Summary
6 May 2011
More than 1,000 school children took part in the first-ever Gaza marathon. The run was organised by UN worker Gemma Connell, one of two foreigners and seven Gazans who finished the full race.
Reporter:
Jon Donnison
Olympic athlete Nader el Masri (in yellow) was among the participants
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Report
Something new in Gaza. The tiny Palestinian territory is only just big enough to hold a marathon. But luckily for the runners, the narrow strip of land next to the Mediterranean is almost exactly 26 miles long.
The athletes covered it top to bottom. Hundreds of school children ran the distance in relays, running a mile or so each.
The event was organised by the United Nations. Some of their international staff even ran the whole distance.
And some of the athletes took it pretty seriously. Nader el Masri has Olympic form. The Gazan athlete competed in the 5000 metres in Beijing in 2008. He's hoping to qualify for London 2012. He ran out a pretty easy winner, finishing in two hours 43 minutes.
Jon Donnison, 大象传媒 News
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Vocabulary
- only just
barely
- to hold
to stage or host
- covered it
travelled or completed it
- in relays
in teams: each person ran part of the distance
- distance
amount of space between places
- took it pretty seriously
showed commitment and a belief that it (the race) was important
- has (Olympic) form
here, has previous experience of, or success in (the Olympics)
- competed in
took part in and tried to win
- to qualify for
to win a place or entry into
- ran out
completed the race
