Posted on 03/20/16
Jerusalem, Israel - Mar. 21, 2016 - The sixth International Jerusalem Marathon started early in the morning under threatening skies on Friday, March 18, 2016. The full marathon with a separate finish line, attracted an international group of runners from 60 countreis, consisting of 194 women and 1068 men. Three runners from Kenya won the full men's marathon.
Many major streets were closed to traffic from early morning until noon and some near the Sacher Park finish lines, until 1:30 pm. The inconvenience is not appreciated by large numbers of Jerusalem residents.
However, beside the full marathon, numerous other races attracted close to 30,000 runners and tens of thousands more supporters. For the half-marathon, 995 women and 3080 men were officially registered. The 10 K race was popular, with 2893 women and 4471 men participating. Smaller "community" races attracted children and those with disabilities. One race features three-wheel cycles.
For exercise, sport, or because there was nothing else to do that day, the Sacher Park filled with families, who enjoyed music and entertainment. The sun came out and the day warmed up, though some spots in the park remained muddy from the previous rainy weather.
One of the positive aspects of this growing annual event is the large sums raised for dozens of charities and good causes in Israel and the US. Among those highlighted in the photo essay are; ALEH, AMIT, Camp HASC, Camp Koby, Crossroads, Darkeinu, Dror, Emunah, Kav L'Naor, Keren Or, Merkas Panim, Shalva, Team Shira of AACI, OneFamily, Yachad, and Zevet Daniel. New this year was Run4Purple, a group of students organized to raise funds in memory of terror victim, Ezra Shwartz, Hy'd, z"l.
