The ninth annual Jerusalem Winner Marathon attracted a record 40,000 runners from 80 countries who took over the streets of the capital last Friday while thousands of onlookers cheered them on.
While the Jerusalem run has its professional side and attracts many elite runners (Ronald Kimeli Kurgat, 33, from Kenya tore through the course to take first place at the finish line in 02:18:47), the event is also a community carnival, promoting the holy city as a place open to all.
This year, two American organizations, RabbisCanRun and Run for Zion, a Christian group, sponsored runners to take part. Runners from both groups raised money for a variety of Israeli social-service needs.
Rabbi Ben Hassan, 36, religious leader of the Sephardic Bikur Holim Congregation in Seattle, who describes himself as “very unathletic,” completed the 10K in a respectable 1:24 and raised almost $8,000 for Olami, a Jewish outreach initiative that sponsors RabbisCanRun. Other rabbis who ran under the RabbisCanRun banner raised funds for Kav L’Noar, a counseling and mentoring program for youth in distress.
Elizabeth Wong, 38, a self-described Christian Zionist from Phoenix and veteran of 10 marathons, said the Jerusalem race, which she finished in 5:31:11, was the “hardest, yet most amazing and breathtaking marathon I’ve ever run.” The 18 hills of the full marathon course were challenging, she noted, despite her running experience.
Wong, an advisory board member of Run for Zion, said she raised $3,500 for Israeli nonprofits, including Meir Panim and Just One Life.
Hassan and Wong agreed that running in Jerusalem is not just a physical challenge. “It feels like a gift from God,” Hassan noted, while Wong explained that running past some of Jerusalem’s religious sites was “filled with spiritual meaning. I can’t think of any more spiritual place to run.”
‘One foot in front of the other’
Run for Zion is a project of the Israel-based Genesis 123 Foundation, headed by Efrat resident Jonathan Feldstein. Feldstein, an observant Jew, is not a runner, but his mission is to connect Jews and Christians, and Christians to Israel. Run for Zion embodies that in many ways, he said.
In his appeal to runners, Feldstein wrote: “If you’re a Christian and a runner, Run for Zion provides the most profound and spiritual experience, combined with a tangible opportunity to bless Israel. Every participant gets the opportunity to set up a crowdfunding page with donations going to support an array of charities in Israel that care for millions.”
Feldstein added that “we are excited because God promises to bless those who bless Israel. Run for Zion is your unique opportunity to tangibly bless Israel, and see Israel as most never get to do, running in the footsteps of Jesus.”
One American pastor who took up the challenge is Ray Hardee, senior pastor of the Pointe Church, in Belmont, N.C. An avid runner, Hardee completed the full Jerusalem Marathon in 5:17:20. He thanked those who donated to his Run For Zion page that “support[s] causes of assisting Holocaust survivors, supporting the Right to Life in Israel, helping in the Aliyah of Jews longing for home, helping homeless people, and uniting Christians and Jews!”
For the 13 Orthodox rabbis who make up the RabbisCanRun team, the emphasis is as much on personal and spiritual growth as on fundraising. “It sounds preposterous that you can take a bunch of rabbis, who are not known for being fit, train them for a few months and get them to run more than 6 miles,” marvels Hassan.
But under the guidance of a professional coach, Dr. Owen Anderson, Hassan and his fellow rabbis, who range in age from 20s to 60s, progressed in three months from running for one minute to pushing themselves to assault Jerusalem’s hills for many miles.
“We didn’t walk any of it,” Hassan said with pride at the end of the race. “It’s all about believing in yourself and putting one foot in front of the other. I think we achieved the goal to improve our health, learn how to push past our limits, all while raising money to support worthwhile Israeli causes.”
The brainchild of Meir Kaniel, a running enthusiast and social worker from New Jersey who works as IT director for Olami, RabbisCanRun provided tangible ongoing motivational support and running tips for the rabbis, along with inspiration from the Torah.