Labor Minister Ayalon runs in Tel Aviv race with 3 sons

Ayalon was a navy seal from the start of his army service and was the commander in the elite Navy Commando unit Shayetet 13.

By AMIR MIZROCH
ami ayalon stern 298 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski [file])
ami ayalon stern 298
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski [file])
The Nike HumanRace 10K race took place last night simultaneously in 25 cities around the world, including Tel-Aviv. Organizers said about 10,000 people signed up to run locally, some more serious than others. There was a contingent of 2,000 soldiers from all areas of the IDF's corps, including Special Forces, infantry and the Air Force. Ami Ayalon, 63, minister-without-portfolio in the Israeli cabinet, was one of the runners who participated in the event. On the culture of keeping healthy and fit in Israel, Ayalon commented: "When I started running in the hills 20 years ago near our small farm in the Carmiel Mountains [in the North] people looked at me strangely. A healthy, sporty lifestyle wasn't so developed then. "Now all the bike paths in the hills and mountains are full of riders." Ayalon was a navy seal from the start of his army service and was the commander in the elite Navy Commando unit Shayetet 13 from the age of 31 to "the very advanced age of 35". "I've kept very fit all of my life out of necessity, with me it became a way of life. I needed to lead, and for this I had to stay extremely fit." Last night, he ran the HumanRace with his three sons, all of whom were elite soldiers in the IDF. One was in the Sayeret Matkal (the General Staff Reconnaissance Unit, the most prestigious unit in the IDF. Officially, it belongs to the Military Intelligence Corps and conducts special operations behind enemy lines.) Another of his sons was in the Shaldag (the Israel Air Force special operations unit, the second-most elite unit in the IDF, which gathers intelligence for the IAF). His third son was in the elite Paratroopers reconnaissance unit, which carries out daring and dangerous operations against terrorists at night in highly dense urban areas. Ayalon, as a minister in Israel's cabinet, was surrounded by secret service bodyguards, who also ran with him and his family in the Nike race. "It took me a little while, but eventually I stopped feeling bad when my sons started beating me," Ayalon quipped. "We're not running to win, we're taking it easy - it's a family run."