Dubai-based athlete and desert explorer Max Calderan has covered 78 kms in sweltering heat during his 15-hour Ramadan “fasting run” at Al Qudra Lakes recently.
The run, according to Calderan, was designed to make a statement about the limitless possibilities about the human mind and spirit, the importance of food and water and the necessity of exercise during the Holy Month of Ramadan by running and walking as many kms as possible in the hours between Suhoor and Iftar, all while fasting.
For Calderan, the trek — which began at 3.56 am and ended at 7.07 pm on Friday — was very tough.
“The main difficulty was finding the capability to manage the increasing temperatures and distance in kms in relation to increasing dehydration. It is like an algorithm, the management of the body,” he said.
Despite the difficulties and extreme heat — which hovered around 50 degrees Celsius in the afternoon — Calderan said that he felt reinvigorated by the end of the journey.
“I was surprised. Once I arrived at the end, I was tired, but yet my body was still full of energy. It was like going through a full-body cleanse. I wasn’t as thirsty or hungry as I thought I would be. I was just having some difficulty talking because my mouth was so dry,” he added.
“The first hour was worse than the final run. When I finished the run, I drank a half litre of lemon mint without sugar. I wasn’t hungry at all, and I didn’t eat anything until the following day. My body told me that I was okay, and my mind was working at 1000 kms a minute,” he further added.
During the event, four other athletes and one of their sons, a six-year old who accompanied Calderan and his father for the last km, accompanied Calderan at various intervals.
Calderan said that he hopes the event — along with other similarly arduous feats of endurance he has accomplished in the past — shows that anything is possible, with proper planning and mindset.
“We can really push our limits to unexpected places as they don’t exist, except when we don’t try to do something. The combination of training and fasting, done properly, is something that can boost the unknown side of our body,” he said.
“We must have a full understanding and totally set-up our bodies. Everything works better if we deeply know our starting point. However, nothing is impossible if we feel that we can do it,” he added.
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