One of the reasons I wanted to start this blog (which I’ll eventually start using…probably) is because I love reading other people’s race recaps! It’s so much fun and exciting, and also, I like checking out the race medals/swag, to see if I want to run that race. 😛
In addition, I’ve noticed a serious lack of race recaps for races in Israel, which is especially relevant for me…because next month, I’m moving to Israel!
YEP! I’m fulfilling a lifelong dream, and making Aliyah/gaining Israeli citizenship and moving to Israel. There are a lot of races in Israel, albeit mostly from October-March, due to the weather. Everything from 5Ks to ultras…Israel’s got it.
But it doesn’t have much in English…While most Israelis speak at least some English, and you can 100% get around in major cities by only speaking English, there are some limitations. To be fair, it does depend on the industry…but from what I’ve seen from my extensive Googling, Hebrew is a crucial part of the running community.
This means a few things:
My blog can address an unmet need in the running community, and I can contribute/build a social media audience!
If I want to be a runner in Israel/an Israeli runner, I need to speak Hebrew.
My calendar is already full of races in Israel (and a few in Europe, for good measure), and I can’t wait to see how Israeli races compare to US races, as well as other international races I’ve done (Lima, Peru and Tokyo, Japan). There’s a good mix of distances, which I appreciate because although I loved the two marathons I’ve run, my body disagrees. Although I haven’t run a half marathon since March, I’m very confident that I can bang out that distance on any given day…there wouldn’t be a PR, but I know I can finish. And a 10K or 5K? Even better!
Today, I went down a wormhole and found several races that I look forward to running this fall/winter, like any obsessive runner. Big deal, you might think…so you’re type A and obsessed with Google calendar…join the club.
…אבל חיפשתי בשביל כל המירוצים בעברית, והבנתי רוב מ75% של הפרטים…
…But I searched in Hebrew and understood over 75% of the details…
I’m not fluent in Hebrew (I’m going to take classes when I arrive), but I can speak/read/write. And for whatever reason, I usually downplay my skills, even though I’ve worked very hard to improve my Hebrew, and I’m very proud of my abilities. So the fact that I was able to spend a few hours pouring over race sites, finding races that seem interesting (due to location and whether they offer a medal, usually) was A Big Deal.
And now my brain hurts.
This was a rambling, semi-incoherent way of saying that I didn’t forget I made a blog, and that I’m working on future content!
Comments