(VIDEO IN EXTENDED ARTICLE)

Har Nof resident and former American, Mrs. Beatie Deutsch, speaks with Yediot Achronot after becoming the first finisher among Israeli women in the Jerusalem Marathon earlier this month.

She speaks of the challenges of being the mother of four small children, running and keeping it all together. She admits that while always involved in sports, she only really began running three years ago.

At one point she told her husband, “This is it. I’m doing the marathon” and she did. She ran the marathon in Tel Aviv while seven months pregnant.

In the chareidi world, there is always a noise around something that is not the norm, but I think here, this is a Kiddush Hashem. I have a rav and consult with him. My husband escorted me part of the way and he admitted it was hard for him. I give all the credit to HKBH for he gave me the talent.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)