Albuquerque’s Running Rabbis
By Howard Friedman
Who would have thought that Albuquerque and Congregation Albert have the unique distinction of having not one but two rabbis who run marathons. They are Rabbi Celia Surget and Rabbi Micah Citrin. After a Google search, they appear to be the only two rabbis at a single synagogue in the United States who do so.Throughout Jewish history, rabbis and their communities have literally had to run to escape persecution. In contemporary times, many rabbis run for health, stress relief, and to raise money for charitable causes. The Running Rabbis is an official organization of clergy (Jewish and non-Jewish) that runs in major marathons—including the Boston Marathon—to raise money for charities. Rabbis regularly participate in major events, such as the New York Marathon and the Jerusalem Marathon as a display of physical and spiritual growth.
Rabbi Celia grew up in Geneva Switzerland and said that she always enjoyed a lot of exercise. She was very involved with ballet and dancing and also skied and hiked with her parents. In 2015 while she was working in Paris, her Congregation was offered one spot for a member to run in the 2016 Paris Marathon. Her rabbi asked her if she wanted to take advantage of the offer even though she had not been a runner and she said yes. Rabbi Celia spent the next ten months training and successfully completed her first marathon. Since then, she has run marathons every year except in 2020 because of the pandemic.
She has run marathons in Paris, London, and New York but her favorite ones are in Paris. She likes running along the Seine and seeing the festive crowd enjoying their wine, beer, and snacks at the various cafes on the route, and making it all available to the runners. When she crossed the finish line in Paris after her first marathon there, she immediately signed up to run in the event the following year.
Rabbi Celia has run in 11 marathons and is planning on running her 12th in New York this November. She calls herself a “back-of-the-pack” runner (where the party is). She doesn’t run for a fast time but just to enjoy the run and most of her runs have been charity runs raising money for a number of different nonprofit organizations. By her own recollection she has raised more than $100,000. In the New York marathon this fall, she is hoping to raise money for the Sharsheret organization which supports women facing breast and ovarian cancer.
Rabbi Celia has a very robust training schedule. She likes to run along the bosque because it is quiet and there are no cars. She works with a trainer once a week and runs or bikes three to four days a week. For upcoming marathons, she starts doing additional training and longer runs 21 weeks before the event.
During her runs she likes to relax and let her mind wander. Sometimes she thinks about an upcoming sermon that she is preparing. Other times she listens to music or an audiobook. When asked about how she manages to finish her marathons when she “hits the wall” at around 20 miles, Rabbi Celia said that running is about both physical and mental strength. She is not competing against anyone but herself. But by finishing, she knows she has the ability to face hard and challenging things at work and in life.
Rabbi Micah Citrin grew up in Albuquerque and enjoyed hiking with his parents and playing all sports but mainly soccer. When he was a junior in high school he started running track. He had success in the 400-meter and 800-meter events and placed 9th in the 800 during the New Mexico State Championships. In his mid-thirties he started running more seriously and enjoyed competing in 5k and 10k races. He eventually increased his mileage and started running in some half marathon events.
Rabbi Micah has completed three marathons. His first marathon was the Vermont City Marathon which he finished in 3:13:15. The most recent was this past spring at the prestigious Boston Marathon, where you have to have a qualifying time for your age group in a prior marathon.
He was motivated by the crowd screaming and cheering for the runners to continue and finish the race. For Rabbi Micah, running engages his mental, spiritual, and emotional health. During runs he will often meditate or chant different passages from scripture. He is not sure if he will compete in any future marathons but he will continue his running. He is part of a running group that likes to finish their runs and then relax and have coffee at a neighborhood restaurant. He runs about 25-30 miles per week and supplements that by working out with weights and doing lots of pushups.
Rabbi Celia and Rabbi Micah make a dynamic duo on the pulpit and inspire members of Congregation Albert spiritually and musically. Their running and exercising have benefited them both in countless ways. They hope that their active lifestyle will inspire others to exercise or to just start walking and enjoy the sunshine and beauty of New Mexico.
Rabbi Celia has created a fundraiser for Sharsheret at https://sharsheret-org.givecloud.co/fundraisers/celia-surgets-fundraiser.
Community Supporters of the NM Jewish Journal include:
Jewish Community Foundation of New Mexico
Congregation Albert
Jewish Community Center of Greater Albuquerque
The Institute for Tolerance Studies
Jewish Federation of El Paso and Las Cruces
Temple Beth Shalom
Congregation B'nai Israel
Shabbat with Friends: Recapturing Together the Joy of Shabbat
New Mexico Jewish Historical Society
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