42.2 Kilometers of Longing: 25 Bereaved Israeli Parents, Widows, and Siblings Run the Chicago Marathon in Memory of Their Fallen
Among the tens of thousands of runners in the Chicago Marathon on Sunday, October 11, 2026, was a special team from OneFamily, the organization that supports Israel's bereaved families and terror victims. The team numbers about 25 bereaved parents, widows, and siblings of fallen soldiers and terror victims, together with other runners who joined to run in memory of the murdered; for them the 42.2 kilometers mean far more than athletic effort, since each runner carries a personal story. The team flew from Israel to Chicago on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, exactly three years after the massacre, linking remembrance and grief with the choice to keep moving forward.
Among them is Gil Pazi, father of Yogev Pazi, who fell in battle in northern Gaza in November 2024 at age 22. Yogev had spent a year volunteering in Chicago through the Jewish Agency and built lasting ties with the city's Jewish community. "The moment I saw that it said Chicago, I knew I was signing up," Gil said. In training he found belonging alongside others who had suffered similar losses, reconnecting with people and society and realizing he is not alone; running, he says, is a means rather than the goal, and what frightens him is not the race but "the day after, when this journey ends."
Preparation began about five months before the race and included group sessions, long runs, and physical and mental readiness work, and the team grew into a close group whose members found common understanding among different kinds of loss. Beyond fitness, the training sessions became a place to speak about longing and hardship, along with laughter, encouragement, and celebrating achievements. "This team is much more than a running group," said Moshe Saville, CEO of OneFamily, describing how members who arrived in pain found people who understood and supported them. (INN/VFI News)
“Our Father in Heaven, we bring before You the 25 bereaved mothers, fathers, widows, and siblings who ran 42.2 kilometers in Chicago in memory of their loved ones. We pray in Yeshua's Name that You bind up their broken hearts and surround them with friends who understand their loss. Strengthen them for the day after the race, when the journey ends and the longing remains. We thank You for OneFamily and for every community that carries Israel's grief with love.”