13/03/2024
Running the 10K at the Jerusalem Marathon this past Friday was an incredible experience. 40,000 runners in total (for all the races) - 9,000 at the 10K - many of whom were running to support a variety of causes. There were people running in memory of fallen soldiers and victims of terror, others running to highlight the plight of the hostages, and in support of numerous other groups from first responders, people with various disabilities, lone soldiers and many more.
There were people running in various costumes (Purim is coming up)... I think I was outrun by a dinosaur which doesn't bode well for me being in Jurassic Park 38.
Running into the Old City - putting my best foot forward of course - was not my usual way of entering, and it was exciting for me - I felt my heart flutter for a moment. We then headed down into the valley of hell (gei hinnom). Someone from the hostages' forum gets an A+ from this tour guide for the sign hanging on the bridge above the road "save them from the depths of hell."
In the end, the thought that stayed with me was that the Greeks invented the marathon (or the modern Olympics did - the ancient ones didn't have runs more than 5K). Either way it was about celebrating the body. In Jerusalem, we transformed it into a way to elevate the soul. I was glad to do my part (and to raise over $1000 for tzedakah - thank you to my sponsors) - and while my body is sorely aching (maybe doing some training first would have been advisable), my soul has been completely uplifted.
Here are some photos from the marathon - I actually made it into one of the official photos used in many of the news articles 🙂.
