29-year-old ultra-Orthodox mother of 5 wins Tiberias Marathon

 

 

 

 

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I honestly have no words to describe my race today in the Holy City of Teveria. Finished first, Israeli national champion, and in a time I never dreamed of 2:42!!! I always go into every race knowing Hashem is with me, but I felt His presence so strongly, I was wrapped in His loving embracing. This past week I've been listening to an amazing class from my mentor Rabbi Kelemen about tapping into our potential and realizing what we are capable of. Because at the end of the day we are put in this world to achieve a mission, and it's not just about we are meant to accomplish it's also about the bigger picture we are each part of, in revealing Hashem's glory in this world. Today's race was an opportunity for me to be that ambassador and reflect the gifts Hashem has given me. It was also an incredible lesson of Never Giving Up Hope and the power we have when we believe in ourselves. Going in to the race I was pretty confident I could finish as the national champion. I knew there was only one other female competitor signed up and I had a pretty good shot at beating her. As I reached the half-way point, I was surprised to see another women already coming back...and I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach. Well, I guess today is not going to be day I thought with a bit of disappointment. I recognized the woman as another outstanding Israeli athlete, a previous national champion who already did 2:37 this year. Although I felt bad about letting everyone down, I quickly tried to shift my perspective and focus on giving it my all and just doing the best job I could. I had been conservative the first half, and after reaching the half way point I decided to pick up the pace because I had nothing to lose. The 3rd woman had dropped behind and now I was on my own. I started running faster, trying to see if I could catch up to the next person in front. In my head I wondered whether I would be able to maintain the pace and whether it was too crazy. Instead I kept repeating, "Hashem is with my every step of the way, anything is possible." At that point, I told myself that I'm not ready to give up on the race yet and it's not over until the finish line. (Continued in comments)

A post shared by Beatie Deutsch (@marathonmother) on Jan 4, 2019 at 6:12am PST

 

 

 

 

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#tbt (or more accurately #flashbackfriday for me ) to the finish line of my very first race ever, the TLV marathon in February 2016. After four months of training, and having never run a marathon in my life, I trusted my husband and took the bold and scary move to pursue a 3:30 marathon. I remember feeling like I was about to dive into waters above my head and didn't know how to swim. How did I even think it would be possible to hold an 8 min pace for 26.2 miles?? And yet I chose to push myself... And here I am at the finish line, at 3:26, sprinting past the runner who was ahead of me, with all the energy I had reserved inside of me. Because that potential was there... But I only realized it when I challenged myself. In two weeks from tomorrow, I'll be running my fourth marathon... I'm pushing myself to take a risk again because I know that no one ever gets anywhere by taking the easy road... And if I wanna achieve my dreams I'm ready to risk failing... To feel pain... To not know if I'm going to make it...but first I'm going give it all I got. I'm ready to push past my comfort zone, because I know that if I hadn't done it three years ago I would never be where I am today. You won't ever know what you're capable of until you've tried... It may take a leap of faith, it may be challenging and uncomfortable but it will allow YOU to become the best version of yourself and experience true self-actualization. Every race tells a story, what's yours? #runspiration #selfactualization #motivation

A post shared by Beatie Deutsch (@marathonmother) on Dec 20, 2018 at 4:29pm PST