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Alame Haimro, 36, from Karnei Shomron, won the men\u2019s half-marathon at the Jerusalem \u201cWinner\u201d Marathon in a time of 1:07:3, April 17, 2026. Credit: Sportphotography.<\/p>\n
Bika Mintamer, 34, from Ramat Hasharon, finished first in the women\u2019s race with a time of 01:24:29.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Bika Mintamer, 34, from Ramat Hasharon, finished first in the women\u2019s race in the Jerusalem \u201cWinner\u201d Marathon in a time of 01:24:29, April 17, 2026. Credit: Sportphotography.<\/p>\n Runners from around the world\u2014including the United States, China, Argentina, the Philippines, South Africa and the Netherlands\u2014joined Israeli participants at the starting line near the Knesset.<\/p>\n Josh Lampel from Los Angeles traveled to Israel specifically to run his first full marathon in Jerusalem. After arriving earlier in the week, he completed the half-marathon course twice\u2014once in reverse\u2014to achieve the full distance after the official marathon race was canceled.<\/p>\n Originally scheduled for March 27, the event was postponed due to the war and later adjusted again, with start times moved earlier in the day. This year\u2019s race included five categories: a half-marathon, 10-kilometer race, 5-kilometer race, 1.7-kilometer family race and an 800-meter community race.<\/p>\n International participation was affected by the security situation. Shalva\u2014The Israel Association for Care and Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities, one of approximately 30 partner organizations, typically brings between 400 and 600 runners from abroad. This year, those participants were unable to attend, though Shalva representatives were present at Sacher Park with team members participating in other race categories.<\/p>\n ADI Disability Rehabilitation and Care Center residents did not participate in the community race this year, but the ADI Fleet inclusive running team returned in significant numbers.<\/p>\n Many runners said wartime conditions disrupted months of training, requiring physical and emotional adjustments.<\/p>\n \u201cThis hasn\u2019t been just \u2018three extra weeks to train,\u2019\u201d said Ilana Guttman, an experienced runner and coach who participated in the 10K with the Capital Runners club. \u201cIt significantly disrupts the entire training cycle.<\/p>\n \u201cAside from perhaps the coronavirus pandemic, this has been an unprecedentedly challenging time to train,\u201d she told JNS. \u201cBut our national spirit is to push forward under difficult circumstances, and that\u2019s what every runner at the starting line is doing.\u201d<\/p>\n Yaakov Zimmerman, a former lone soldier from New Jersey who has spent more than 800 days in reserve duty with a commando unit, ran his fourth marathon with the Michael Levin Base.<\/p>\n \u201cThe postponement disrupted both my routine and my motivation,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I\u2019ve learned through my army service that resilience is built in the hardest moments. Everything is in the mind.\u201d<\/p>\n Franco S., a recently discharged lone soldier from Argentina in the process of making aliyah, said the race represented both a personal milestone and connection to the support network that assisted him during his service.<\/p>\n \u201cI still had hope it would happen, and here we are,\u201d he said, noting the significance of running with the Lone Soldier Center in Memory of Michael Levin.<\/p>\n Yaffi Shmidman, a longtime participant, said frequent air-raid sirens and the need to remain close to bomb shelters made consistent training difficult. She ran with two of her children for Yachad, while her husband ran for Darkaynu.<\/p>\n \u201cRunning is how I decompress,\u201d she said. \u201cNot having that outlet, on top of everything else, definitely raised my stress levels.\u201d<\/p>\n Sahar Schatzberg, an eighth-grade student from Kibbutz Hamadia, participated in her first Jerusalem Marathon event with the OneFamily organization, alongside about 200 teenagers who have lost relatives to terrorist attacks or war. Her brother Almog Shalom was killed in Gaza in June 2024 when a booby-trapped building collapsed on his unit.<\/p>\n \u201cThe war has made me really stressed and anxious,\u201d she said. \u201cBut despite everything, it was important for me to show up and run. In times like these, we need to remind ourselves of the strength we have.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Bika](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776437593_782_.webp\")
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