For most members of the group, a 10-kilometer run was the minimum distance they covered on weekends. Keeping up with them wasn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After a few weeks, I started increasing the distance\u2014eleven, twelve kilometers\u2014and I heard from one of the young men that most of the group members were going to participate in the ultra Marathon<\/a> The Dead Sea, which takes place every year in March, some of them participated in Race<\/a> The 50-kilometer ultra-marathon\u2014which is the term used for races longer than the standard 42-kilometer marathon\u2014and 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\u2014for, as the saying goes, \u201cGod has mercy on those who know their limits.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The atmosphere of running races has a special feel to it\u2014it\u2019s 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, \u201cIs it possible for me to do this at 43 years old?\u201d My inner dialogue didn\u2019t last long, as the race organizers announced that the 10-kilometer race was about to start. I got ready, and we set off\u2014dozens 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\u2019t 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\u2014and for even participating in the first place\u2014and for what I\u2019d 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read the story of The First 10 Kilometers<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n