It Pays to Go Running

Since returning from the East, I have started running again. The weather here is pleasant, my schedule is flexible and I even have a running partner- Ariel! Over the past 2 months we have ran in 2 races (just 5 km, but building) and practiced dozens of times on the streets, along the water and in the park.

Running, like any physical activity, is fun for me and I enjoy it for the inherent value of the workout, but the other day I actually got paid for it. No, I did not go pro, but I was in a commercial.

After our second race in the neighboring town of Ramat Hasharon, a casting agent approached my friend and asked him if he was free on Wednesday morning to be in a commercial. This agent needed a group of runners to be in a sketch; what better place to find them that at a race? My friend immediately brought Ariel and me over and we got on the list.

Here is the storyline of the commercial as I understand it: Bank Hapoalim, one of the largest banks in Israel is introducing a new express branch. Our part of the sketch is a race (we all had numbers on) where an Ethiopian runner runs out of the bank with his bank slip in hand, looks behind him and then realizes that a group of runners is quickly catching up. The point: the express branch was so fast that he had time to go in, do his banking business and still beat us all to the finish line.

Truth be told, I probably would have done the commercial just for the experience, but the 250 shekels that I took home made it all that more enjoyable.

(The time shown in the picture above is for the 15 km race. I finished the 5 km is 29:08)