Meet the Beautiful and Talented Galit!
Running to My Next Dream
My name is Galit
Birenboim-Navon. I’m married and the mother of two wonderful girls. By
profession, I am Marketing Communications Manager
at the national airline of Israel. Several years ago, I felt the need to do something new, to take on
additional challenges. And I found them in running. I started at the very beginning, right from
kilometer 1, and slowly but surely worked up to a marathon distance. After internalizing the fact that I had a
marathon under my belt – and another and yet another – I realized that I was seeking
a different experience: it just didn’t satisfy me completely. Fortunately, and
entirely by chance, I learned about a new world – the ultra-marathon. And that
is how I was exposed to new experiences that light up my life.
Training in the trails, in
nature. Setting out in the darkness of night and finishing with the rising sun
and the light of day. After a period of training, the first goal was set, the dream
that was both great and frightening: running an ultra-marathon – 61 kilometers.
This was my first step in this
magnificent world. And from there I continued to run, to train and to compete.
What began as a hobby, became
part of who I am, a part of my body and soul.
The hard work paid off and apart
from the pleasure gleaned from the training period, I also had achievements in
Israel – including becoming Israel’s 60 km ultra-marathon champion, placing
first in a 100-km trail race, and more.
In 2015, after winning the 100-km
trail race, I heard of an ultra-marathon niche unfamiliar to me: an area that
did not exist in Israel – the multi-day race. This is a race against the clock
in which the winner covers the greatest distance in a given time span. At the
same time, I met an ultra-marathon runner and coach named Kobi Oren who competes
– and wins – in many multi-day races around the world.
I decided to enter the world of multi-day
races and Kobi became my coach – and continues to be my coach up to this day.
our training began and very quickly I began to participate in races around the
world.
The first dream was scheduled: a
12-hour race in Switzerland – 2016
Basel. Midnight. The starter’s
pistol is sounded. The 12-hour race begins. It’s raining. And raining. And it
is cold!! And here I am, from Israel, where rain often means a few drops. Is
Europe so different? Evidently. Rain. Rain. Never-ending rain. Twelve hours of
cold and rain drench the body and freeze, and water-log the clothing. The body becomes
petrified.
Noon comes and so does the final
whistle. I hear it and simply don’t believe that this moment has come. Twelve
hours of torrential rain, temperatures of 2 - 6 C, accompanied by strong winds.
And here I am, the first time in my life, on the finish line of a race, broken
and in tears. I ran 105 km. but the
experience was hard for me. Very hard.
24-Hour Race: Redemption – 2016
Half a year later, I am again on
the starting line in Switzerland, this time for a 24-hour race.
In the morning, the sun is
shining and with it, my doubts. ‘What was I thinking...how do I run 24 hours?’ Before
I can answer myself, the whistle blows and I’m off.
And yes, this was my redemption.
Racing with a happy heart. It was a challenge. It was hard. But the energies
were good. My running flowed and with it I set new records for myself. I ran
100 kilometers. And then, 100 miles, for the first time in my life! And then on
to the end of the race – 187.6 km. Second place among the women. An unthinkable
distance for me. This time my face shone at the end of the race. Happiness and
tiredness joined forces to smile. Yes. I deserved this redemption.
My dreams continue to evolve.
New targets. And now a target that is harder than ever to say out loud: a 48-hour
race. After months of training, I take off for the Czech Republic.
48 hours is a very long time.
Time for joy, time for song, time for calm, and now the sun begins to set, red
and orange: my first sunset in the race. Friday evening. Quiet. At home, my
family is probably sitting around the Shabbat table and the weekend calm falls
on the streets. I am here, running into the night. Thoughts float and flow.
Sometimes they plunge deep into subjects and sometimes they disappear, and with
them, there is a kind of quiet. Hours pass and its sunrise. Like the tide
coming in and going out, the light rises and the night dissolves. The cold
takes over and then is replaced by the pleasant warmth of morning, followed by
the hard heat of noon. Hot soup at night gives way to cold melting ice cream in
the day.
The hours pass. This time the
journey is different. Different for the soul and different for the body. The
body covers distances that are simply numbers. But I really can’t grasp their
meaning. And here I am at kilometer 190...191 and soon it’ll be 200. Such a
perfect round number. And I am enjoying a wonderful wave of energy, running
with a “party” playing in my headphones and the flag of Israel at the ready. My
heart is bursting from emotion ready for the next step that I make and for the
announcer intoning: Galit Birenboim-Navon, from Israel, 200 km! It’s mad
excitement and it’s happening.
I did it. but... just a
minute... the race isn’t over... the clock continues to tick and I have to
continue to run. Minutes upon minutes. And again, the sun
is about to set, but this time the darkness brings the rain. The body is already
tired when it meets the long rainy night. Until it happens, the final siren
sounds. And that’s it.
I am happy. Tired. But happy.
I can’t take it in – 281.6 km.
it doesn’t make sense. It’s inconceivable.
72-Hour Race – 2019
Last June I reached a peak when
I took part in a 72-hour race in South Africa – and came in first overall, after
running 333 km. Again, an inconceivable journey. A journey of the body, a
journey of the soul, the mind and the psyche. But this time, the journey was created
in order to reach what I believe is the ultimate target – a 6-day race.
I am the first Israeli woman to
participate in multi-day single-stage races, and today I am the Israeli woman
who has run the farthest distance. But that is ‘only’ statistics. For me, the
real thing is what running has done for my life.
Today, I breathe, think and
dream running. I ‘work’ at it on a daily basis, diligently. In return, I gain
moments of joy, pleasure and satisfaction. Running has become part of who I am.
When I don’t run, I feel something is missing, I am incomplete. When I run, I
am filled with energies.
To the observer, this is not
always clear. I am often asked what running means to me, what I find in it. So
I will try to explain. In running I find quietude. I find excitement, both internal
and external. I find a place for thinking and inner searching. I find answers
to questions that I asked and to some questions that I have still not formulated.
Through running I am open to the
beauty in life, beyond the daily sights. I am exposed to nature at the most
unusual hours, sometimes at sunrise and others at sunset. I am exposed to it in
open spaces, in forests, at the sea. Sometimes I see the whole picture and
sometimes only small particles; I even enjoy a patch of sky and a sun ray peeking
into the city.
In running I find a physical and
mental challenge through journeys that I dream about. To the onlooker watching
a runner in action, running may seem to be a mechanical, structured, physical
act. Technical movement and progress. It’s possible that that is how I began
too, but along the way something changed in me. My journey became something
else. The act changed and with it the depths of adherence, pleasure and
fulfillment.
Since then, I have been living in
an amazing journey, in which I discovered a passion for running, for distances
and for nature that help me to develop both my professional and personal lives.
Running the ultra-marathon is for me, a complex physical journey that is
emotionally and mentally charged. It
means coping internally and externally. It is challenging, fulfilling and
meaningful to me. To my essence, my faith and my actions. I know that the road
is hard and that I have to work to get there. I aim high and ‘run long
distances.’
In my daily life, my family and
friends see me coping, breaking down and also succeeding. I work hard and
believe in the way I have chosen and in my own capability. I break through
barriers and manage and deal with the various challenges that arise. My
daughters know that I am not Wonder Woman, but rather a regular woman who
dreams, dares, with passion and devotion to the journey, to my way of life.
Today I am moving forward. My
next dream is already in place – a 6-day race. It is there when I sleep and it
is there when I am awake. I am in awe of it and yearn for it and will continue
with the same passion until I stand breathless with excitement at the starting
line, on the way to my next dream.
Galit
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