We all love stories about athletes overcoming hardships to achieve great things, and the recently completed Muslim holy month of Ramadan provided many examples of endurance resulting in success.

One notable moment was the UConn men’s basketball team’s winning run in the NCAA Tournament, which overlapped with the first weeks of Ramadan. The Huskies were led by junior co-captain Adama Sanogo, who was named the Final Four’s most outstanding player and notched a double-double in the championship game against San Diego State — feats he accomplished while fasting from sunup to sundown as required during Ramadan.

Muslims believe that during the holy month, the first verses of the Quran were revealed to the prophet Muhammad. Ramadan is a time therefore not just of sacrifice — faithful do not eat or drink anything while the sun is up — but also of increased prayer and spiritual reflection.

Sanogo, like many Muslims who’ve observed Ramadan since childhood, said in a New York Times interview last month that fasting is not a huge impediment to his active life. He and team trainers have figured out a system that allows him, as well as two of his teammates, to get the nutrition they need while also honoring their faith.

Even though these athletes say they’ve grown accustomed to fasting, it’s still hard to fathom from a non-Muslim perspective. The call to go without fluids seems like an especially high hurdle, but apparently it’s not insurmountable. (Sanogo told The Times that he relies on lip balm to ward off dry lips.)

This doesn’t mean that observing Ramadan is a walk in the park for every athlete. It can be a challenge when training for other big events — say, a major world marathon.

And yet, Sifan Hassan showed on Sunday at the London Marathon that even performance hiccups caused by limited training could be overcome.

Hassan, who won the elite women’s division in 2:18:33, prevailed in dramatic fashion. The Ethiopian-born Dutch runner kicked into high gear around the course’s final turn and sprinted toward the finish, passing two other athletes along the way — and that was just the last in a series of “did that really happen?” moments that would have derailed other competitors.

For one, Hassan had lingering hip pain that prompted her to stop — twice — during the race to stretch. As she approached the end, she wasn’t sure how far she was from the finish line. She also paused to hydrate at a water station only to be nearly run over by a motorbike.

Don’t assume these incidents mean Hassan is a rookie runner, though. In fact, she’s a dominant figure in middle-distance running with medals from the Tokyo Olympics in the 1,500-, 5,000- and 10,000-meter races. She holds records in the mile and 5-kilometer distances.

London was her first marathon, though, and the fact that training for it overlapped with Ramadan weighed on her mind.

In an interview with The New York Times before the race, Hassan said she could not train at an optimal level due to her fasting. That meant she also couldn’t practice things like how to stop to grab water, which led to the perilous motorbike situation.

She wasn’t sure if she would even finish the marathon, much less end up winning it all. As The Times reported in its post-event coverage, at a news conference after her victory Hassan demonstrated the mindset that powered her through and showed why she is an elite athlete.

“I learned to be patient and just to run your own race,” she said. “Just keep going as much as possible and maybe you will surprise yourself.”

These athletes’ experiences are just two among the many millions that concluded last week with the end of Ramadan. Their dedication to their faith even as they faced high-stakes situations is inspiring no matter what you believe.