another name for love : jerusalem: Jerusalem Marathon!

So obviously I didn’t run the marathon. Considering I’ve run a total of TWO times since I got here in January, I thought I did pretty well finishing in a little over an hour for a 10K, which is a little over 6 miles. Pathetic, yet still proud. No shame.

before: a warm up run, my girls, and me with my SWEET shirt and number.

I’m SO glad I did it. We ran through rain, sun, sleet, and hail. As in, there was one point when I was running down a hill and there was ice hitting the back of my bare neck and the wind was pushing me down hill. It was the most exhilarating feeling to run through the Old City and the streets of this city I have come to love so much! I also loved running with these people- there were locals, my fellow students, and people from around the world who came just to run in this race. It’s the 2^nd time they’ve done the Jerusalem Marathon and I have a feeling it will definitely not be the last. I can see it becoming very popular. They did a good job with it. My favorite part: running next to a few Jews on our way UP to the Old City. So- “aliyah” means ascent. There were aliyahs in the history of Judaism, when they came in waves to Israel after the diaspora, and the term is also used when individual Jews come “up” to Jerusalem as a pilgrimage. These Jewish boys were running next to me and as we ascended the hill up to the Old City (a very holy place for them, and me…) they were yelling “Aliyah! Aliyah!”