Jerusalem marathoner dedicates 100th race to friend killed Oct. 7
Eliav Cohen-Tsemah is running March’s marathon in honor of Itay Yehoshua, who volunteered to fight and was killed in battle at Kibbutz Be’eri
Jessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center
When Eliav Cohen-Tsemah, 40, runs the Jerusalem Winner Marathon on March 8, it will be his 100th race, and he is dedicating it to the memory of his friend, Master Sergeant Itay Yehoshua, who was killed defending Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7 when Hamas terrorists attacked Gaza border communities.
The two met and became friends while Cohen-Tsemah was studying for his undergraduate law degree. Both were runners, although Cohen-Tsemah focused on long-distance running and marathons, while Yehoshua was a short-distance runner.
Cohen-Tsemah said he started running after completing his IDF service in Shaldag, the commando unit of the Air Force, planning his running goals like missions that required rigorous training.
Now a father of four and a business owner, he began running marathons some 14 years ago, first participating in the Tel Aviv Marathon’s shorter 10-kilometer race.
By the following year, Cohen-Tsemah was running the full Tel Aviv marathon, then the New York City Marathon, and then started participating in Ironman competitions.
He planned to complete 100 official marathons by the age of 40.
With only a handful of marathons held in Israel each year, he’s traveled the world to participate in marathons, combining family trips with his running goals.
He’s run in Bangkok, Amsterdam, Italy, Paris and Budapest, among other destinations.
His friend Yehoshua was following Cohen-Tsemah’s dream of 100 marathons over the years.
“We participated together in races, from mountain to valley, deepening the experiences we shared in sports,” said Cohen-Tsemah.
Yehoshua, 36, lived in Ra’anana with his wife and young daughter.
A reservist, he volunteered to fight on October 7 when terrorists launched their attack, rushing south with a friend from his unit to battle the gunmen.
“His friends said he was always the first to volunteer for everything,” said his mother in a Kan news interview.
Yehoshua fought Hamas terrorists all day in the south, reaching Kibbutz Be’eri that evening, where he fell in battle at around 9 p.m.
“I had no doubt that I would dedicate my 100th race in his memory,” said Cohen-Tsemah. “Running in Jerusalem, particularly through the Old City, is profoundly meaningful for me as a Jew. Honoring the memory of Itay adds an extra layer of significance to this already special occasion.”
The 13th International Jerusalem Winner Marathon will be held on Friday, March 8 with the participation of tens of thousands of runners from all corners of the country and around the world.
The Jerusalem Municipality is holding this year’s marathon as a tribute to the IDF, security forces and rescue teams, aiming to strengthen social resilience during the ongoing war on the southern and northern fronts, and to allow thousands of runners who trained for the marathon to achieve their sports goals set before the war.
