TED is a nonprofit devoted to "Ideas Worth Spreading" and organizes conferences that bring together the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives. This year's event TED Global 2013 was held in Edinburgh, Scotland. In a moving talk titled "Making peace is a marathon", our Beirut Marathon founder, Mrs. El-Khalil explained why she believed that a running event could bring together a country divided for decades by politics and religion, even if for one day a year.
El-Khalil was inspired to start the marathon after a personal tragedy: "One fateful day, while running, I was hit by a truck. I nearly died. I was in coma & spent the next 2 years in hospital and underwent 36 surgeries to be able to walk again. (Hospital) As soon as I came out of my coma, I decided that if I could never run again, I wanted to make sure others could. So, from my hospital bed I asked my husband to start taking notes and a few months later, the Beirut Marathon was born."
The Beirut Marathon is the largest race in the Middle East, much more than that, it is a platform for hope and cooperation in an ever fragile & unstable part of the world. "From Boston to Beirut, We stand as one. It may sound idealistic, but sports actually create bridges between people who might not otherwise talk to each other. These races are inspiring and a force for good. They promote health and humanitarian projects. After ten years in Lebanon, from national marathons to regional smaller races, we have seen that people want to run toward a brighter future. After all, making peace is not a sprint; it is more of a marathon."
Mrs. El-Khalil has shown to be a symbol of bravery and has become an exemplar to all women, one of the bravest, most spirited and beautiful woman. Furthermore, her founding of the Beirut Marathon event has presented her great leadership to the world. The talk has had more than 85,000 views so far on the TED website alone. The following link directs you to video recording of that talk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3Eqc-J5Bj0
