TH E FAST L AN E
The Road to the Maccabiah Games
Only in a runner’s wildest dreams could he or she ever see themselves participating as an athlete in an Olympic-caliber event. Last summer, I had the rare lifetime opportunity of doing just that – in Jerusalem, Israel of all places. Let me explain…
W
hile watching the Summer Olympics in August, 2016, I learned the next Maccabiah Games would be held a year later in Israel. Maccabiah what? That’s right, most people have never heard of them. Also known as the “Jewish Olympics,” they are now the third-largest international sporting competition in the world after the World Olympics and FIFA World Cup. The Maccabiah Games are open to Jewish athletes around the world and all Israeli citizens regard16 coloradorunnermag.com
less of religion. First held in 1932, they are now presented every four years in Israel in Open, Junior, Masters, and Paralympic divisions. Past Maccabiah athletes have included American Olympic gold medalists, world champions, and world record holders. Among them have been swimmers Mark Spitz, Lenny Krayzelburg, and Jason Lezak, gymnasts Kerri Strug and Mitch Gaylord, and Olympic marathon bronze medalist and eight-time U.S. national cross country champion Deena Kastor (who participated in regional Maccabiah events). Curious about running events for the upcoming 2017 Maccabiah Games, a quick Internet search revealed the longest running event would be the half marathon – my long distance specialty. A little more digging found an application to serve as an athlete on the American team in the Masters half marathon race. I had never been to Israel. My wife and I had been planning a trip to visit relatives there in spring 2017 anyway. So why not apply and see if I was accepted? Within two days I received an e-mail notification that I had been selected for the Team USA Maccabiah Games Masters Half Marathon team by the event chairperson. That was a pleasant surprise. I accepted…even knowing that July was one of the very hottest months in Israel. It wasn’t too long before I was also named captain of the Masters team – probably because I asked the half marathon chairperson far too many pesky questions. My team would be composed of nine male and female runners age 40 and over. Athletes would be coming from 85 countries, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, Mexico, Norway, Poland, Russia, Turkey, and even Cambodia and Uruguay. Competition would be in 45 different sports, including the Maccabi Man & Woman event, the equivalent of the Ironman triathlon. Team USA would bring the largest contingent from outside Israel with over 1,200 athletes representing 44 American states. I knew from the very beginning that running a half marathon in Israel was going to be tricky for a number of reasons. The race would be held during mid-July in the heart of Jerusalem, Israel’s largest city. My key question was, “How do I properly train for the major race event of my life?” The greatest challenge would be the heat and humidity. July is typically Israel’s second hottest month of the year. Daytime temperatures would likely be in the 90 degree Fahrenheit range with humidity in the high double digits as well. All my training and nearly all my racing would be in cool Colorado morning temperatures and very low humidity conditions. I was unsure of my ability to handle the heat and humidity even with good hydration leading up to the race. Heat training in Colorado is certainly possible, but it is just too dry here to help acclimate to Israel’s humidity. The good news was that the race officials recognized potentially dangerous weather conditions and arranged for the race to commence at 8:10 p.m. when it would be somewhat cooler. The bad news was that it would be held at night. I don’t run with my prescription eyeglasses and am clumsy, so stepping into a pothole would be a distinct probability. It occurred to me that the University of Colorado’s Sports Performance Center in Boulder was now performing hydration testing on athletes. I made an appointment with Ryan Kohler, their Sports Performance Manager, to be tested and he recommended glycogen testing as well. Glycogen testing would measure the carbohydrate fuel stored in my muscles for use during endurance events such as a half marathon. Hydration testing would assess my pre- and post-exercise measures of sweat rate and sweat sodium concentration. Both tests would yield data that would provide me with detailed hydration and nutrition recommenda-
