Ashrat “Assaf” Mamo is such a common sight when he pounds the pavement in Jerusalem that he’s on a first-name basis with city bus drivers, who he says always “ask me about the marathon and encourage me.”
Mamo, a 27-year-old immigrant from Ethiopia, became the first Israeli to cross the finish line in this year’s Jerusalem Marathon, finishing 11th with a time of 2:33:12. David Cherono Toniok of Kenya won Friday’s race in 2:19:52, breaking the course record.
Ethiopian Mihiret Anamo Antonios was the women’s winner, with a time of 2:48:38. Moran Shabtai was the top female Israeli finisher in 3:38:35.
In an interview at the finish line in Sacher Park, Mamo, wrapped in warming foil, appeared happy to have been Israel’s top finisher even though the country’s best marathoners did not participate.
“Jerusalem is the holy city,” Mamo said. “It is my home court.”
More than 14,000 runners from 52 countries competed in the event, which was launched last year. The route takes runners through the walled Old City, past the president’s residence and up to the Hebrew University campus on Mount Scopus. Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat and j.’s managing editor, Andy Altman-Ohr, participated in shorter versions of the race’s 26-mile course.
In the lead-up to the race, runners had spoken about the capital’s notorious hills as the most likely impediment to posting good times. But weather conditions for the race — rain and hail fell through the morning, and the sun only periodically poked through thick clouds — heaped on additional challenges.
Mamo, who was running his eighth marathon, said he blocked out the distractions of familiar neighborhoods and the kaleidoscopic lures of the Old City during the course’s brief foray there, staying focused on his running and frequently checking the pace on his runner’s wristwatch.
He lives in the Kiryat Hayovel neighborhood and is unmarried. Mamo left the northern Ethiopian city of Tigry for Israel in late 2000 along with his father, who has since passed away.
The slight Israeli with silver braces and a winning smile works as a contractor repairing car windshields. He described himself as a traditional Jew who attends synagogue only on the High Holidays.
Toniok said he was thrilled, as a religious Catholic, that his first marathon victory came in Jerusalem. Toniok lives in Eldoret, home of many of Kenya’s legendary long-distance runners, with whom he trains.
“I’m very happy because most Christian people [back home] learn about Israel but don’t have the chance to visit,” he said. “I know about King David. I am King David of Israel because I won the Jerusalem Marathon.”