them
useful too. So will you be giving fasted
running a go now or perhaps you'll be getting involved in supporting the Muslim
running community
in one of the ways that Haroon mentioned during this special time of year.
Or are you a fasted running regular and you've got some other tips to share?
Whatever it is,
please do leave it in the comments below and we'll see you next time on
The Running Channel. Ramadan Mubarak.