Our first run is this Saturday at Peirce Mill at 8 am! It’s exciting—and daunting—altogether.

  • We’ll see many veteran runners and hopefully some new faces.
  • We want everyone to enjoy the program and we have to—for instance—find volunteers to help with the aid stations that provide support beginning May 16.
  • We trust our people to step up, train regularly, and support the cause—education.

This is our 19th year of Running for a brighter Palestine! Since 2008, we’ve raised almost $500,000 creating and expanding educational opportunities for Palestinians.

Two thoughts to highlight about the training program:

  • Consistency is key if you want a transformative experience. For long-distance runners, that means hitting the long-run mileage every week as it increases.
  • Running shorter distances is legit for fitness and to support the cause. You can pick any race you want. Train shorter but train regularly.    

Thank you again to our Potomac River Run volunteers!

Traffic flow: Khaled, Bilal, Reza

Our volunteer turnout last weekend was unofficially our largest ever and helped make the Half and Marathon races a success. Iqraa volunteers were everywhere, from traffic flow at Fletcher’s Cove, to Logistics support across two days, to providing Gatorade and water, and moral support, at the Lock 6 and Lock 7 aid stations.

  • Lock 6: Bill, Kirk, Shobila (with non-Iqraans, Sentayehu and his 3 daughters)
  • Lock 7: Cathy, Greg, Jo, Mazen, Norman
  • Logistics (Friday and Saturday): Bill, Bob, Dave, Kirk, Lorraine, Shobila
  • Traffic Flow: Bilal, Khaled, Reza.

Lock 6: Bill, Shobila (rear), Sentayehu and family (front)

In closing, if you’re on the fence about running this year, my 2 cents: jump off and register.

  • Worst case? You gave $30 to a charity. Best case: transformative experience for you.

Read more: Iqraa: Running for equality and education

See you on the trail, inshallah!