New format announced for Tel Aviv marathon due to coronavirus

Multiple routes and tracking app to be used on February 19 amid pandemic, with motto of ‘All running together separately’

By HANNAH BROWN
IN A creative nod to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Tel Aviv Marathon will take place this month, albeit with a modified format and all participants being registered via a newly unveiled app. (photo credit: TEL AVIV-JAFFA MUNICIPALITY/COURTESY)
IN A creative nod to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Tel Aviv Marathon will take place this month, albeit with a modified format and all participants being registered via a newly unveiled app.
(photo credit: TEL AVIV-JAFFA MUNICIPALITY/COURTESY)
This past year has been unlike any other in so many ways and the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality just announced that it is adapting its annual marathon to the coronavirus reality.
The 13th Samsung Tel Aviv Marathon will take place on February 19, but it will be different in many ways from the usual event. There will not be a single course, but many routes, to avoid congestion. Runners need to register online on the municipality’s website and download an app that will monitor their progress on the day of the event.
This year’s motto is, “All running together separately.” There will be an online opening ceremony broadcast on the app, but the participants will choose which route they want to take and will run it on their own. As usual, participants can choose among running a full marathon, a half marathon or a 10- or five-kilometer race.
It is possible to run the marathon from outside Tel Aviv and people have registered from 33 countries, including the United Arab Emirates, the Netherlands, Sweden, India, USA, England, Chile, Poland, Germany, Ireland, Portugal, Mexico, France, Bulgaria, Russia, Turkey, Brazil and more. About 20,000 participants have already registered. The Jerusalem Marathon, which normally takes place in March, is planned for October 29, 2021.
Kits for marathon runners who have registered consisting of T-shirts, bags, a number, a medal and other gifts can be picked up at various distribution points around Tel Aviv and other cities in Israel. The kits can be mailed to those running overseas.
While everyone understands the need for a different format this year, some were concerned the experience would lack the fun of the usual event, where the thousands of participants run alongside each other, Tel Aviv residents line the route to cheer and give out water and top musicians serenade the runners and spectators.
Mayor Ron Huldai said in a statement: “Tel Aviv-Jaffa will not stop running! Despite the challenging times, the 13th Tel Aviv Marathon will take place and – like every year – Tel Aviv-Jaffa will sport its tracksuits and running clothes for the city’s flagship sports event. Tel Aviv-Jaffa has always been a city that has enabled and encouraged its residents to take part in sports activities, and we are happy that we continue to see a large number of runners on the city’s streets today. We will not all begin from the same starting point this year, but we will still feel together on the day of Israel’s largest sports festival. You are all invited to register for a suitable distance for you, and to take part in a running experience in a unique format.”
Ronen Salem, VP Marketing of Samsung Israel, said: “The Tel Aviv Samsung Marathon will break boundaries this year, taking place for the first time in a digital format and tens of thousands of runners participating across the country. Samsung is proud to lead the largest sports event in Israel again this year, and to encourage runners to reach their limit of their abilities. I wish all the runners luck and primarily good health.”
Netali Tzubery, a Tel Aviv resident who usually participates in the event, said she had hesitated before registering  but that she had decided she was going to take part. “The feeling will be very different this year,” she said. “It will be very weird. People said to me, ‘Why are you paying money to register? It will just be like running by yourself in the park.’… But I thought about it and I thought it could be fun. If they can do the Oscars and the Emmys in an empty room, we can do the marathon like this.”
For more information and to register for the Samsung Tel Aviv Marathon, please visit https://www.tlvmarathon.co.il/


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