The Movement for Progressive Judaism’s Lifecycle Coordinator Lisa Godsal stepped in at the last minute for her injured daughter to run a half marathon and raise more than £1,000 for good causes.
Lisa, a member of Birmingham Progressive Synagogue, took over when her daughter – studying at Cambridge – suffered a recurrence of a knee injury in a football match, asking: “Will you run for me, Mum?”
The answer was, of course, “yes”, and Lisa turned in a very creditable time of 2:20 for the 13 miles, despite no race preparation. More importantly, along with her son, who competed in a Hyrox competition the following week, the family generated much-needed funds for Power2Inspire and Macmillan Cancer Support.
The story was told in the waiting room of The Movement for Progressive Judaism’s Liberal Beit Din – of which Lisa is the administrator.
Rabbi Nathan Godleman said: “The conversation involving Lisa, a candidate, a rabbi and his wife sounded more like a knee injury clinic! ‘Here’s a story for the MPJ comms team,’ I thought. Kol ha kavod, Lisa!”
Lisa said: “I stepped in at the last minute to prove that women of any age can do hard things, and I did not want to let the charity down.
“Power2Inspire does fantastic work creating inclusive sporting events to enable everyone to participate in sport, regardless of body type, age, disability or ethnicity.”