Posted on 09/11/17
Jerusalem, Israel - Sept. 11, 2017 - A first-ever Jerusalem Women's Night Race was held on an unusually warm Monday night in Yerushalayim. Though originally announced as a marathon race, the event had two courses, 5 kilometers and 10 kilometers.
Street closings for the runners surprised some drivers, as the race was not widely known in advance. Security personal could be found at street corners in the areas around First Station and Emek Refaim Street.
Approximately two thousand women and girls ran. Mother and daughters, running groups from around Israel, came to participate. Also 50 volunteers from the municipality came to help with registration and distribution of water. For this race, the water bottles were larger than usual, and instead of cold water, the bottles felt like they were filled with hot water.
Winner of the 5K race was Ilana Guttman and Beatie Deutsch won the 10 K race.
Former Maryland residents and long-time Israelis, Chana Marwick Even-Chen and Dr. Zemira Weiselthier Woolf, were excited to greet their friend and former Hebrew Academy of Greater Washington classmate Dr Chavi Karkowsky, who came from Tel Aviv to participate.
On a Facebook post, Tzipporah Witty wrote, "Done!! Finished in approximately 1:15 and change, beating my best time by about seven minutes. Finished the last couple of kilometers with Rivka Zahava Witty learning Mishnayot over the phone."
Ah, Yerushaylaim, where else would you find women running a race at night while learning mishnayos?
