Marathon Runners in Israel, Too !

 Nadene Goldfoot                                             

Yes, Israel has a vibrant marathon culture with elite runners competing internationally and several major local events, such as the Tel Aviv Marathon and Jerusalem Marathon. Elite Israeli runners like Maru Teferi, Gashau Ayale, and Lonah Chemtai Salpeter have won medals at the European Athletics Championships and World Athletics Championships.  A recent marathon: The recent major, large-scale marathon in Israel was the 15th International Winner Jerusalem Marathon, rescheduled to take place on Friday, April 17, 2026. This event includes a full marathon, half-marathon, 10k, and shorter community races through historic Jerusalem. 

Volcano Race (Rishon LeZion): May 29, 2026 (includes various distances).

Eilat Desert Marathon: November 27, 2026.

Tel Aviv Marathon: February 26, 2027. 

In 2025, Israel's men's team won gold and the women's team won silver at the European Athletics Championships in Brussels.  

Key Marathon Events in Israel:

• Tel Aviv Marathon: Known for being a fast and flat course along the Mediterranean coast.
• Jerusalem Marathon: Known for running through a historic, hilly city.
• Bible Marathon: Held annually in Rosh Haayin.
• Desert Marathon: A challenging race ending on the Red Sea Shore. 
• : Elite Israeli Runners:
  
  
  
  • Maru Teferi: Teferi was born in Dangila, Ethiopia, and is Jewish. He was born to an Ethiopian-Jewish family August 17, 1992 and is now 34.   He immigrated to Israel at the age of 14 in 2006 along with most of his family. Maru made history as the first Israeli to medal at a world championship, winning silver in the 2023 World Athletics Championship marathon. He is an Israeli marathon and half marathon runner, and an Olympian. He won a silver medal in men's marathon at the 2023 World Athletics Championships, a silver medal in marathon at the 2022 European Athletics Championships, a gold medal in the 2022 European Marathon Cup, and the gold medal at the 2022 Fukuoka Marathon. He represented Israel at the 2016 Summer Olympics in the men's marathon, and again represented Israel at the 2020 Summer Olympics in the 2020 Olympic Marathon. He has set Israeli records in both the marathon and half marathon. Teferi represented Israel at the 2024 Paris Olympics in the Men's marathon, and came in 26th.
    
    
    
  • Lonah Chemtai-Salpeter: A highly decorated Olympic runner who won the 2020 Tokyo Marathon, bronze at the 2022 World Championships, and finished 3rd at the 2023 Boston Marathon.  Lonah Korlima Chemtai Salpeter (Hebrew: לונה צ'מטאי-סלפטר, née Chemtai, born 12 December 1988) now 38 is an Israeli Olympic runner. Born in Kenya, she represents Israel internationally. She won the bronze medal in the marathon at the 2022 World Athletics Championships. At the European Athletics Championships in the 10,000 metres, Salpeter won the gold medal in 2018, and earned a bronze medal in 2022. She won the 2020 Tokyo Marathon, won the silver medal at the 2022 New York City Marathon, and finished third at the 2023 Boston Marathon.
    
                                        
    
                     2024 Summer Olympics
  • Gashau Ayale: Won gold for Israel's team at the 2025 European Athletics Championships and has been a top finisher in elite international races.Ayale was born in the village of Gojam in Ethiopia to Tabak (his father) and Tesfia (his mother), and is Jewish. He was born into the Beta Israel ethno-religious community of Ethiopian Jews. Fellow Israeli long-distance runner and Ethiopian Jew 

    Ayale immigrated to Israel in 2010, at 13 years of age, with his parents and five brothers. They initially lived in an absorption center in Safed, Israel, and then later the family moved to Jaffa, Israel. (I was living in Safed when the first Ethiopians came to our

  •  city.)   His father worked as a cook, and his mother as a cleaner. He began running at 18, after initial interest in soccer. He trains with Maccabi Tel Aviv.

  • Gashau Ayale (Hebrew: גשאו איילה; born 22 August 1996) 30 years old, is an Israeli long-distance runner. In May 2022, Ayale set an Israeli record in the 10,000 metres, running 27:49.88. He won the bronze medal in the marathon at the European Athletics Championships, and a gold medal in the 2022 team European Marathon Cup. In February 2024, he won a bronze medal at the Seville Marathon with a time of 2:04:53, setting a new Israeli record. Ayale represented Israel at the 2024 Paris Olympics in the Men's marathon, and came in 31st.
    
    
    
  • Beatie Deutsch: age 37, A prominent Israeli national champion known as the "marathon mother" for winning titles while being a mother of five.Bracha “Beatie” Deutsch (Hebrew: ברכה "ביטי" דויטש; née Rabin; born August 29, 1989) is an American-Israeli marathon runner. She has won the Tiberias Marathon and the Jerusalem Marathon, as well as the Israeli half-marathon and marathon national championships. In 2024, a documentary of her life called Marathon Mom was released.

  • Deutsch was born in the United States, the oldest of five siblings, grew up in Passaic, New Jersey, and emigrated to Israel in 2008. Her father is a doctor. She has a master's degree in school counseling from Northeastern University, as well as a black belt in taekwondo.

    A religious woman, Deutsch lives in Moshav Neve Michael in central Israel with her husband Michael, a yeshiva teacher and computer science student whom she married in 2009, and their five children. Before she committed herself to running, Deutsch worked full-time as a communication officer for the non-denominational Olami international Jewish outreach organization, which brings college students closer to religion and helps professionals get in touch with their roots by coming to Israel.