After being wounded in Gaza, this marathoner is recovering one step at a time

• Published date: 16 March 2024
• Author: MICHAEL STARR
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

Marathon runner and Swords of Iron combat veteran Orr Sheizaf took another step forward at the Jerusalem Winner Marathon on Friday

In 2020, the Jerusalem half-marathon was the first race in which he had competed. He had always been a long-distance runner, ever since his mandatory army service, and at 30 he decided to push himself and participate in the Jerusalem marathon. He was taken by the celebration of sport – and of life. Sheizaf said it was an "amazing atmosphere," with music blaring, crowds cheering, and politicians and celebrities on stage welcoming visitors who had come to Jerusalem for the annual athletic event.

"I have a warm place in my heart for the Jerusalem marathon. It was the place where I understood I didn't run so badly," Sheizaf said wryly.

It was there that he learned that if he invested in the sport, he could go far.

The competition has taken on further meaning for Sheizaf. It is not just the site of his first race; this year's Jerusalem marathon was also the first one he had joined since being wounded in the Israel-Hamas war.

Getting wounded in the Israel-Hamas war

Just three months ago, Sheizaf was a radioman for the reservist Battalion 8111 Kaf commander, Roey Rachamim. On Oct. 7, he was on an exercise run when the rocket alerts rang out. After a marathon of deployments to Kissufim, Re'im, Kfar Aza, and Nahal Oz, Sheizaf found himself in the middle of Gaza. Alongside fellow radioman St.-Sgt.-Maj. Ari Zenilman, the company was clearing homes before the battalion advanced toward the imposing UNRWA school that overlooked the entire area in their region of the Khan Yunis outskirts.

"It was the most stressful mission we had done so far," said Sheizaf. "It was also the farthest we had ever gone."

The town was empty, but there had been sightings of someone – perhaps a lookout. They weren't certain but proceeded with caution. The first house they arrived at had a suspicious barrel at the entrance and appeared booby-trapped. Capt. Eliya Yanovsky, one of the platoon commanders, was the one to deal with the problem. He was a man of few words and lived by the motto "Actions, not words," which was literally tattooed on his skin. He pulled a grenade out of his vest, threaded his finger through the ring, and pulled out the pin. The reservist officer tossed the metal orb. A small explosion cast 1,026 pieces of shrapnel through the air. Satisfied but still alert, Rachamim and his command squad of Sheizaf and Zenilman moved forward as another...