A special and heartfelt thank you goes out to all our Galilee runners who took up the challenge of running the Royal Park Half marathon on the 9th October!
We are truly grateful to the runners and all those who supported them with wonderful encouraging messages, and generous donations. So far we have raised an amazing £43,148 online, but donations are still coming in! It’s not too late to sponsor if you haven’t had the chance to do so yet! The amount includes the Galilee donation page and two other individual donation pages. A star goes to Hassan Alaghband for being such a champ at fundraising!
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Although Hassan felt that he “hit the ‘wall’ twice on the 7th mile and 12th mile”, he said; “what kept me going was the thought of your generosity towards this cause and the difference we have made together in the lives of many Palestinian students in Israel.”
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We also had some heroic feats that were achieved, Noushin Danechi, who had surgery in the summer and did not have much time to train, insisted on staying in the race and finished in great time.
After the race Noushin said “it was just MAGICAL! Running through London parks and streets on a crisp sunny autumnal morning was wonderful.”
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We were also lucky to have Kate Bucknell, also recovering from surgery, step in for Victoria Manaseer who had an injury. Here’s what Kate had to say:
“I was honoured to fill in last minute and run for the Galilee Foundation. I love a challenge, and I knew that I had done enough fitness and received enough advice to get me through the 13.1 miles, even though I hadn’t trained specifically for the day. Education is the best preparation for life. If you have a good education, you can respond to challenges you don’t expect, as well as challenges you do expect. Please, everyone, support our run, last minute, and help young Palestinians to get the education they need and deserve!”
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Andrew Tisdale also had some lovely words to say about the race afterwards. “The single word that comes to mind in describing the event is ‘uplifting’. I had spent so much time in the days leading up to the event on small details — getting emails out to donors, making sure I had trained enough, hydrated enough, stretched enough, that I was unprepared for the uplifting emotion of the event. I remember distinctly being on mile 5 with all the supporters cheering us on and thinking if all the positive energy of the event I was experiencing in that minute could translate into life changing education for deserving young Palestinians in Israel that would be a fitting outcome of the day!” he said.
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Ziad Murad said “I loved the run, and as a student, it felt good to be able to help other students! I hope to do it all over again next year!”
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Similarly, Omar Bazian said “it’s been a fantastic journey. Never has running long distance been so encouraging! Each corner had louder supporters than the last. Similarly, it was literally a breath taking setting! Thank you to everyone who has donated!”
Samer Himani told us “the run was really challenging, but it has been such a rewarding experience”.
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If you would like to take part in this amazing day next year, get in touch with us! You could be running for Galilee and help Palestinian students in Israel through their education.
