3- First Race

For most members of the group, a 10-kilometer run was the minimum distance they covered on weekends. Keeping up with them wasn’t exactly extremely difficult, but it was certainly challenging. I looked for anyone among them who ran less than ten kilometers so I could find an excuse to stop, but my efforts were in vain. That really was the minimum. I managed to run ten kilometers for several consecutive Fridays before finally stopping, after exhaustion got the better of me and following lengthy internal debates about whether to stop sooner.

After a few weeks, I started increasing the distance—eleven, twelve kilometers—and I heard from one of the young men that most of the group members were going to participate in the ultra Marathon The Dead Sea, which takes place every year in March, some of them participated in Race The 50-kilometer ultra-marathon—which is the term used for races longer than the standard 42-kilometer marathon—and the other group participated in the half-marathon, which is 21 kilometers long. As for me, a novice runner, I decided to join them in my first race, but for a distance of 10 kilometers, in line with my abilities—for, as the saying goes, “God has mercy on those who know their limits.”

The atmosphere of running races has a special feel to it—it’s full of excitement and enthusiasm. I felt like I was the least prepared of all the participants, each of whom was busy warming up, Standing at the starting line of the 10-kilometer race, I felt like I was about to face running champions. I warmed up while watching the ultra-marathon and half-marathon runners pass by on the street adjacent to the starting line of the race I was participating in, and I wondered, “Is it possible for me to do this at 43 years old?” My inner dialogue didn’t last long, as the race organizers announced that the 10-kilometer race was about to start. I got ready, and we set off—dozens of runners took off. I felt that most of them were running as fast as they could, and I knew from my previous training that if I did the same, I wouldn’t be able to finish the race. But that exciting atmosphere undoubtedly drew me in, and I found myself running at a faster pace than I was used to. I berated myself a lot during the race for running so fast—and for even participating in the first place—and for what I’d put myself through. Still, I kept going until the finish line and completed the distance in under an hour in my very first race, earning a participation medal awarded to everyone who crosses the finish line.

Read the story of The First 10 Kilometers

Team Running Amman