Young Muslims run marathon even if hungry

They were hungry but they still ran a marathon.

In Marawi City, the holy month of Ramadan was an occasion to showcase a healthy lifestyle.

“We don’t just sleep during Ramadan like many are practicing, we are fasting to be healthy,” said Trekee Dayan of Tawi-Tawi, sports chief of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

“On the contrary, we feel energized during Ramadan, not bored, sleepy or less productive,” said Leah Mehila, a member of Young Moro Professionals Network, Northern Mindanao.

The ARMM has organized Ramadan sports festivals for the last three years to generate more support for Bangsamoro athletes.

This year, 200 joined the Ramadan Fun Run to push for ARMM athletes who will join the Batang Pinoy-Mindanao leg set in Koronadal City later this year.

ARMM athletes are slowly making a name for themselves in the country, dominating the 2013 Nestea Beach Volleyball Tournament.

In Tangkal, Lanao del Norte province, a former conflict zone, women and men also held a fun run to gather the residents in a show of solidarity toward peace-building.

Participants included police, Army personnel running side-by-side with former members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Filipino Muslim women are also participating in the fun runs and other sports events.

Women’s Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equality said that in the past many Muslim women had made their mark in the Olympics.

Among the more prominent Muslim women athletes is Nawal El Moutawakel of Morocco who won a gold medal in the 400-meter hurdles in the 1984 Olympics. El Moutawakel served as vice president on the International Olympic Committee, the first Muslim woman to do so. Ghada Shouaa, who represented Syria, won a gold medal in the heptathlon during the 1996 Summer Olympics.