Chabad rabbi runs over 100km in ultramarathon

“If there is ever a year where us as a Jewish community have been required to dig deep, this has been the year — to become an ‘ultra-Jew’. So, this is a part of pushing ourselves a little bit further,” he told the JC.

Aptly naming the event “M25toM25”, Rabbi Mendy set off at 5:30am from the M25 in Runnymeade and ran the length of the Thames — past Hampton Court and through central London.

After running for 15 hours and 45 minutes, he completed the race under the Queen Elizabeth II bridge in Dartford, Kent at 9:15pm, clearing 106km.

“It was amazing and gruelling,” the 42-year-old said, describing the moment he completed the challenge. “At first, I felt complete adrenaline, and I’ve got a little video clip of me dancing and just feeling phenomenal.

“Then, by the time I got home after sitting in the car for 45 minutes, both my legs were just complete bricks, but I was still on a high.”

The rabbi ran his first marathon (42.195km) in 2022, before completing his first ultramarathon — any distance surpassing the traditional marathon length — earlier this year in January, when he ran 50km along the Lea Valley and out to Hatfield.

Despite having spent the summer training, Rabbi Mendy was worried during the lead-up to the race this Sunday about whether he’d be able to complete 100km.

“I was a little bit nervous about whether I was able to pull through the entire way, but I just chugged along,” he said. “What was lovely was that I had a few people in my community who were my support team. Halfway through the run, someone came and refilled my water and restocked my peanut butter sandwiches.”

It was important that he did not take any breaks throughout the run. “I did at times slow down into a brisk walk, and just kept walking with a purpose and with strength, but certainly no breaks,” he said.

When the distance was complete, rabbi Mendy’s wife, Hadasa — with whom he co-founded Chabad Islington in 2011 — came to pick him up and celebrate. “We had music blasting from the car, and we did a dance,” he said. “I got home and forced myself to stretch, knowing that I just must stretch before I go to sleep.”

In February, Rabbi Mendy took to stand-up in an event entitled “A Rabbi Walked into a Bar” to raise funds for the Synagogue’s first Torah scroll. Currently, they have raised 43 per cent of the money needed.

“Like every charity, there are multiple needs, multiple projects and multiple targets, but thank God we are living in a beautiful and supportive community where people are happy to step forward,” he said.

Reflecting on the past year and its impact on the Jewish community, he said: “From my experience as a rabbi, and being a mentor and handholding, countless people have been coming in who are feeling insecure and isolated.

“Jewish people, who thought that they were living in London, among a cosmopolitan, international population and that they were safe, were suddenly having to question their sense of identity and that sense of place and belief.

“What I’ve seen is a coming together, people supporting each other and giving each other a hug. Just creating that community bond has been really powerful.”

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