My Race To the Moon

*This article is dedicated to my aunt Qamar, may her soul rest in Peace...

   In the time I decided to start running, it was a personal decision not related to anything else, I started running simply because I love it. I did not run to forget my problems, I did not run "to run away" from something, I did not run to feel special, I did not run to be famous, I did not run to win races and be a champion. Simply I run just because I love it, nothing more nothing less...

They say, each one of us has a gift, and I think my gift is running, luckily, I am able to run and still achieve good results with or without training.

My shirt for the 2018 Marathon
with Qamar's name on it.

       From this point of view, though my inspiration for running was Terry Fox, I never ran to support someone, or a charity, or anything else, especially recently with all these events around and runners running for a cause and raising funds etc ... I mean, please do not understand me wrong, but in the era of social media, there are a lot of events and runners that support a certain cause, however in my opinion, it is more a show-off. **

       Nevertheless, there are a lot of really dedicated charities and runners, that I, myself supported and I actually ran for them like the Champs Fund whom will always have my support, the champ Ali Kedami among the most devoted runners and I also have to mention a dear friend Marry Kleiany who is behind "Run with Vision" for supporting blind runners. In addition, I dedicated my personal best in the 2011 marathon to my cousin who had a severe injury, and more recently I dedicated my past long race to my late auntie whom I am going to talk about in this article.

       Aunty Qamar (Qamar means "The Moon" in Arabic) was my mother's sister, she was a lovely person, a smiling face, a person who you look at, simply given that she will always give you that positive feeling of relaxation. She will make you smile in your worst conditions and she was also a great cook.

       Despite all the difficulties and hard times she had, she never complained, she was always the happy, optimistic face spreading all those positive vibes around.

In the winter of 2018, Qamar -our moon- was diagnosed with cancer, and a new chapter in her life and consequently our lives, started. This was the last thing we expected but it happened, and ironically, she was the calmest among all of us and simply decided to take the treatment and continue her life as if nothing happened. We always thought that she was the most fragile, but in fact she was the strongest among all of us.

Crossing the finish line,
Raingin my hands towards
Her soul in the sky.

       In 2018, a group of my friends decided to go with me to take part in Bucharest International Marathon held on October each year. Honestly, I was not so enthusiastic to do a marathon. After crossing 10 finish lines, five times for marathons during a period of 12 months, I felt I need a rest, so I was hesitating to register especially that I was really not preparing at all, the maximum run I did was 28 km and I was skipping a lot of training days. At the end, I decided to go for it. Believe it or not, the reason I registered for another marathon was just because Qamar was fighting and I decided to do it without the minimum training to show her that we can do it, we can fight... I was doing what I did not believe others were doing...

       Unfortunately, the unexpected happened, her health deteriorated after few months.  What we hadn’t known before is that her sickness was discovered in its later stages, which meant limited options. In October, 11th, 2018, in the day of travelling to Bucharest, I received the sad news. Qamar had passed away. She died in her bed peacefully and smiling as usual.

       It was the most horrible moment for me, I wish no one would ever go through it. Death is really the worst that could ever happen, in whatever your conditions were! I wanted to cancel my flight and the race, but my wife was waiting for me in Bucharest, a group of running friends were also preparing to travel with me, I had an obligation towards them especially that I was responsible for the whole plan, the registration, the flight, hotel reservation etc ... 

       I had few hours to think before travelling, I went to say goodbye to her. There was her little family, and to my surprise, they asked me if I was prepared to travel. I was not, I did not want, but they just cheered me up, they already knew what the plan was and how everything was going. So, at night, I said my goodbye to her, prepared myself and off to the airport with a broken heart.

       On the race day, it was strange, I felt guilty and I still have this felling from time to

Qamar Shehoury (1960-2018)

time whenever I think about it, but I am sure that she would have told me to go as her family did. I added her name to my BIB number and I was able to cross the finish line within four hours- a timing I did not expect. My race was dedicated to her, with all what it means or it does not mean. But this was my 11th and last marathon so far. I wanted to be the last memory of my marathons, whether I will take part again in marathons or not I do not know yet, but I am still running, and I always remember my 11th marathon. My race for Qamar, my race to the Moon.

*In the memory of Qamar Shehoury, who passed away on October 11, 2018.

**This is totally my own personal point of view, it is not a hint towards anyone personally, it is just a subjective point of view, it may be wrong or it may be right!