The Jerusalem Winner Marathon will take place on erev Shabbos 22 Adar (March 9, 2018). Over 30,000 runners will participate in the 8th Jerusalem Marathon, which is expected to include a record-breaking number of approximately 4,000 runners from abroad. This year’s marathon is also expected to shatter the record for revenues gained by the city from the marathon at over 15 million NIS
The guest of honor, who will also be running the 10-km course: Olympic medalist and long-distance running world champion Haile Gebrselassie from Ethiopia
Last week, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat launched the 2018 Jerusalem Winner Marathon with a special event at Kedma Restaurant – against the backdrop of the Tower of David and the walls of the Old City.
The event saw the premiere of the Jerusalem Winner Marathon’s special pasta dish, prepared by international chef Shalom Kadosh, Yakir Jerusalem. Chef Kadosh oversaw the preparation of the pasta dishes for the event, inspired by the recipes of Israel’s president Ruvi Rivlin and his grandson Matan, Sports and Culture Minister Miri Regev, Mayor Nir Barkat, and Olympic medalist Ori Sasson.
Registration data shows that Jerusalem is the city for Israel’s marathon runners! The vast majority of runners in the full marathon course – 42.2 km – are Jerusalemites, three times the number of runners from Haifa, who rank second, followed by runners from Modi’in, Tel Aviv and Kfar Saba. The average age of runners taking on the full course is 43, whereas the average age of runners participating in the 10 km track is 32.
The data further indicates that most registrants (41%) are aged 30-49, 26% are under the age of 20 and 20% of the runners are over 50 (with the oldest participant being 82 years old!). The gender distribution between women and men is slightly weighted in men’s favor, at 57% to 43%, with the average age of male runners being 35 and female, 32. In total, over 30,000 people are expected to run in this year’s marathon.
The number of tourists expected to stay overnight in the capital over the marathon weekend will be approximately 10,000. The registration data, compared to the parallel data of last year, indicate an increase in the number of participants from abroad. From among those tourists who will arrive in Israel, the Jerusalem Municipality anticipates a record number of actual runners – approximately 4,000 people from about 50 countries, among them China, the United States, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Lithuania, and for the first time, representatives from Anguilla (located in the Northern Atlantic) and Réunion (a French Island located in the Indian Ocean). The list of cities who have sent the largest number of runners for the marathon is led by Hong Kong, followed by Los Angeles, Beijing and London.
One of the runners who will participate in the unique marathon, which passes through the capital’s landscapes and heritage sites, is none other than legendary long-distance runner Haile Gebrselassie. Gebrselassie holds two Olympic gold medals in 10,000-meter running and four world titles for that same distance, and he was the first in the world to break the 2:04 record for the marathon run. His participation in the marathon serves as an impressive recognition of the Jerusalem Winner Marathon’s prestige and importance in the eyes of the entire world.
“The Jerusalem Winner Marathon is a national sports event, which attracts not only families and sportspersons from Israel, but also serves as a focal point for foreign tourism,” said Mayor Nir Barkat, who runs in the event himself. He added, “thousands of tourists from 50 countries around the world are coming to experience the marathon as an unparalleled sport event and international festival, and come to experience Jerusalem as a top tourist destination.” Barkat noted that this year, the Jerusalem Winner Marathon is expected to provide a record revenue of 15 million NIS for the city’s businesses, hotels and culture and entertainment institution – in addition to over NIS 60 million, which the marathon has earned the city over the past seven years.
Registration for the marathon will close on Thursday, 7 Adar. This year, there will be six courses, offering a full marathon (42.2 km), half-marathon (21.1 km), 10 km, 5 km, a families race (1.7 km) and a communities race (800 meters) for people with special needs.
This year, the Jerusalem Municipality has decided to connect the many participants arriving from abroad and from all over Israel to the city of Jerusalem using a new and unique social project. Preparations for this year’s marathon saw the launch of the “guest runner” project – a new social project allowing Israeli participants to host, in their home, tourist runners from around the world, who will be coming to take part in Israel’s national marathon. This is a new initiative by the Jerusalem Municipality and the Sports Division, through which local and international marathon runners will have the option to visit the marathon’s Facebook page (in either Hebrew or English) and provide their general information as either a host or a guest. The production team will then facilitate the initial contact between the two parties via email, enabling them to contact each other.
According to Itzik Kornfein, Manager of the Sports Division in the Jerusalem Municipality: “The initiative is intended to allow marathon runners from abroad to experience Jerusalem in the most unique fashion possible – through its cordial and welcoming residents. I invite residents of Jerusalem, who are going to run in the marathon, to open their homes and hearts and to take part in the unique experience of hosting a running colleague from elsewhere in the world.”
Toto Lottery Chairman Yossi Pilos: “In recent years, sports in Jerusalem have enjoyed unprecedented growth, aided by the Toto Lottery and led by Mayor Nir Barkat. The Jerusalem Winner Marathon is a clear example of a sports event which, in recent years, has crossed boundaries and sectors. Runners from all over the world come to enjoy the magical vistas of Jerusalem, alongside social friendly societies from all sectors, who, through the sport, raise money and awareness for their causes. Not to mention the thousands of runners and families in the popular courses, which turn the marathon event into a big celebration of sports, creating connections within the community and leading to improvement in residents’ quality of life and health. When I speak of connection between sports and the community at large – the Jerusalem Winner Marathon is the clearest example!”
Michal Portman, CEO of New Balance Israel: “The Jerusalem Winner Marathon brings together runners from Israel and around the world for a challenging, touristic and spiritual experience. For the sixth year in a row now, New Balance will be a partner and sponsor of the marathon, and this year marks the first time in Israel that an official marathon shoe series is being launched to accompany the marathon: the “New Balance 800″ series. The decision to present a shoe series to accompany the Jerusalem Marathon arises from our familiarity with the runners’ needs and the desire to provide an advanced professional and high-quality response to the entire runner community in Israel. This is an innovation in the world of marathons, and as a company advocating innovation, we are happy to again be the ones who introduce this development. This shoe series will provide each of the runners with a safe, comfortable and pleasant running experience, among the stunning vistas of ‘the city that makes all people friends.'”
The Jerusalem Winner Marathon is run by the Jerusalem Municipality’s Sports Division, in collaboration with the Jerusalem Development Authority, with the support and assistance of the Ministry of Jerusalem and Heritage, the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Sports and Culture, and is sponsored by Toto Winner and New Balance. The marathon is produced by the Target Market company.
Additional sponsors of the marathon: The Mei Eden company, Shaare Zedek Medical Center, Maccabi Health Services, HaPoel Center, the Diesenhaus company, the GI 32 – Isotones company, the Municipal Road Traffic Safety Headquarters, Cinema City Jerusalem, Eldan, Garmin, Reidman College, Turkish Coffee, and Bezeq.
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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One Response
This is not an event we should be celebrating. Previous street closures on erev shabbos trapped us on our block (central Yerushalayim) , making shabbos purchases nearly impossible until late in the day. In promoting Yerushalayim as a venue for an international secular whoopeedo, the planners of this race showed callous disdain for Shabbos priorities, for the sanctity of Yerushalayim, and for the concerns of the huge Shabbos observant population.