The Travel Diary: The Palestine Marathon runs through an occupied land
- Text by Sam Mellish
- Photography by Sam Mellish
We flew into Tel Aviv, and spent a few days aimlessly wandering the Old City of Jerusalem, jogging faint memories of high school classes as we marvelled at the ancient holy sites. Checking into a guesthouse and hunting out a place to grab a beer was as stressful as it got. However, for many Palestinian people, including those living under occupation in Jerusalem itself, the ability to exercise the right to movement is a daily struggle.
Women shop for fruit next to Jaffa Gate in the Old City Jerusalem
The running group Right to Movement was established back in 2013. Named after the basic human right as stipulated under Article 13 in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Right to Movement highlight the restriction on movement for people within the Palestinian territories. With the help of the Palestine Olympic Committee, they founded the first Palestine Marathon in April that same year in Bethlehem.
The Palestine Marathon is not a fundraising event, it’s not about nabbing a personal best, but showing solidarity with those who don’t have the luxury of free movement. This year, an incredible 4,300 people took part in either the 10k, half or full marathon – coming from all corners of the globe. Somewhat tellingly the hundred or more Gazan athletes who had registered were refused travel permits by the Israeli authorities.
The field comprised an impressive 45% women (only 34% of London Marathon finishers are women), wheelchair users, children, OAPs, parents pushing buggies and the odd cyclist too. At one point I even clocked a participant jogging along with two bags of groceries, while sheep and donkeys got in the way too.
The Palestine Marathon begins with a warm up in Manger Square, the start line is adjacent to the historic Church of the Nativity. For me, it began by gaining access to the roof of the Municipalities building to photograph the huge but friendly and relaxed crowd before setting off.
Structured as a loop run, which doubles back on itself, the course passes two refugee camps as well as the illegal partition wall, lined with political graffiti including a few works by Banksy. There is no route in Bethlehem that can be run continuously for more than 6 miles before you come across a border or checkpoint.
Anti-Israeli icons on the Partition Wall in Bethlehem.
It was my first time to the West Bank, and my third half marathon. Before the race we were introduced to Eitedal Ismail, the Director General of the Higher Council of Youth & Sports for the State of Palestine, and she immediately invited us to her home for dinner.
A huge driving force for sport and culture in the Palestinian Authority, she is instrumental to the continued success of the this event.
Eitidal Ismail
Leaving the West Bank to travel back to the airport, we saw the Israeli military – armed and intimidating, randomly searching cars, mostly near their illegal settlements. We were frustrated when advised not to wear our commemorative Palestine Marathon shirts once back in Israel lest we attract the wrong kind of attention from them.
Next year Eitedal and the team plan to syndicate the run to other countries, so that those unable to travel to Bethlehem can still run in solidarity with the cause. Hopefully we’ll go back to the West Bank for 2017’s race though.
You can check out more of Sam’s work on his website, and follow him on Instagram and Twitter.
Enjoyed this article? Like Huck on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
You might like
The last days of St Agnes Place, London’s longest ever running squat
Off the grid — Photographer Janine Wiedel spent four years documenting the people of the Kennington squat, who for decades made a forgotten row of terraced houses a home.
Written by: Isaac Muk
How Japan revolutionised art & photography in the ’60s and ’70s
From Angura to Provoke — A new photobook chronicles the radical avant-garde scene of the postwar period, whose subversion of the medium of image making remains shocking and groundbreaking to this day.
Written by: Miss Rosen
Artifaxing: “We’ve become so addicted to these supercomputers in our hands”
Framing the future — Predominantly publishing on Instagram and X, the account is one of social media’s most prominent archiving pages. We caught up with the mysterious figure behind it to chat about the internet’s past, present and future, finding inspiration and art in the age of AI.
Written by: Isaac Muk
The lacerating catharsis of body suspension in Hong Kong
Self-Ferrying — In one of the world’s most densely packed cities, an underground group of young people are piercing their skin and hanging their bodies with hooks in a shocking exploration of pain and pleasure. Sophie Liu goes to a session to understand why they partake in the extreme underground practice.
Written by: Sophie Liu
What we’re excited for at SXSW 2026
Austin 40 — For the festival’s 40th anniversary edition, we are heading to Texas to join one of the biggest global meetups of the year. We’ve selected a few things to highlight on your schedules.
Written by: Huck
In photos: The boys of the Bibby Stockholm
Bibby Boys — A new exhibition by Theo McInnes and Thomas Ralph documents the men who lived on the three-story barge in Dorset, giving them the chance to control their own narrative.
Written by: Thomas Ralph
