Under shadow of anti-Israeli protesters, ‘Marathon Mother’ runs Berlin without a hitch

Many Israeli athletes have faced immense pressure from anti-Israel activists in European competitions in recent months. But as she ran the Berlin Marathon last week, Jerusalem-based marathon runner Beatie Deutsch said she felt “a lot of support.”

Deutsch is a 35-year-old Orthodox Jew and mother of five known for running in modest clothing and refusing to participate in races on Shabbat. She said an organizer of the elite running competition personally made sure she was protected throughout the run after anti-Israel protesters disrupted the Vuelta a España cycling grand tour in Spain, and as calls mount for Israel to be excluded from major international competitions.

“It was the nicest thing,” Deutsch told The Times of Israel on her return to Jerusalem. “He just really cared and wanted to make sure there wouldn’t be any issues.”

Deutsch, an immigrant from New Jersey who first turned heads in Israel when she ran the Tel Aviv Marathon while seven months pregnant in 2017, participated in the Berlin Marathon independently, not as part of a national delegation. That meant she and three other Israeli participants weren’t provided with an official security detail.

“When Israel brings an official delegation, there is a lot of security,” she noted. “But we each came independently.”

That said, Deutsch said she wasn’t going to miss the opportunity to represent her people and wore a shirt plastered with “Israel.” However, the other elite Israeli runners didn’t want to be easily identified because they were scared of being harassed by demonstrators.

“I was so proud to be there, running through the streets of Berlin and finishing at the Brandenburg Gate, which [Nazi party founder Adolf] Hitler used as a symbol,” Deutsch said. “I felt like there is no greater revenge I can have on Hitler than coming back running with Israel on my shirt.

The day before the race, Deutsch said, one of the directors approached her. “He said the police were concerned, because Israel’s cycling team was attacked at the Vuelta a España in Spain, and they didn’t want something similar to happen here,” she said. “He asked if I was planning on wearing Israel on my shirt, and when I told him I was, he said that was fine and that he understood, but that I should be aware of the security risk.”

The next morning, before the race began, the director again approached Deutsch. “He said, ‘I just want to make sure you’re safe on the course, so I let the police know, and they’re going to be out looking out for you,'” she recalled.

Shortly after the race started, Deutsch said she realized there were two plainclothed security guards riding alongside her on bicycles. They accompanied her the entire 42-km race, she said.

“It wasn’t until I was a few kilometers in that it sank in that the organizer wanted to make sure I was protected,” she said. “It wasn’t something he had to do. He just really cared.”

The decision paid off. “I only heard one shout of ‘Free Gaza’ the entire race,” Deutsch said. “Otherwise, I felt a lot of support for Israel, with people cheering along the way. It was a really special experience.”

Running in a knee-length skirt and her blue Israel T-shirt, Deutsch completed the marathon in 2:40, or just over six minutes per mile.

Deutsch is optimistic that the Berlin Marathon, her first international competition since early 2023, marks the beginning of a comeback after a tendinopathy injury set her training back. She won’t participate in the European Athletics Championships in the UK next summer because the race is on Shabbat, but she is looking to run in the World Athletics Road Running Championships half-marathon in Copenhagen that August.

A popular influencer among many Orthodox Jews, who posts on social media under the name “Marathon Mother,” Deutsch says her Shabbat observance has prevented her from participating in five international championships, a distinction she embraces with pride.

“My relationship with God and Judaism is the most important thing for me,” she said. “I won’t let running come stand in the way of that. If I have to give up on certain athletic goals because of my religion, I don’t see that as a sacrifice. I see it as a privilege.”