With the Jerusalem Marathon 2014 just 4 months away, members of Team Yachad are already training. In mid-November 800 Yachad supporters made their way to Ganei Yehoshua in north Tel Aviv for the first Running in Color 5 km race.
This year’s Running in Color had an estimated 3,000 participants. The largest group was 1,000 IDF soldiers. Next largest was the Yachad contingent with about 800 runners. This was enough for Yachad to have its own heat in the race.
Left: Team Yachad runners start the 5 km Running in Color Race in Tel Aviv. Daniel Haul from Jerusalem is on the left.
While 5 kms (3 mi) is far from a marathon, Team Yachad supporters were ready to enjoy the Tel Aviv sunshine that provided a perfect background for the race.
For those not familiar with Color Runs, at certain points along the route, runners go through portals where people throw a special non-staining colored powder on them. By the time Team Yachad runners arrived at the final color portal on Friday, many of them had enhanced the color of their t-shirts, faces, and just about everywhere one could imagine. Some of the runners were so immersed in Running in Color that they rolled around on the ground to become even more colorful.
Color Runs are definitely “fun runs.” Some of the Team Yachad runners came in costumes which were enhanced by special “I Love Yachad Israel” sunglasses. By the time the race was over, almost everyone was covered in a variety of colors.
“Events like Running in Color increase awareness of the important work Yachad does in the US and in Israel,” says Yoel Sterman, Director of Yachad Israel. “The idea is to give our runners a sense of purpose that makes the run more meaningful.”