Running Through It All: My Experience at CNN, the NYPD, Columbia University and How NJR was Formed 

Summer 2006.  I was a producer at CNN.  The Israel-Lebanon war had broken out, and we were in non-stop news coverage.  As an American Jew born on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, I had a knack for wanting to understand both sides of a story.  My 28 year old self decided to study Arabic.  In the fall of 2007, I began my master’s program at Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA).  My intention was to study the Middle East, become an international journalist, and do my part to “bridge the gap”- particularly between the Israelis and Palestinians.  

During my first semester, I ran my second NYC Marathon.  I remember presenting in Arabic to my class about my experience. 

While I never experienced blatant anti-semitism during my master’s program, it was evident that the majority of the student body and faculty had biases against Israel.  So much so that during the summer of 2008- when I was working for an Israeli-Palestinian start up company in Jerusalem and Ramallah, one of my classmates who was living with Palestinians refused to allow me entrance to her home because she deemed I was living in a “settlement”.  I was furious; here we were, privileged to go to one of the best schools in the world- with the opportunity to be world leaders.  Instead of introducing me to her Palestinian roommates in order to promote dialogue, she perpetuated the “us vs them” sentiment.  When I graduated from Columbia in 2009, I did not become an international journalist.  Instead, I spent four years working at the NYPD in their then-Intelligence Bureau as an Intelligence Research Specialist.  Our mission was to prevent a domestic terrorist attack; mainly in the NYC area.   

During my time at the NYPD, I ran my third NYC marathon, had my daughter in 2012, and in 2013 I transitioned into the fitness world. 

As a fitness professional, I have continued to run marathons.  This past October was number ten.  I had trained harder for this one than almost all of the previous nine, with a Boston Qualification time as my goal.  When I woke up in Chicago on the morning of October 7th- the day before the marathon- my heart sunk.  My husband had arrived in Israel the day before.  He was leading a group of 30 plus senior leaders in law enforcement from New York in order to work with the Israeli Ministry of Diaspora with the objective to discuss Anti-Semitism and train in tactical counterterrorism measures..  Instead of spending the day before the marathon resting, carb loading, watching Netfilx, and hydrating, I was a nervous wreck.  It took everything I had to get myself to the start line the next day.  I had learned he was being evacuated but was not entirely sure when.  My phone died during the marathon so I could not track where he was, and as early as mile 2 my body was giving me issues.  From that point on, the only goal was to finish my tenth marathon and to find a charger for my phone so I could find out if my husband had made it out of Israel.      

Under normal circumstances the weeks after running a marathon are a rollercoaster of emotions.  Unlike other races, you don’t just get a “do-over”.  Training for a marathon takes a gigantic physical and emotional toll on the body and mind, and when something completely out of your control (i.e. bad weather, random illness, a terrorist attack) occurs, it is difficult to reconcile how hard you trained and the “unfairness” of the race day you are presented.  In the post-Chicago/post-October 7th climate, my emotions were tenfold.  Yes; after sweating out countless summer miles and one of my best training blocks, I had my second worst marathon performance of my life.  And, on a much larger scale, the world that I knew was becoming unrecognizable.  

About a month after Chicago, my friend Randy, who had originally encouraged me to run the Chicago Marathon told me about the “Sderot Front Runners”.  On the morning of October 7th, 2023, several of its members set out for their weekly long run as part of their training for the New York City Marathon. 4 were killed in the attacks by Hamas.  In mid-October, two local Jewish athletes created a new running group called Nice Jewish Runners (NJR), in honor of these runners.  The Nice Jewish Runners now has 22 chapters in the US, Canada, UK, and Israel, including Westchester and New York City.  The group has a presence with NYRR, and has been at numerous races including both the Boston and London Marathon.  

Prior to October 7th, a running group for Jews (and non-Jewish allies) would not have been something I would seek out.  I grew up surrounded by Jews, have many Jewish friends to this day, and aside from my time at Columbia had been fortunate enough not to experience any overt nor covert anti-Semitism.  Historically, when I heard of horrible anti-semitism I felt it deeply in my core.  However, it always felt far enough away.

Not anymore.  On Sunday, April 21st- the day before Passover- I had the opportunity to join my first NJR run.  There were about 15-20 of us- some walkers, others runners.  The group could not have been more inviting and warm.  In an interview with Jewish Philanthropy the group’s founder, Ezra Feig recalls “how lonely it felt” participating in running clubs after October 7th as there was a silence regarding the current state of affairs that prevailed among the majority of run groups.  People just don’t know what to say and instead of potentially inviting uncomfortable debate that may turn hostile, there is a silence.  Ezra wanted to create a run club “where both Jews from all sectors plus non-Jewish allies can run/walk together, carry on a conversation, and afterwards have a cup of coffee”.  

I am so thankful that he did.  

For more information on NJR and their runs, please email me and I will connect you with their organizers.