#18: Reem Ali and the Palestine Marathon

Good morning! Good afternoon, good evening or goodnight. This is Episode 18 of the Everyday Runners podcast. Hope your running, training, racing is going well. I’m Andy Fuller, the host of Everyday Runners and a co-founder of Reading Sideways Press. 

 

In this episode, I speak with Reem Ali who is a crisis counselor and the Sweat Elite Academy manager. Reem is based in Chicago and she shares her stories of doing the Palestine Marathon in 2019 and the various logistical difficulties involved. Reem speaks of the barriers (to put it mildly) faced by Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza in practicing sport, moving through checkpoints and just going about their daily life. 

 

Reem is in the process of starting her preparations for the 2025 Palestine Marathon and has recently started a fundraising campaign to generate funds for those who need it most. If there are listeners out there who would like to contribute, a link can be found in the program notes. 

 

That is enough from me. I hope you find this conversation with Reem Ali insightful and that it helps to give a new perspective on the everyday lives of Palestinians, who might at times, just also want to go for a run. 

 

Relevant Links: 

Reem Ali: Instagram 

Sweat Elite Coaching Academy

Fundraising: Together for Humanity

Palestine Marathon

 

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Andy Fuller/Reading Sideways Press

Strava: Andy Fuller

Instagram: Everyday Runners Leiden

Twitter/X: @readingsideways

Email: everydayrunnerspodcast@gmail.com